It is Monday, which means it is a day off from massage. I have already had two days off, which is really one more than our finances really like. But we are managing to make ends meet.
So, here is what my “To Do” list looks like now that I have been working all day.
It started out much neater, really.
That first item is “Laundry”. I don’t know why I even bother to put it on the list, I do so much of it. I only had two loads today. None of it was massage laundry because I got that all finished Saturday morning. I hung it outside since it was a very breezy day today, with plenty of sunshine coming through the clouds that are blowing in from the storm system to our west. I had to really pin it down and even so the fitted sheet acted so much like a sail it unpinned itself from the clothesline. Fortunately, the grass was dry and it didn’t get dirty while it was flying around the yard.
The second item says “Uncover babies.” That refers to my lettuce, beet and mesclun seedlings out in the vegetable garden. We went through a snow shower yesterday. The snow predicted Saturday night did in fact materialize, and we awoke Sunday morning to the whole place covered with about 3/4 inch of snow. It got down into the high 20s during the night, but I guess all the snow protected everything from the chill.
Thank goodness! My heart sank when I saw all the snow. I was just sure that I was going to lose a lot of stuff. Instead, we are just inundated with blooms and sprouts around here. The plums seemed to have made it through the little cold snap, all my apple trees waited to bud out until afterwards, and the bleeding hearts are laughing it off. They’ll be joining the bloom parade in just a few days.
Just look at how beautiful the Hosta Dell is right now!
In the Rose/Day lily border along the North fence, there are a couple of clumps of daffodils I planted at least five years ago. The variety has literary pretensions, it is called “Barrett Browning.”
If one turns around from admiring that flower bed, one is presented with the Sand Cherry, which I bought at an auction a couple of years ago. I almost killed it last spring by leaving it in the pot way too long. The ants colonized it and all the formic acid and the very dry conditions it was subjected to stressed it very badly. I’m lucky I didn’t get reported to the ASPCP. Anyway, it seems to have recovered.
I am thoroughly enjoying the border of minature daffodils and species tulips I put around the new Rose Garden. I tried very hard to create a planting that would give me several weeks of beauty. It appears that my choices were good, and the little bulbs are actually performing as advertised, so I am enjoying a wave of bloom that is proceeding around the roses. The rose bushes are sprouting out very happily too.
The next photo was taken right at the opening of the path. The group will appear first, followed by a portrait. This variety is Tulipa sylvestris.
If you walk along the path between the Rose Garden and the Rain Garden, you pass Narcissus canaliculatus, which will appear in a further post because the picture I got of it today was very out of focus. Right after that the Tulipa polychroma are going to seed, and then you come to the little grouping of a daffodil varietal called “Kedron” (it was featured toward the end of this post), which I interplanted with Tulipa kolpakowskiana.
In the far right upper corner of the above picture you can make out a daffodil called “W. P. Milner” blooming. The catalog informs me that this is an heirloom that has been planted since 1869. I don’t know, I just think that is cool. Here’s a close-up of it.
I have begun the “Battle of Japanese Honeysuckle”. I have engaged the enemy and managed to subdue one outbreak that is new, near the plum thicket. I have pulled out a few dozen feet of vine from the main infestation and I am planning on just taking it one day at a time and see if I can’t beat the incursion back. I may not have actually mentioned this plague in the blog before, but trust me. It has been much on my mind.
I spent some time today beating back the weeds that have been volunteering along the Western Boundary Fence. The clematises I planted out there last year are sprouting and looking quite fine. I have been spreading little lily seeds along that fence for a couple of seasons. Today I discovered some tiny lily seedlings. I suspect they may be from the big orienpet lily I have out on the root cellar mound. I hope so, they are stunning and very fragrant.
I only got about halfway along that fence weeded today. I just can’t over-work my hands any more. I have to have something left for massage tomorrow. At least I only have three clients tomorrow. I can ease back into my work week.
Well, if you look at the list closely, you will see that there are a few things that are not crossed off, namely and to wit the cleaning of my massage room. That definitely needs to be done, I have not really dusted in there for a couple of weeks and it doesn’t take long for the crystals to need shining up. So I’d best get to it.
Stop in again some time. There’ll be more to see for sure.
