Late Spring
It has been a cold and rainy couple of months - right back to when it stopped being cold and snowy.
The lake is at full pool and there is still a schwackload of melt to come down. We haven't had to move the boats up but we have put one set of blocks under the stretchers and the coach-boat is hauled further up every day. The last time the lake was this high, the old bridge was still across the lake and the cables anchoring the floating part actually had to be lengthened. It was some odd bumping up rather than down. The Sr Boy was working in town and he would provide daily reports at the supper table of the number of wharves newly weighted down with barrels full of water. Sump pumps were considered reasonable Fathers' Day gifts.
I, for one, am not unhappy about this long wet season. The gully is a swale of grasses that come up to my chest and from last year's new deck, I can see where the deer have trailed through and the quail babies have a place safe from the neighbourhood cats. It also means that my slothfulness at getting the planter boxes and buckets planted is not the disaster it could have been: everything is now in and enjoying the cool settling. The two basil plants from the market turned out to be six so now I'm waiting for basil, feta, and tomato salad (but not holding my breath).
Next up is re-filling (and re-filling and re-filling) the green bin. The three I filled this week (mine + 2 neighbours') barely made a dint in the pine needles and the lot below me is a wildfire waiting to happen as its owner doesn't believe in disturbing nature. (She'll be some disturbed if it goes up in smoke and I'll be somewhat more than that!) Seriously considering 'getting someone in' - preferably someone with a big pick-up and a good raking ethic. The Jr Boy was here yesterday with a friend and an empty utility trailer to pick up a bike. Unfortunately, they had a tight time-frame and it didn't include a trip to the dump with a load of yard refuse. Maybe I could get the local fire guys to come over for a practice wildfire burn?
Maybe I could simply keep going at it one hour at a time.
Still breathing.
The lake is at full pool and there is still a schwackload of melt to come down. We haven't had to move the boats up but we have put one set of blocks under the stretchers and the coach-boat is hauled further up every day. The last time the lake was this high, the old bridge was still across the lake and the cables anchoring the floating part actually had to be lengthened. It was some odd bumping up rather than down. The Sr Boy was working in town and he would provide daily reports at the supper table of the number of wharves newly weighted down with barrels full of water. Sump pumps were considered reasonable Fathers' Day gifts.
I, for one, am not unhappy about this long wet season. The gully is a swale of grasses that come up to my chest and from last year's new deck, I can see where the deer have trailed through and the quail babies have a place safe from the neighbourhood cats. It also means that my slothfulness at getting the planter boxes and buckets planted is not the disaster it could have been: everything is now in and enjoying the cool settling. The two basil plants from the market turned out to be six so now I'm waiting for basil, feta, and tomato salad (but not holding my breath).
Next up is re-filling (and re-filling and re-filling) the green bin. The three I filled this week (mine + 2 neighbours') barely made a dint in the pine needles and the lot below me is a wildfire waiting to happen as its owner doesn't believe in disturbing nature. (She'll be some disturbed if it goes up in smoke and I'll be somewhat more than that!) Seriously considering 'getting someone in' - preferably someone with a big pick-up and a good raking ethic. The Jr Boy was here yesterday with a friend and an empty utility trailer to pick up a bike. Unfortunately, they had a tight time-frame and it didn't include a trip to the dump with a load of yard refuse. Maybe I could get the local fire guys to come over for a practice wildfire burn?
Maybe I could simply keep going at it one hour at a time.
Still breathing.
posted by Another Joan at 8:45 p.m.
2 Comments:
Breathing is good. Lots of pine needles is overwhelming, though!
As for the Irish dancing wigs, yes, if her hair were long enough (and if she were patient enough, which has yet to be determined), we could put it up in rag curls. Some folks do that, and the girls wear snoods to keep the curls curly between dances. Do Highland dancers have to have curly hair, too? Or is it just an Irish dance thing?
Water up close, the smell of pine needles, homegrown salad, even deer and quail to watch... It sounds lovely.
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