A welcome alignment of the stars brought me dirt, grandchildren, and seeds, all at once last weekend. I put them all to good use in the raised bed frame that my sister gave me last year. Yes, I know it's just the end of February, and there's probably more cold weather to come, but we planted lettuce, beets, spinach, and kale, all of which should survive modest cold. (I have thick clear plastic in the event of a serious freeze.) Hence the 2016 gardening season is under way. The kids got a kick out of playing in the dirt, and I got a kick out of letting them do it.
We played outside almost all day Saturday. They fight less when you let them romp, or maybe they fight the same and I just don't hear it. In any case, in this age of electronic entertainment that requires virtually no body movement, I figure they needed the exercise. The oldest two helped The Grandfather shoot a long bow, while the 5-year old gathered acorns, which she piled on the end of the slide on the swingset and then proceeded to cover them with sticks "to keep them warm so they'll hatch." The 20-month old granddaughter must have gone down the slide on the swingset a hundred times and didn't even cry when she face-planted in the dirt at the end a couple of times. One of those times was just after the 5-year-old had made her acorn nest at the end of the slid. This turn down the slide did not go well for either kid. We managed to salvage and rebuild the acorn nest in a safer location.
The baby got a little cranky come nightfall. We fed her and sent her home with her parents. ;) The other three stayed the night.
I just knew the older ones would conk out the minute they got still, but these rascally young'uns kept me up late Saturday night and got me up early Sunday morning, to boot. I heard racket at 5:30 and went in the living room to find the two oldest ones exclaiming over a video about how to make jello in a soda bottle, while the 5-year-old sat wrapped in a blanket on the couch, quietly sucking her thumb, twisting her hair, and staring into space. Clearly, being up at 5:30 wasn't her idea. As the sun was coming up, I started making the biscuits, at which time she snatched her thumb out of her mouth and sprang into action. She loves biscuit dough. Not biscuits, biscuit dough. I let her pat it out, roll it out, cut 'em out, and pitch 'em in the pan. Lord only knows if she'd washed her hands since planting her beet seeds, but I figured 450 degrees ought to kill any germs on whatever dirt found its way into the biscuits.
After breakfast, they all went outside again. For weeks, they have been begging to explore the woods behind our house. It's usually muddy down there, and I won't let them go, but that day I did, even though it was still muddy. The creek behind our house had just enough water in it to make jumping over it an adventure but not enough to drown the big ones. They came back scratched and bleeding and muddy. They had enough fun that everybody's clothes and shoes had to be shucked in the laundry room and sent to the washing machine.
While The Grands were exploring, I worked in the yard, picking up sticks, raking leaves, pulling ivy from places where it didn't belong. I haven't done serious yard maintenance in many moons, and this place is out of control. One of the flower beds was so grassy that I just set fire to it. Literally. It was matted with ivy and leaves, which produced a good, slow burn. I doubt it killed the ivy all the way dead, and I doubt that I pulled anything close to all of it up, so I expect the fight to continue, but I put a serious hurt on it. I even uncovered the cool faux stone sphere fountain that the ivy had eaten. It'll probably need a new pump.
Since my yard needs so much attention, I have decided to cut down on the size of my vegetable garden. In fact, I might not have one at all, except for the raised beds. I ordered two more 4 x 4 beds to go with the two that my sister gave me. I don't know, yet, where I'm going to put them, but I'll think of something. A few tomato plants, a couple of squash, a few herbs...you get it. Just a little kitchen garden, one that I can step outside and tend, one that won't require power equipment.
The power equipment I'm saving for the yard.
We built a back porch onto the house this year. Built it right over the existing patio. It is screened to keep the mosquitoes out. It is magnificent. The carpenters trampled the flower beds all the way around the house, as we had a new roof installed, too. I'm anxious to see what perennials survived the assault. The buttercups around the patio made it, as did some of the iris. It's too early to tell about the bee balm and phlox. Frankly, I hope some of the phlox didn't survive, for they had taken over the place.
So, the to-do list:
1. Work on the beds around the porch. Need hosta.
2. Work on the big burned bed. It is a blank canvas. I've already sprinkled some larkspur and cornflower seeds out there. Need daylilies, and bee balm.
3. Work on the beds in front of the house. They are a disaster.
* * * * * * Addendum * * * * * * *
I just got back from Nanny's. Went down there for two reasons: (1) she wanted to show me the quilt she'd just finished; and (2) I wanted to bring the little red tiller to my house to have it ready for when the mood strikes me to use it. The quilt is lovely. The tiller is missing. I have put out a family APB on the tiller. I sure hope one of them has it! If not, it's going to be the stolen lawnmower story (which I will tell you if you want to hear it) all over again.
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