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Spring is going to go gangbusters now.
I walked around the yard yesterday several times - so much growth is on the way. After weeks of watching daffodils creep out of the soil, i feel like everything is going to explode this week. The autumn olive and honeysuckle are already greened up; i found the first seedlings of the cursed stilt grass yesterday. A few potatoes are peaking out of the soil. I just started watering and wonder if i should have started earlier. I suspect that there will be fully leafed out trees next weekend.
We have redbuds and dogwoods aplenty. I went out one day - maybe weekend before last - tying red silk ribbon on redbuds. (The ribbon is rough stuff, meant to be used to bind edges, i think. It has unfinished edges. I bought it to dye & crochet, but it seems an environmentally friendly way to mark the trees.) I still have plenty to mark. I think the trees i found were early bloomers: there seem even more now.
Again, i note how our property with its gentle incline facing the north, seems to be slower to bloom than yards and treelines i observe while driving around.
Last week i turned over the beds for the three sisters (corn, beans, squash) planting. A layer of top soil was developing with the red clover, but i turned deeply, getting out a load of rocks. I don't intend to turn that area like that again. I just wanted to make sure that i got the clay loosened. In the end, i took the big clods and used those like bricks (sigh) to make a border around the beds. On Friday, i planted the corn.
Yesterday i spent looking through my seed list and strategizing the next steps. Despite collecting TP and paper towel tubes for months and turning them into little boxes, i think i will be shy all the little seed starting containers that i will need. I'll admit to being a little disappointed at my lack of success, as well, with the second and third round of starts. The first round was mostly OK, but i managed to kill off many of the lettuce seedlings with over heating. It's possible the same overheating killed off the other seedlings before they started?
The shrubs and small trees i'm starting from seed look promising. Wax myrtles, button bush, and southern crabapples so far. I'm not sure where i should put them once i get them going past the seedling stage. I think i'm going to need containers for them. (Break to scope out possibilities and discover bulk "grow bags" that may be plastic but seem more efficient than molded plastic containers.)
I made an impulse purchase from American Meadows last summer, an impulse i'll be able to resist in the future. The roots that came were tiny scraggly bits. In the worst case, i couldn't find one of the promised roots in the peat moss it was packed in and the other two took careful attention in separating out. It looks like something is coming up though, which is delightful.
I could spend a week, a month, just gardening.
Hmph. Straight from heat to air conditioning? (At 3:30 it's 90°F on the south side of the house, 80°F on the north side.)
--== ∞ ==--
The "Carolina Friends Emergency Consultation" on Saturday didn't use my queries. I have decided it was because i was an unknown quantity to the convener and drafted them last minute. The convener might also be a fairly disorganized/distracted person.
Posted by one of the resource teams was this list: http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/resources/nonviolent/methods.php . "Lysistratic nonaction" was a new one for me. I did recognize it was a Greek term, for what it's worth. I have depressing reflections on the effectiveness of such nonaction in a culture where women's bodies are not respected.
--== ∞ ==--
Meanwhile, goals. Last week i found it terribly hard to wake up. I think it was the cold, because yesterday and today i woke well before the alarm. I have managed to mostly attend to the "basics" habit. The new schedule has been a little harder. I am getting to my work desk at 8, which is good. Once i'm at my desk has been a different matter.
I break the year up into seasons for goal setting. This spring is getting a hold of myself.
I have a therapist lined up. It was amazing: i have an appointment less than a week from my first call. I'm really uncertain as to how this will be helpful in dealing with being in a supportive/caring role while not getting burned out, but i do think i need to do something before i burn out.
May rapidly approaches, and with it two travel periods.
Goals: between now and Beltane
* execute: basics + plan next day's most important task to do first thing + do most important thing (practices that have slid since the election)
* execute: new am schedule
* experiment: evening habit changes
* plan Beltane season: travel & yard
** need to plan to meet up with people when traveling
* plan Summer+Lammas to be social focus
** Summer social event/s here?
** other summer plans?
** discuss a Summer Solstice gathering with C
I walked around the yard yesterday several times - so much growth is on the way. After weeks of watching daffodils creep out of the soil, i feel like everything is going to explode this week. The autumn olive and honeysuckle are already greened up; i found the first seedlings of the cursed stilt grass yesterday. A few potatoes are peaking out of the soil. I just started watering and wonder if i should have started earlier. I suspect that there will be fully leafed out trees next weekend.
We have redbuds and dogwoods aplenty. I went out one day - maybe weekend before last - tying red silk ribbon on redbuds. (The ribbon is rough stuff, meant to be used to bind edges, i think. It has unfinished edges. I bought it to dye & crochet, but it seems an environmentally friendly way to mark the trees.) I still have plenty to mark. I think the trees i found were early bloomers: there seem even more now.
Again, i note how our property with its gentle incline facing the north, seems to be slower to bloom than yards and treelines i observe while driving around.
Last week i turned over the beds for the three sisters (corn, beans, squash) planting. A layer of top soil was developing with the red clover, but i turned deeply, getting out a load of rocks. I don't intend to turn that area like that again. I just wanted to make sure that i got the clay loosened. In the end, i took the big clods and used those like bricks (sigh) to make a border around the beds. On Friday, i planted the corn.
Yesterday i spent looking through my seed list and strategizing the next steps. Despite collecting TP and paper towel tubes for months and turning them into little boxes, i think i will be shy all the little seed starting containers that i will need. I'll admit to being a little disappointed at my lack of success, as well, with the second and third round of starts. The first round was mostly OK, but i managed to kill off many of the lettuce seedlings with over heating. It's possible the same overheating killed off the other seedlings before they started?
The shrubs and small trees i'm starting from seed look promising. Wax myrtles, button bush, and southern crabapples so far. I'm not sure where i should put them once i get them going past the seedling stage. I think i'm going to need containers for them. (Break to scope out possibilities and discover bulk "grow bags" that may be plastic but seem more efficient than molded plastic containers.)
I made an impulse purchase from American Meadows last summer, an impulse i'll be able to resist in the future. The roots that came were tiny scraggly bits. In the worst case, i couldn't find one of the promised roots in the peat moss it was packed in and the other two took careful attention in separating out. It looks like something is coming up though, which is delightful.
I could spend a week, a month, just gardening.
Hmph. Straight from heat to air conditioning? (At 3:30 it's 90°F on the south side of the house, 80°F on the north side.)
--== ∞ ==--
The "Carolina Friends Emergency Consultation" on Saturday didn't use my queries. I have decided it was because i was an unknown quantity to the convener and drafted them last minute. The convener might also be a fairly disorganized/distracted person.
Posted by one of the resource teams was this list: http://www.aforcemorepowerful.org/resources/nonviolent/methods.php . "Lysistratic nonaction" was a new one for me. I did recognize it was a Greek term, for what it's worth. I have depressing reflections on the effectiveness of such nonaction in a culture where women's bodies are not respected.
--== ∞ ==--
Meanwhile, goals. Last week i found it terribly hard to wake up. I think it was the cold, because yesterday and today i woke well before the alarm. I have managed to mostly attend to the "basics" habit. The new schedule has been a little harder. I am getting to my work desk at 8, which is good. Once i'm at my desk has been a different matter.
I break the year up into seasons for goal setting. This spring is getting a hold of myself.
I have a therapist lined up. It was amazing: i have an appointment less than a week from my first call. I'm really uncertain as to how this will be helpful in dealing with being in a supportive/caring role while not getting burned out, but i do think i need to do something before i burn out.
May rapidly approaches, and with it two travel periods.
Goals: between now and Beltane
* execute: basics + plan next day's most important task to do first thing + do most important thing (practices that have slid since the election)
* execute: new am schedule
* experiment: evening habit changes
* plan Beltane season: travel & yard
** need to plan to meet up with people when traveling
* plan Summer+Lammas to be social focus
** Summer social event/s here?
** other summer plans?
** discuss a Summer Solstice gathering with C
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