06 August 2010

Washed out

This week I've been trying to go and do some gardening after work - not too successful. I get rained on or it gets dark and I need to leave, etc.

First tried to go and water some on Tuesday after work, but I went to late, so had little time before it was dark.  Did do some weeding and a little watering. Rushed away to beat the "Park closes at dark" but forgot two things - my $300 camera and our $100 digging fork.  Deej drove me back and we retrieved them in the dark and escaped out of the Azalea Park before it closed.

Wed - went and weeded in the no-corn area some, and picked a few flowers and peppers.  Then the rain came quickly before I was ready to leave. What a deluge. and I left a handful of peppers, but grabbed the camera bag before it got too soaked.  It was touch and go driving on the way home, the inside wind shield fogged up and would not blow clear, so had to wipe with my hand, at the same time drive the 4 miles in the trusty 1987 Dodge Diplomat through sheets of rain, loud near-by thunder and bright flashes of lightning, splashing slowly through flooding streets, and trying to make sure to avoid anything in the headlights.  Whew, made it home.

Thursday - got off the #6 bus and had to run the last two blocks as the 50-mile an hour wind and beginning rain started.  I knew Deej and Karen would be getting off the other #4 bus in pouring rain, so went up and got them as they got off the bus - they still got soaked in the 20 yards to the car.  Dropped off Karen and then drove in the downpour to the Greyhound bus depot to pick up the two boxes of mangoes Betty had sent.  The rain had almost stopped by the time we loaded the 2 boxes in the trunk.  Unpacked the 56 of them, in pretty good shape, but the smell ! good at first, but then overwhelming.

Friday went an picked up Deej's sister at Barracks Road Kroger.  After we got home, I grabbed to soaked corn and bean seeds and went to the garden, working about 1.5 hours as it got dark, and weeded, prepared the soil, and put most of the corn and bean seed in as it turned dark.   Nice hotdog, potato, corn, tomato simple meal.  No more rain today.  We had gotten .82 on Wed, and then .52 yesterday, Thursday.

Washed out roads some places, but the vegetables are going to enjoy and thrive on this week's rain.  And three packages came Friday - a hand held voice GPS, a portable photo gps tracker, and 3 $10 digital thermometers.  I set up one already so we can see the temperature in the basement where Deej's beer is bubling and brewing.  Now, how do I learn how to use the other two devices?  All those gadgets.