Planting #1

Another Spring, another season to buy seeds, and fertilizers, bags of compost and top soil, young plants, and til and dig, and mulch and plant, and water if need be.

So yesterday, Sunday afternoon, Deej and I worked for a couple hours in the Druid back yard - needs to have lots done.  We had bought 4 bags mulch, 2 bags top soil, and 1 bag compost, plus seeds and plants yesterday (Ezroths and KMart).  So, after I unloaded the bags from her trunk on to the wheelbarrow, I carted them to the back yard, unloaded.  Deej used the mulch around her plants, especially the second blue berry bush.  I spilled out the top soil bags and compost bag into my two plots, and then spent about 45 minutes loosing the soil in the lower plot - I had tried to start our little tiller, but it refuses to spark and start.  What to do? Take it for repair $$$?

I planted 3 of the peppers (2 cayenne and 1 bell), plus put two marigolds in the lower plot, along with mammoth sunflower seeds. And then the yellow marigold in the upper plot.

We wheelbarreled 3 big loads of weeds to the lower yard piles.  They were from the area where Deej planted the blue berry bush and another plant. Also I pulled and pulled weeds and vines from our side of the fence, and clipped out beginning tree thin trunks. Also weeded the black berries which are flowering and budding - even the new black berry plants seam to be taking hold. More weeding around the onion row, and the upper plot.

Finally lopped off the lower branch of the red maple, which was hanging over the lower bird feeder - used by the squirrels.  And moved the dead huge vines under the red maple so Deej can used the clothes line there.  Deej pulled down the branch so I could lop it off - but then it nicely broke all off.

So, we have some things mulched, soil worked up, and a few things planted in the back yard.

And the Saturday before we weeded some more of the area which we had tilled, but some places not deep enough to kill the grass, etc.  And Deej planted some things, put up a pea fence for her growing peas, etc.  I planted mammoth sun flower seeds in the corners, and also 7 cayenne plants in the middle area.
But details of that Saturday are another story!

Addenda written 7 May 2012 Here are some photos of the garden when we were there Sat the 21st April  - a panorama, a spider with an egg sack from digging out wire grass (like a small 2" tarantula), Philip stomping down planted sun flower seeds, and our peas

Satur - Day in the life 14 April 2012

Some of what I did on Saturday the 14th April 2012 - a little library work, going to the Market, seeing son Tim and granddaughter Rachel, a poodle, the Market, the ugly thistle at home at Druid, flowers in my yard (while I cut down privets for Deej so she could plant elderberries and bleeding hearts), making Artisan whole wheat bread (dough number B), steak for supper, and to fly, fly away - - -

Another walk - this one up the Monticello Trail March 2012

Another walk - this one up the Monticello Trail, as the flowering trees start blooming, March 2012

Monticello Trail Stroll at EveryTrail
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Walking

Started to do some 30 minute walking with Deej over the winter holidays.  Will I keep it up? Does it help?

Here's one day's walk at the end of December 2011


Try this link (or click below)
Walk from home and back

SW from home and back

 

 

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Mid December

Friday - 16 Dec 2011 - the last day of exams and classes at the U of Va, things are really winding down, getting quiet.

Nawang's off this morning to Darden for his second meeting with a committee arranging all the events for the Dalai Lama's visit next October (2012)

I'm trying to finalized the purchase of Maithili paintings through PinkMango for our Asian Studies Room. And next week we have the second meeting with a donor of Farsi books.  Some of this librarian job is fun!

We've had an unusually warm Fall, with just the right amount of rain, but no snow or really freezing temperatures yet.

During the Fall, had a great trip to see Julie and family in October 2011 in Iowa before going to a nice South Asian conference in Madison, WI. The garden was not bad this year - the new shed with a community tiller was great.  Deej pulled garlic and replanted some.  Okra was okay.  Had about 5 watermellons! Hot peppers were very slow to develop, but nicely productive during the end.  Unfortunately missed picking a huge crop, just before they were hit and ruined by a hard frost.

Went to a wonderful Holiday concert by the Glee Club last Saturday evening (10th Dec 2011), this time at the Presbyterian Church near the downtown.  Deej said she thought the acoustics were great.  All that jumping up and down for the 12 days of Christmas was fun again. Betsy Rose Carr and her husband were there - and she introduced me to an interesting lady whose husband had been in the foreign service all over the world.

Our second music event of the week was Rachel's Orchestra concert, at Walker School packed auditorium, Tuesday night (13th Dec 2011).  Wish they could get the strings better tuned up.  Deej liked it, especially the little added play about the Grinch at the end.

That was the second event with Rachel in a week - we went over for a nice 12th birthday party to her house on Sunday afternooon (11 Dec 2011) - cakes, snacks, presents, cards, family.  Patty was there with a new 5-year old obedient dog; Mark was there with a 'girl-friend' Kristina.  But Brian (who works at Lord Hardwicke's) was not there - he's recovering also from a slipped disc. Rachel liked the card, with two of her photos and with a panda (her recent obcession) on the front, I made her.

I've been thinking about how we dislike and fight getting old.  Different parts of the body are seen or viewed differently - worsening eye sight, loss of hearing, greying and baldness are not treated really badly and discussed opening, but not so with teeth.  Hardly anyone is at ease talking about loosing teeth, getting dentures or implants - and those who still have their teeth and few dental problems seem to lord over the rest of us and give endless advice and comments on how we (bad ones) did things wrong and how we should have done what they did.  Of course, failing dental condition is as much genetic as how we took care of our teeth.  I suspect my dental problems are genetic (did my dad have bad teeth and early went to full dentures?) as well as my personal dental hygiene throughout my life, with some stuff about the India environment and the lack of ready access to good dentists as I grew up in India.  That may have as much a toll as genetics - and affects my present teeth and mouth.

My periodontist surprised me at my last visit about a month ago as he said he saw that my main dentist, Horde, was recommending removal of all of my upper teeth and going for full upper dentures! a very depressing shock to me.  I hate thinking about it.  See, we have a hard time talking about these teeth things.

I've been working on a blog post about 2011 South Asia articles, books, etc at
http://gosher7.blogspot.com/2011/12/resources-of-2011-from-selected.html

Have a look.

Last June week, normal mid-week day

A hot Wednesday day followed by a cool night. It was 105 outside my office, in the sun on the ledge.  Cool enough not to use air-conditioners at night.

Went to the garden after work - planted some cucumber seeds in the central area at Azalea.  Weeded around the two bean rows, the north side of the corn next to the squash; and north east corner boarders where flowers were being overwhelmed by weeds. Was there about 1.5 hours - the Muslim family was there as well as the woman in the plot east eat of us.  Not very hot.

More Urdufest from noon on - learning how to make markers, which were put in on Panel 1 before starting to export it - then came back at four and it was done finally - moved a copy to Kaltura Collab.


Ordered requests, including juggling a DK one with no one wanting to fund it.  Wrote and asked about the Anthro new grad session for Fall. Attended the public service meeting at 3 about Fall public messages, Libra, Alumni databases, pilot public login, and RefWorks - leaving at 4:10 as the meeting dragged on with no new information about RefWorks.

Rich was outside my office finishing up his review of Urdu maps - which he said was in Sindhi, dated 1889, and nicely covered with plastic like coating.  He said - definitely keep for a treasure of anyone doing 19th century north west India (became Pakistan).

Watched Netflix "Made in Dagenham" (Ford plant women's strike for equal pay in England, late 1960s). Pretty good. 4 out of 5 stars. Third night of shrimp for me as Deej ate her salmon cakes. Good cuc, carrot, raddishes, celery also, topped off by blueberries on ice cream (with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and malt).

Just a regular day.