We’re on the edge of the thunderstorm area on the national forecast map, so today I’m going with cool, clear, still quite damp, but occasional sun. It would be nice if the rain only lasted one day.
I spent the day doing some small tasks. Pack and ship one item. Pickup from a household auction. Then I realized I was far from home and running low on gas so I paid $3.09 / gallon for 87 octane. I only bought 5 gallons. It was up by the airport at a station just off the freeway but DANG. I think Costco still has it for $2.69/gallon. That’s a big enough difference to make the effort. I was in the Ranger, not the Expy, but still, not filling the tank if I can save 40c/gallon.
Picked two ripe tomatoes off the leftover bushes. Both had been nibbled by something, but there are other tomatoes ripening. That is just crazy, considering that most years the bushes don’t last through the summer, and they certainly don’t fruit in the Fall. Collards look good too, other than the leaves being a little smaller than normal. I’ve got 4 grapefruits on the potted tree that survived the freeze that just started turning yellow from green. They’re a good size, and I’m hoping they are nice and tasty. Herb garden is mostly dead, although the rosemary bush looks like it might have survived the freeze after all. Only about half the plant is dead. I don’t know why but I can’t keep a rosemary bush alive more than a couple of years. I use it a lot in cooking, so I like having it in the garden. Heck, I can and do kill MINT, and it’s invasive, so I’m far from a successful gardener. All the more reason to stack cans.
Plan your garden now, and get what you need for seeds, fertilizer, and pest control early.
Stack some extra in case you’re like me and can’t seem to grow anything. Consider that it might continue to get colder for a decade, look at ways to extend your growing season. Some plastic sheeting and plastic pipe for a greenhouse tunnel won’t cost much or take up much storage space.
Today should be a repeat of yesterday but without having to do a parent teacher conference at dinner time. I do get to pick up D2 early and spend an extra couple of hours with her. Maybe we’ll get some sewing projects done. That was the plan for Monday, before it got changed. I’ve got a number of projects backed up that involve sewing, maybe, just maybe, I can get one or two off the list. They’ve been on the list a long time and aren’t high priority, but my wife got the machine out, and I can jump in before putting it away again. Sometimes I get – squirrel! What was I saying? Targets of opportunity, that must have been it. Tasks or tree rats.
Anyway, think about expanding your garden, and stack what you need.
nick