Monday, June 20, 2011

Happy Stepfather's Day!

Linda got me an I-Pad for Stepfather's Day. Which I'm going to loan to her to use as much as she wants. She loves the gadgets.

She shall be the Guardian of the I-Pad.

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What Bend cares about, based on number of comments to KTVZ articles:

animals and graffiti.

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Did the last stretch of weeding for the backyard yesterday. It was the last bit, because I kept putting it off. I think my subconscious knew something, because it was BY FAR the worst stretch of ground I have worked on. A tangle of roots.

But I've done 360 degree weeding, now.

We bought two five foot tall Ludwig lilacs, which can grow as high as 10'. (I've seen 15's around town.) At six inches growth per year, they should be providing the privacy screen I want in about 8 years -- just about the time I intend to be a full time gardener.

The guy at the nursery said it was the "year of the lilacs." A cool spring allowed enough delay for the buds to really develop.

I'm waiting at home today for the sprinkler guys, and hoping they can fix the system. I figure I'm about two sessions from finishing the big stuff for the year -- one to plant the lilacs and the other still potted plants, and one to do the sidestreet side of the house.

Turns out that 3 or 4 hour sessions in the garden, done consistently, is the way to go. Instead of two or three 10 hour sessions and weeks of recovery.

I need to spread the last fourth of the compost pile, and then resurface the gravel in front of the house -- I bought two cubic yards at the same time as the lilacs. (I would NEVER use gravel as a surface, but once you have it, you're kind of stuck with it...)

I'm glad I'm gardening, because it's keeping me out of the house and in the wind and sun and the smells and the feel of the earth and it gives me time to think about writing -- I got most of chapter 4 done yesterday. Also got my first glimmerings of the overall arc of the plot.

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I say "most" of chapter 4, because after I showered, I went down and popped a beer and began to finish it. Suddenly, it was 8:00 and we were going to miss The Killing and I took a break for that. Meanwhile, the one can of Tilt I drank completely discombobulated me.

My old habit of sitting down with a beer was 3.5 beer, and I would just use it to ease myself into a creative state. Using a beverage like Tilt just sort of blasted me past my goal, and I find myself looking back.

No more of that stuff. Sheesh.

Came down after the show, and did more writing, and then went up and watched the recorded Game of Thrones.

6 comments:

H. Bruce Miller said...

"The guy at the nursery said it was the "year of the lilacs." A cool spring allowed enough delay for the buds to really develop."

A lot of other flowering trees and shrubs around here bloomed beautifully this year -- although a month or more late. But a story in The Bull today says the wet, cold spring has hurt the fruit growers in the Gorge. I bet it has. Won't be good for the vineyards either.

Back East I remember the lilacs blooming in April, viz. Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed."

H. Bruce Miller said...

What would you recommend in the way of a flowering perennial for a shady to semi-shady area? I've planted rhododendrons but they don't do well, and the flowers don't last long.

Duncan McGeary said...

I'm not an expert, Bruce.

In fact, I take an 'experimental' approach. Stick the plant in the ground and see if it does o.k.

This year, for the first time, I actually paid some attention to spacing.

H. Bruce Miller said...

What're you doing drinking "Tilt"? That shit is for kids. No wonder it messed you up.

Duncan McGeary said...

It's a scary thought that it's for kids. Just too easy to get soused.

H. Bruce Miller said...

The kids can take it better than we can. I consumed quantities of alcohol in college that would put me in the hospital today.