Garden

The garden was started late, but is catching up with the warm weather and sunny days. 

The Black-Eyed Susans are spreading and thriving.  I encourage them, as they are native plants and adapted to the weather patterns here. 

The flat italian beans are growing well up the curved trellis.  I made the trellis curved so the beans would hang down in plain sight.  Easier to find.

I planted a Fall crop of snow peas on a short trellis of leftover concrete mesh wire.  The corks are there so I don't scratch myself on rusty wire.

The melons are slow to climb a trellis at first, but when they start, they climb fast.  I have mesh onion bags to hold the developing melons.  THere are cukes growing in another bed.  But they are self-supporting.

Two cherry tomato plants from a couple of weeks ago.  One now has a fruit ripening.  They are double the size now.  When they start producing, they don't stop until late October. Or maybe November if the frost holds off.  Climate change has SOME benefits if you are in the right place.

The tadpole tub.  It wasn't intentional, but I saw tadpoles in it one day and have been nurturing them since.  The stick is for the ones that survive to develop legs to get a way out.  I don't know if they are toads or frogs.  I hope they are toads.  Both eat some pesky insects, but toads are quiet.  A toad in the garden is better than a frog in a pond.

I sprinkle some fish-flakes on the surface every couple days.

This is the bean patch a week later.  I'm harvesting!

I like them better than regular green beans.  Earthier, nuttier flavor.  Plus, you won't find them in the grocery store.

Scene Of The Fall

First, I've felt slightly stiff the past couple days.  I suppose it is because I am re-engaging some muscles  that I had previously been favoring.  Well, I've been more active lately.  Partly just because some degree of activity is recommended for healing; partly because after 7 weeks there are simply some things that MUST be done around the house.

I couldn't ask Deb to take care of me forever.  Thankful as I am for all that wonderful help, I feel a deep need to start to do some things again myself.  Oh for sure, I will ask for help if I need it, but there comes a time...

Which reminds me I need to return the walker to her so that John can return it to his workplace (before it gets "missed" maybe in an inventory).  I wouldn't want to get anyone in trouble.  And besides, that gives me an opportunity to bring a "thank you" gift.  They said they loved my home-baked bread, but I also make an old family banana cake recipe that surprises people.  Think of spice cake in texture and appearance but with banana and walnuts.  The family recipe calls for a bundt cake pan (for even cooking) but I've learned how to make it in muffin trays.  

I was going to bring flowers, but it is near Valentines Day, so I will wait a few weeks on that, as I don't want to confuse a simple THANK YOU with a rather romantic holiday.  Anyway, I will continue with gradual and home-oriented thank you gifts.  My intent is "thank you" reminders of appreciation...

So I am doing more (having a couple minor setbacks) and expecting better things each week.  

Second, here is a pic of the "Beware Of Falling Idiots" zone!  The small ladder was there so I could raise the top of the extension ladder.  I am usually so cautious that I would have tied a rope to a middle rung and tied it around the tree so it couldn't move.  But when I bounced on the lower rungs and pulled side-to-side, it wouldn't move (and indeed it did not).  There is a "U-shaped" stabilizer bar on the top (for roofs) and it was very snug around the trunk.

The branch going to the left at the top is where Laz was sitting and calling for help.  That's why I had to stand on the top rung to reach him.  Well I had the trunk and branch to hold onto.  THAT wasn't the cause of the fall.

BTW, the pale circle near the top of the ladder is where I had a weak fork in the trunk cut down a few years ago.  I keep telling myself I should paint it bright yellow and then paint an emoji on it, LOL!

The ladder on the ground shows where I hit and the orientation.

Well, I had that ladder out to fill the birdfeeder, so I set it down afterwards to take the picture as a good reminder...

My Personal CoVid19 Situation

This is partly to organize my own thoughts and partly to keep friends and family informed...

I am prepared for a long stay at home.  Some of it is just routine habit; some of it is in response to concerns about food and energy systems.

I am a homebody.  I routinely don't leave the yard for days at a time.  Granted, "day's at a time" is not weeks at a time, but I could manage.  I routinely have weeks  of home-cooked meals in the freezers (kitchen fridge and older basement fridge). 

When I heard that CoVid19 ad escaped China months ago, I added more canned goods to my pantry.  Nothing I wouldn't use up eventually, but stuff I normally wouldn't eat except in an emergency.  I even bought bottled water for the first time ever. 

As things have gotten worse, I have added to that.  A pack of TP here, a 3-pack of kleenex there, a few more cans of soup, a few cans of fruit, cans of tomatoes.  Bags of potatoes and oinions (I can't cook without them).   I missed out on the antiseptic-wipes, I thought for sure I had several packs of them from when Dad was here.  Maybe I sent them with him.

If the electricity doesn't fail for more than a couple hours, I actually have enough food for 3 months, and I'm not talking about frozen TV dinners.   If the electricity fails for 24 hours, I'm screwed!

One never knows what will happen in the face of social disruption.  I trust that we will all get through this OK with some cooperation.  People in democracies tend to rise to the challenge.

The thing that might challenge me most is not having fresh fruit available.   I like meat.  Small amounts are fine.  But 75% of what I eat is veggies and fruit.  Its not a diet, just my taste preference.

I have mentioned before that I have been immune to influenza virus since childhood.  This CorVid19 is not that virus.  I might be as vulnerable to it as anyone.  That's oddly scary.  After a lifetime of seeming-immunity to viruses, I'm not sure about this one.  It is entirely possible that the genetic reasons I have been free of them in the past makes me equally or more vulnerable to this one.

There is an ancient Chinese curse that say's "May you live in interesting times".  This is an "interesting time".  I don't want to live in "interesting times" like this! 

But I also look at this in another way.  Some bad things happen randomly.  The dinosaurs were wiped out by a random meteoroid.  There have also been other extinction events.  Shit happens sometimes. 

But I offer a word of hope.  This Corona Virus is not going to kill us off.  It is individually- threatening, but not species-threatening.  There will be some unfortunate individuals who die from it  (and probably fewer than from the regular seasonal flu). 

Be careful, but don't panic...  Always keep a towel nearby.

Broken Cinder Block Wall

OK, some of this might sound technical but it isn't really.

My sunken patio cinder block retainer wall broke a month ago.  I originally thought it was due to rain, but now I think it was just coincidence.  There was no flooding against the wall.  Even the soil behind it is not expanded.

I had a masonry guy come out and he said he would rebuild it in a trench all around for $16,000.  Um, no not what I needed.  A couple other people returned calls, but I couldn't understand a word they said.  So I gave up and considered how I could do it myself.

I tried levering the wall back in place.  Wood beams are not as strong as cinderblock weight.  They bent first.  I needed a better lever.  I came across a "motorcycle lift", basically a wide scissor jack like you might have in your car for lifting it to change a tire.  But wider and more stable and up to 1100 pounds lift.  You turn a large handle, and the lift slowly spreads.   Cost $80.

I bought one.  It took a few days to figure out an immovable object from which to push the wall.  The house foundation was obvious, but I didn't have anything long enough to reach the broken wall.  But there were 6'x6" posts concreted 3' down and anchored to the foundation above. 

And I had a 4"x4" post that just came a foot short.  Perfect!  But the angle from the deck post wasn't exactly at the angle of the broken wall.  So I used some scrap wood and a dozen serious clamps to make it so.  That left "just" enough room for the motorcycle lift to fit in.

Let's just say that to avoid any boards moving around, I also clamped some wood to the posts to prevent that.  No supporting structure could move.  So I started to turn the handle of the motorcycle lift.  And no, there was no damage to the deck posts or anything else.  I had all possible movements prevented.

The broken cinder block wall MOVED!  I actually jumped for joy...  I got it 9" of 12" back in place before the lift was fully extended.  But then the angle was changed and it slipped sideways under pressure.  Nothing sudden, just that the pressure sideways was greater the the pressure forwards. 

GRUMPH!

It's at the point where I only need to move it 3 more inches in order to use some masonry construction adhesive between the broken edges (stronger that grout, it claims).  But it only has a 20 minute window before hardening.  So I had to know I could push the 2 edges quickly enough.

And I don't have posts that match the distance!  Arghhh...  I have some ideas about using bricks, wood chunks, loose solid cinder block caps.  But until I'm absolutely sure there is no angle of pressure that won't cause them to suddenly pop loose dangerously, I won't proceed.

I THINK two clamped 2"by12" boards across the 2 deck posts with be strong enough (a 4"x4" post just bends), but I want to think of a stronger and safer arrangement. 

And I should mention that the handle on the motorcycle lift is just a small 6" metal rod attached to a hex drive that fits over the screw that turns the jack.  It hurt my hands to put enough pressure on it to turn it when things got heavy.  Well, it just occurred to me while writing this that I have a ratchet drive set with longer handles and sockets and one of them is for loosening/tightening the lug nuts of truck wheels (that I've never had need of before), so I can get more leverage...

But I'm getting there...  Half the fun of doing difficult things is figuring out HOW to do the things. 

;)