Good Day

I had a good day!

1.  Received notice from the County Court that my request to be permanently excused from jury duty was approved.  I feel bad about that in a way, but I just can't sit for hours istening to lawyers argue making bad arguments if I can't be part of the discussion.  And I'm certain most of the people in the waiting room won't wear masks.

2.  Grocery shopping - Peaches and plums are back!  I love those.  Had to laugh recalling the produce staff guy saying they only carried them "in season".  I know thew start getting them from the southern hemisphere about now.  And he did too, but just wanted an excuse to not fulfill the weekly ad.

3.  Cleaned up a lot of mess from The Mews.  They run around a lot and tip stuff over.  That's OK.  Active cats are better than boring ones.  But I did a lot of sweeping and stuff.

4.  Cleaned all the litter boxes as I di every day or two (depends on usage).  The new high-side litterboxes are working well.  Loki likes to pee straight backwards, which went over the sides of the regular ones. 

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5.  Pork stir-fry and 2 shrimp rolls.  Home-made.  I discovered the Safeway has them in small bags in the produce section.  

6.  It snowed a few inches last week, twice.  When it melted I discovered the earliest crocuses were blooming!

There are about a dozen patches of them, but those are the 2 best.  

7.  Replanted a lot of pansies.  They were frost-heaved up before the established new roots. We had unusually low temps a couple weeks ago. Hopefully, there is still time for them get set with new roots and bloom.

8.  Received a new M/W.  The old one was deteriorating at the top where the magnet is.  Seemed dangerous, so I bought a replacement.  Best Consumer Reports rating (that fit my needs) of course.  Out with the old, in with the new!

9.  Took down the Holly branches I trimmed for height and attached to the front door and mailbox as Xmas decorations.  The leaves were heading to "pale", so it was time.

10.  Filled the 2 thistle seed feeders (for the finches) and the black oil sunflower seed feeder (for most of the others.  And replenished the 2 suet feeders.  Counted 6 pairs of cardinals there just an hour later and many other smaller birds too.  Well, male cardinals are easier to count.

11.  Covered much of the raised garden beds in black plastic.  By planting time in May, the weeds should be dead.

12.  Cleaned muddy work shoes.  They got bad enough when I had to bury Laz.  And worse when I had to bury Ayla.  And it was hard, so I just left them in the basement.  But you have to go on, so I cleaned them top to bottom.  After a few days, when they dry, I will polish them and the wipe "boot wax" on them.  They are 20 years old and fit my feet like a glove.  I would hate to have to replace them.

Enough for 1 day, right?  LOL!

I Had A Busy Day

I've been having a problem in bed for a couple of years.  I sleep badly and lay there too long (10-12 hours) but get maybe 6 hours actual sleep.  And I never go through a ful REM sleep cycle.  But it suddenly switched to being awake after 6 hours the past few days.  Maybe I suddenly caught up to all the years of getting up after 6 hours sleep during my 35 year career.  But I doubt it.

I'm not sure what to make of that .  Just something else to add to my list of  questions for my DR at the next annual exam.

But the consequence is that I have actually gotten up earlier the past few days, and I got a lot done.  Not the best time of year to get active outside, but anytime is better than none.  

So:

1.  Mowed the lawn.  Nothing special in that, but 2 of my neighbors spent 4 hours using a leaf-blower to collect their leaves in a pile.  I just mowed the lawn twice (took only an hour) and shredded the leaves and grass back into the lawn.  Free fertilizer!

2.  Mowed the pollinator and meadow beds down to 1".  I plan to cover them both in brown shipping paper.  Lets water soak through but prevents light.  I need to smother the grass that has invaded.  $ months may not be enough (should have done in several months ago) but it should set them back a bit.

3.  Covered the daffodil/tulip bed with black plastic.  Bulbs like to be dry over Winter, AND that should REALLY smother the weeds.  I did that last year in early Fall, but the plastic held water pools and encouraged mosquitos.  So I waited for the first freeze this time.

4.  Took apart the garden.  Tomato cages removed. stakes removed, and the old tomato vines bagged for trash (the fungal and viral diseases will spread otherwise).  The tomatoes were a complete failure this year.  I will plant them in fresh spots next year.

5.  Harvested self-sowing and native seeds.  Snipped off the seedheads and placed each in a ziplock bag to store in the basement fridge.  When the soils thaws in Spring, I will spread the saved seeds and spread 1/4"on seeds and them rake it around lightly.  That way, most will be at perfect depth for growing.

6.  Charged up the string-trimmer.  My garden pathways have some invasive vines.  Cutting them down with stunt growth.  But I've been saving cardboard boxes for a few years.  Time to use them.  Covering the  paths with cardboard should eliminate those vines.

More work to do tomorrow, but rain forecast in the morning.

7.  Repotted 3 dozen Nandina shrub seedlings.  It was surprisingly difficult.  The deep narrow cells that released marigolds before do not release Nandinas for some reason.  But I expect all will survive.  Nandinas are tough,  All are under lights, so should do fine.