Sprout It! Lettuce!!!!

Okay. See all that light brown to medium brown stuff laced with little black specks of Heaven-Knows-What? Now look very closely at the tiniest specks that aren't brown or black; they are pale GREEN: tiny lettuce sprouts on their first day above ground, November 28th.

I am so proud. More to come!

Planting It!

Today is Day 5 after planting. On Wednesday, the crops were planted in my autumn garden. The upright sticks mark the rows of planted seeds. Why two rows in one? 'Cause I love green onions. Bring 'em on!



Leaf lettuce was the only one that specified a need for some direct sun, so it's planted at the north end. See the light? Spinach is next to it in the 'inner north', then green onions in the 'inner south' plot and the Chioggia beets in the southern most plot.

Here's a pic of Chioggia beets. Pretty, huh? They are Italian in origin:




I used some plugs of grass from allotted gardening plot to transplant into thin or--like below--barren patches of lawn. Looks like they are surviving and may fill in nicely.



More will be revealed as the crops sprout over the next few days. Spinach may be the first to peek up into the world. I'll keep you posted.

Digging It!

Remember Michael, "Blue Rider"? Michael is happily off the road and back at his home in Phoenix. There are things he misses about traveling the western United States with a Werner truck, but he admits he doesn't miss the stress.

Michael is a master artist in his own home as well as on the road. About 10 days ago, he was planting his winter flower beds and urging me to help him. I demurred, saying that gardening was not my thing.



Then I began to see the results of his labor. And make no mistake, there is a lot of hard work in Michael's gardens.

Michael has customized his flower beds and lawns with a computer directed watering system, so each area of lawn and each flower bed can be watered as needed. As you can see above his results are breath-taking! And I became respectful and a little envious of his artistry and skills. Well, I harrumphed, I don't do flowers. But I might do vegetables.

Michael assigned me a plot of land and said go for it! And I'm going for it. Sunday I dug it up, and today I groomed it by picking out grassy clods and shaking off the dirt. I conserved the grass by replanting it in some thin spots. It may or may not root again, but it's better than having it go to waste.

No, this is not a grave!

My plot is about 3 feet by 9 feet, and it will be divided into four sections: Green leaf lettuce, spinach, green onions, and beets.


Michael and others speak of the joy of working the soil. I must admit it is a good feeling.

Folks, you know what this means? More blogging! Brace yourselves!!

Pat Oliphant Rocks The Silliness

I can't pass this one up!

Pat Oliphant, usually on the political/policy beat, occasionally takes a jaded look at Anglicanism and the silliness of the day. His cartoon speaks for itself. And I'd guess he has actual life experience with various facets of Anglicanism!