Jury Duty

Morning temp: 52F
Afternoon high: 83F (it was actually hotter, like 86F)
Tonight's projected low: 52F
Humidity: 76%
Moon: 96% Full!!! (Good for transplanting!!!)

Today was clear and very sunny, with a North wind at 4 mph.

This Morning & Afternoon.
1. Well, I'm officially behind with respect to the work here that needs doing, and I may become more so as the week progresses. I have Jury Duty this week, and have to report at 8:00am this morning, and then I have a 5 day trip to Alabama beginning this Friday. Still, I count this a good thing. While I'm busy with these things, I'll have lots of interesting Homesteading work to look forward to.

2. The article I posted yesterday, "You've Been Wonderful Neighbors," remains in need of proof reading. A number of important things, e.g., quotation marks indicating when I'm quoting a source directly, did not come through when I cut and pasted this document from my MS Word file, making portions of the article somewhat unclear. I apologize for this sloppiness, and will get to this asap.

Late This Afternoon.
1. I was out of JD and home by 4:00pm. Yayyyy! So, I had time to dig the remaining10' of the 3.5' X 30' Bed. Truthfully, and for several reasons, I only single-dug it (i.e., removed and aerated the first 12+ inches of top soil). All of the dense, red clay beneath the top soil would take a very long time to dig out, and we needed the Bed dug fairly quickly. Also, a single-dig (with organic Mushroom Compost and Peat Moss worked in) will still produce a wonderful growing environment. As the plants grow and develop through the Spring and Summer, their root systems will help to loosen the hard clay beneath. Lastly, I'll dig these Beds at least once a year, and so I'll have a chance to go deeper next time.

2. M laid out soaker-hoses in the Pepper and Squash Beds, and then mulched these Beds with hay straw. These plants were already beginning to wilt in the late afternoon Sun, and the mulch will keep the soil around them wet, and thus prevent wilting. Apparently it's not the heat that wilts them, but the dehydration.

Looking to the Future: "Making Bentwood Trellises, Arbors, Gates and Fences," by Jim Long, just arrived! I'll give this a careful read tomorrow while I'm sitting in the Jury Duty waiting room - thankfully, I do not need to report until 1:30pm tomorrow. I'm hoping to get started on the Garden Fence by the middle of next week, or perhaps even sooner. : )

This Evening.
1. Made made completely vegan (no animal products) Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce. Oh my gods! It was orgasmically good.

2. I had to back on the Advair this morning, as my breathing was especially tight and congested. My diet has been quite clean, and I'm down 114lbs (from 125lbs+) , though I have been eating Whole Wheat Bread. In the past, I saw the remission of all asthma symptoms when I was really 100% on Dr. Day's diet. For now, I'm happy to see the weight loss, which is bringing about an increase in energy, so it's okay if I need the Advair for a bit longer.

3. In the last hour of sunshine I'm off to mow the back sections of lawn.