A rainy day, thank goodness!

Morning temp: 59F
Afternoon high: 69F
Tonight's projected low: 40F
Humidity: 100% (they say, though it feels wonderful outside and in)
Moon: O (97% Full)

Lots of very cool, clean air came in early this morning behind the thunderstorms, which woke me up when they arrived at 2:30am. This morning was cloudy and rainy, but by noon the sun had come out. There was a SW wind of ~ 8 mph; a cool and sunny and beautiful day! : ]

1. I'm a bit exhausted from the past few days of work, particularly the double-digging and post-setting. So, in order to rest productively I spent my time on inside-the-house-chores, sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, a few windows and a porch.

2. I'll make just two trips to the garden. At 1:30pm I cut lettice, mustard greens and kale for a lunch salad. It was insanely good! Later this afternoon I'll go out to the compost bin. Everyone here at St. Fiacre's Acre sends (nearly) all their fruit and vegetable s left-overs and waste (no meat, dairy, grains or processed foods) to compost; this daily practice has quickly and effortlessly become a household ethic, which I find quite hopeful. We did not, however, begin this process in ernest until just last Fall (2006), and so by Spring (2007) we had only one pile of cured compost (or humus) ready to be worked into the garden beds. But next Spring will be quite different. We will have had a full year to build, water and turn the piles regularly, thus we should have several hundred pounds of organic humus by Spring 2008.

3. But why don't all fruit and vegetable scraps go to the compost bin? The worms need to eat as well. Several years ago, M (in her usual brilliance) discovered the secret of keeping earthworms. As pets, at least compared to dogs and cats, they're somewhat lacking; they do not cuddle especially well, and they're terrible watch-dogs, or watch-worms, as it were (at the same time, they neither bark, hiss nor jump up on house guests, unless the guests move very slowly). They do, however, take fruit and vegetable remains and turn them into worm-tea and worm-castings, both of which are absolutely amazing 100% organic support foods for growing plants, trees and bushes. I LOVE feeding this stuff to our plants; just one "drink" of worm-tea (I mix a half-cup of tea with a gallon of water) and our plants respond the very next day with new growth, dark green color and an aura of health and vitality about them! We keep our earthworms in a round, black plastic bin about 1' diameter and 3' tall. In the Winter, we keep this bin in our kitchen, and it does not smell at all. In the warmer months, we keep the bin out on the back porch, which is covered and fully shaded. It's crucial to keep the worms out of the sun and out of very cold, or very hot, temperatures.