Trellis-ed

I do not have a grip on how long it'll take me to do things, especially things I'm not used to doing.  This morning I walked to the bank to cash a check (the lawn mowing guy's coming tomorrow [yes, on Mother's Day; it's been rainy and he's behind] so I needed cash to pay him, then I planned to spend the next hour or so cutting the 2 x 4s for the straw bale trellises, getting them mounted and wired in place, then stringing the wires between the bales and the boards as per the instructions.  I worked on getting the boards cut to length (measure twice, cut once), the slots in the ends to fit over the T-stakes, and holes drilled for the wires that hold the boards in place.  That took me about an hour and a half, what with figuring out how to cut the slot on the chop/miter saw without leaving fingers on the workshop floor, and having the drill press crap out after 2 of the 6 holes so I had to use a hand drill (battery operated, not a brace and bit) to finish the holes.  On the 6th one I learned (again) that having accidentally pushed the Reverse button means that you don't make a hole in the wood, you make a dent, but I was smart enough to check that the drill was in Forward rather than Reverse before I got all frustrated and stomped around swearing for a while before I figured it out.  I carried the boards, tools, and wire upstairs and out onto the patio, broke for lunch, then tackled mounting the boards and doing all the wire stringing.  Naturally I ran out of wire about 2/3 of the way so I had to make a quick trip to Home Depot for more wire but by 4:30 my sore hands (twisting wire even with a pliers is hard work, especially when you do it over your head), straw-poked feet, and tired back had everything mounted, the tools put away, and I was headed for the shower I thought I'd be taking by 2 o'clock at the very latest.  But the bales are conditioning, the stakes and trellises are up, and as soon as it stops being so damned cold I'll go buy plants and get things growing.  Ta-da!



We finished the Cauliflower Puree/Cheese Grits & BBQ Rotisserie Chicken for supper (god, that stuff is good) and spent the meal discussing whether we have enough cauliflower left for another batch or if I have to go to the grocery for more so we can make it again SOON.  This cardinal came for supper too but we didn't share.  It seemed happy with safflower seeds. 


After supper I sat down with my feet up and finished crocheting the carrot.  It wasn't until I was halfway though that I realized that I was making it from the top to the bottom so last night's effort might have been all right but I have to confess I like it made with the smaller hook and I eliminated some of the rounds so that it's not a giant carrot, it's more kids' kitchen size, about 6" long from leaves to tip.    Next I want to make a cob of corn from the same series of patterns; it has half of the husks on it and I have the perfect yellow & white cotton yarn for the corn on the cob.  I am highly motivated to make more play food as OJ plays with the yarn food much more than the wooden food (Melissa & Doug) or the plastic food from Walmart & Dollar Tree.  Plus it's darned fun to make.

In preparation for the lawn guy tomorrow I took the umbrella clothesline pole out of the hole in the yard and leaned it in the corner by the shed where it promptly dropped 6" into the rat hole.  I thought the RAT was living under the shed.  Turns out his/her front door was in the ground about 18" from the shed.  One of these days real soon I have to move all of the poles and planters that clutter up that space, shovel the dirt it excavated back into place, and dig in some chicken wire or boards to keep the darned thing out of there next fall.


Our drifts of volunteer violets will disappear with the lawn mowing.  I know they're weeds, kinda, since they're spread by birds but I love seeing them in the spring and they remind me of my mother-in-law Viola.  Happy Spring, Mother Malcolm!








The first fern frond has started to unfurl and I spied the very beginning of a lily of the valley.  See that little tiny stalk of green beads?  Pretty soon it will turn into a green stem of beautiful little white bells that smell like heaven, or at least my Grandpa Stephan's front yard at Eastertime.




May 12--Giovanni Giacometti, Annetta and Alberto.  The woman and the baby, mother and son, looked nothing like each other.  Her hair was dark brown that shone auburn in the sunlight.  The baby's hair was golden with hints of red.  Her eyes were deep chocolate brown wells; his were the blue of cornflowers.  It was not until you noticed their mouths that you were convinced that the two were related.  Their mouths were exactly alike right down to the little sardonic quirk on the left side.  On the woman it lent an appealing air of humor.  On the child, on one so young, it made people who saw him make the sign against the evil eye.

The only thing I wore for Me Made May today was dirt and sawdust.  I'll try to do better tomorrow.  Didn't do any laundry today.  I was just too tired from getting the trellises made--besides clean underwear is overrated.  I'll do laundry next week.  Isn't Monday the traditional laundry day?  (I suddenly feel ancient.)
--Barbara