Good morning, ack! ack! ack! Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.
We had a bit of a cool down last week here in Denver. On Tuesday, the coldest day, the official high was 37° and the low was 11°; we got a few spits of snow, but nothing like the amounts we need. It is dry, dry, dry.
We'll be bouncing back into the 60s and 70s for the next few days — with, of course, wind. Sigh.... Why can we not get a warm up without higher temperatures blowing in?
I did get the rest of the spring bulbs in the ground last Sunday — and planted the California and Shirley poppy seedlings. Poppies really don't like being started inside but, as the Mister had spread Preen all over to hell and back, I figured if I was to ensure poppies I had to start them inside.
We're a mere week away from our New York vacation, and plans are falling apart even before we leave. Another huge sigh....
Because I knew we would need to have someone to take care of my seedlings and keep the pooties company, before I bought our plane tickets; before we told Da Boys about going to New York; I had checked with the Polish Princess's young adult son if he would be available for house sitting that week. I was assured that his spring break (when he's going to California), and Da Boys' spring break, were not in the same week and he would be able to stay here at Casa de Frankenoid.
On Thursday I e-mailed him to make the final arrangements — settling how much we'd pay him, getting him a house key, passing on necessary phone numbers and the like. And received the news that — oops! — he'd read the calendar wrong and would be in California the week we'll be in New York.
So here I am with tomato and eggplant seedlings indoors and 4 flats of snap pea seedlings on the front porch which will need watering, and three pooties that will need some companionship... and no house sitter. We're trying to find a replacement (have a couple of possibles) or, perhaps, we can get the pre-teen girl down the street to come up twice a day to water the plants, feed the cats, and spend some time giving Caligula the attention he demands (if the family down the street is not planning on taking a vacation because, you know, it's fucking spring break!). As a last resort, the Mister has volunteered to stay home while I take Da Boys — not my favored option.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!
Things would be a little easier without the peas on the porch — perhaps I can get the veggie patch tilled, the soaker hoses laid and the peas in the ground, so it would be one less thing to worry about. But, I have to get the roman chamomile seedlings in the back lawn patch, and I also need to get the house cleaned up (just in case we get a house sitter; I really don't want to leave them with the gawdawful mess that currently exists), do any last-minute shopping (because there always seems to be something one needs before going on a trip); and I may end up in the office again this weekend, as the Bossman is prepping for a huge arbitration hearing that starts on Monday. And, of course, my Wednesday off is fucked up because Younger Son's IEP meeting is scheduled.
Oh, and my 50th birthday is Tuesday: Happy St. Patrick's Day!
That's what's happening here. What's going in your gardens?