rswyan
Super Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2004
- Messages
- 9,847
- Location
- Northeast Ohio
- Tractor
- Kubota B2910, Cub Cadet Pro Z 154S, Simplicity 18 CFC, Cub Cadet 782
53F and raining @ 09:30, only expected to reach 59F for the high today with rain forecast all day. LWS says 0.69" of precip since midnight.
So looks like it will be pretty much an inside day today.
Yesterday's plans got shot to hell as they often do. I did manage to get three peat pot trays of catnip, catmint, and coleus planted. When I got to the lavender seeds which had been cold-stratifying in the refrigerator I found that a high percentage of them had actually sprouted. Not exactly sure why that happened - could have been that I got the paper towel they were wrapped in too wet or maybe due to inconsistent temps in the 'frig (I did put them on the top shelf because our refrigerator has an issue with sometimes freezing things that are on the lower shelves)
So that precipitated a several hour process of carefully trying to remove the sprouts - which were tiny (less than an inch long) - from the paper towel (which their roots were adhered to) using a razor knife and transplanting them into peat pots, one sprout into each hole in a pot. Ended up doing 4 pots or 40 sprouts. Since I had no real confidence that any of them would survive, I also put 4 un-sprouted seeds into each hole.
This required a good bit of manual dexterity and fine motor skills which I am happy to report I apparently still possess ...
The real good news this morning is that, thus far, none of the sprouts have curled up and died. They are going to require close monitoring though, to ensure they don't dry out.
The Woman was mostly busy yesterday making up a batch of her chicken paprikash with dumplings, although She did spend some time on the phone with friends and relatives who called with Birthday wishes.
She had to run out to the store for some ingredients and when She returned and found me still working on the lavender transplanting, She commented that She figured that I would be out mowing.
That caused me to realize that I had never finished up mowing the front lawn the other day and with rain due in, I figured I better get on it ... so I spent the rest of the afternoon mowing (and re-mowing) the entire front and got it all done.
With two days of rain followed by a number of days of really warm weather, the grass is sure to be growing like mad.
While doing that I discovered that: 1. there are no occupants in Nest Box No. 1, the tree swallows in Nest Box No. 3 have apparently abandoned their efforts there and moved on, but in Nest Box No. 2 Momma bluebird is apparently sitting on eggs (she didn't flee when I opened the door to check)
Since it has been (and will be) cool and overcast, I put out 30 live mealworms in the feeder out front before I came in.
Thankfully, there's been no real evidence of house sparrows nesting in any of the boxes, although I do see them around the yard at times, mostly out by the hopper feeder.
I also got the air cleaner prefilter pulled off the Cub before I knocked off outside, need to wash that this morning.
Hawthorn and dogwood trees now starting to bloom.
As of yesterday morning the count on marigolds sprouting was 43 in the original tray and 38 in the second.
The Woman sends her thanks for the Birthday well wishes.
Hope everyone has/is having a great Friday ...
So looks like it will be pretty much an inside day today.
Yesterday's plans got shot to hell as they often do. I did manage to get three peat pot trays of catnip, catmint, and coleus planted. When I got to the lavender seeds which had been cold-stratifying in the refrigerator I found that a high percentage of them had actually sprouted. Not exactly sure why that happened - could have been that I got the paper towel they were wrapped in too wet or maybe due to inconsistent temps in the 'frig (I did put them on the top shelf because our refrigerator has an issue with sometimes freezing things that are on the lower shelves)
So that precipitated a several hour process of carefully trying to remove the sprouts - which were tiny (less than an inch long) - from the paper towel (which their roots were adhered to) using a razor knife and transplanting them into peat pots, one sprout into each hole in a pot. Ended up doing 4 pots or 40 sprouts. Since I had no real confidence that any of them would survive, I also put 4 un-sprouted seeds into each hole.
This required a good bit of manual dexterity and fine motor skills which I am happy to report I apparently still possess ...
The real good news this morning is that, thus far, none of the sprouts have curled up and died. They are going to require close monitoring though, to ensure they don't dry out.
The Woman was mostly busy yesterday making up a batch of her chicken paprikash with dumplings, although She did spend some time on the phone with friends and relatives who called with Birthday wishes.
She had to run out to the store for some ingredients and when She returned and found me still working on the lavender transplanting, She commented that She figured that I would be out mowing.
That caused me to realize that I had never finished up mowing the front lawn the other day and with rain due in, I figured I better get on it ... so I spent the rest of the afternoon mowing (and re-mowing) the entire front and got it all done.
With two days of rain followed by a number of days of really warm weather, the grass is sure to be growing like mad.
While doing that I discovered that: 1. there are no occupants in Nest Box No. 1, the tree swallows in Nest Box No. 3 have apparently abandoned their efforts there and moved on, but in Nest Box No. 2 Momma bluebird is apparently sitting on eggs (she didn't flee when I opened the door to check)
Since it has been (and will be) cool and overcast, I put out 30 live mealworms in the feeder out front before I came in.
Thankfully, there's been no real evidence of house sparrows nesting in any of the boxes, although I do see them around the yard at times, mostly out by the hopper feeder.
I also got the air cleaner prefilter pulled off the Cub before I knocked off outside, need to wash that this morning.
Hawthorn and dogwood trees now starting to bloom.
As of yesterday morning the count on marigolds sprouting was 43 in the original tray and 38 in the second.
The Woman sends her thanks for the Birthday well wishes.
Hope everyone has/is having a great Friday ...
