Sunday, May 07, 2006

My Weekend Outdoors

Well, today's post is not going to be nearly as exciting as the one from Friday. My life is always exciting, it just doesn't always lend itself to the written word as well as Friday's post. I only have a few minutes, but I'd like to share the happenings of my weekend with you.

Yesterday and today, I spent the majority of my time gardening. The little spot beneath my picture window would be wicked nice for a garden except there are no gutters on the front of the house and that area gets the full brunt of the drainage when it rains. I did however, pick up some plants to put in there, and I'll see what I can do to keep it from washing away. I think once the plants get established, it'll be fine.

This was one of the ground cover plants I bought. I think this one is thyme, which I hate to pay for since the yard used to be overrun with the stuff. It smells awesome and I hope it grows a little better than the lawn thyme did. This one seems to be more plant-like than ground-hugging. Only time will tell.

Here's a shot of one of the peonies I planted. It should grow to 3-4 feet, but for now it's less than a foot. It's not the best shot, but I had my slippers on and didn't want to walk in the garden. Once I explain, you'll understand.

These guys here are over on the right side of the path, between a couple of trees. I had been neglecting this area as well, and a little splash of green should make the walkway a little more inviting.

Lastly, this is one of the hostas I planted to the left of the walkway. It sits right next to the side porch and looked sweet in the afternoon sun. I couldn't help but to try the macro setting on the camera. I thought it was a pretty cool shot.







As promised, I'll tell you why I didn't want to walk in the garden. I went to Home Depot yesterday in search of plants. I tried a nursery, but they really didn't have what I wanted, so I had to go to the Box Store. I hate to buy plants from them, but I did it anyway. Last year, I had cut down a number of trees in the front of the house and in an effort to return the soil to something useful, I mixed it with composted manure (which hardly smells) and peat moss. It did such a good job that I can't keep the weeds at bay! When I thought about planting underneath the picture window, I figured that soil could also use a little rejuvenating so I picked up some manure and mixed it in.

This manure seemed to be less composted than the stuff I used last year. In fact, it stunk to all hell. I did my damndest to keep it off my hands, but I think it just finds its way into your nostrils and everything smells like cow deuce. When I was taking pictures, I thought it would be best not to step in the soil/deuce concoction wearing my slippers. Hence the crummy shot of the peony.

In other news, I put a new blade on my lawnmower. I could have sharpened the old one again, but by the way the lawnmower shook I figured it might be a little out of balance. Blades are cheap enough, so I got a new one. This one has some extra fancy contours/blades to it that help with the mulching. As it turned out, the old one was NOT a mulching blade, the grass just didn't have anywhere to go since there was no chute on the mower and it acted like a mulcher. With the new blade, you can actually hear the grass being cut. It's hard to explain, but it's really quite satisfying for those of me who like to mow the lawn.

I went for a run Saturday morning, and it was really quite nice. We were up in Pittsfield State Forest again and it was overcast and slightly drizzly. Towards the end of the run, we were passing a farm and it just felt like a scene out of a movie. We were on a dirt road which intersected with another dirt road. There was a big bright green field on either side of us, woods ahead of and (way) behind us, and the farmhouse, barn and silo off to the left. I wanted to be able to see the group from a distance for that real cinematic effect, but alas I was part of the group so I had to just use my imagination. You'll have to take my word for it, it was one of those days that makes me appreciate living in the Berkshires (did I just say that?).

There was also a bike race yesterday that I wanted to catch, but it just didn't fit into the schedule. Apparently it's a big deal and some big names in cycling showed up. I don't follow cycling, so the names didn't mean anything to me, but from what I understand it's exhiliarating to watch as they speed down the mountain. Damn, should have gone!

Well, my laundry is done and I think I need to go get an ice cream. I'll holler at y'all later.

Over and out,
Old Coot

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"Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him.' and I just took off." -Pre