[gardeners] Saturday in the garden
Shirley,George (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 10 Feb 2001 20:46:52 -0600
Even though it was below 40F this morning I do believe spring be springing.
Sleepy is shedding her winter coat in big piles, the fruit trees are budding
out, the broccoli is trying to bolt, and there are robins in the yard.
Harvested another nasty head of cauliflower today along with a bucket of
broccoli florets and one lone kohlrabi. the Florence fennel is bulbing nicely
and I am about ready to try to eat some of it. Anyone got any favorite bulbing
fennel recipes? The carrots are growing nicely and we are harvesting (thinning)
a few every day for snacking for the three of us. Yes, Sleepy Dawg do like fresh
carrots, almost as much as she likes cooked carrots. She even snacked on a
little cauliflower today along with her bit of raw broccoli that she really
likes.
Well, Miz Anne sprained her left ankle pretty bad this morning and being of
stalwart Germanic descent just walked on it until it got so bad she couldn't
walk. That's when she decided to tell me she had fallen off the step stool in
her closet. I think the only reason she told me about it was the fact that I
asked why she had a heat pad on her calf. When I finally convinced her to let me
look at it it wasn't her calf, it was an ankle swollen to twice its normal size
and turning blue. Taking the heat pad away from her I immediately started her on
ice therapy which is continuing at this time. She is also on 500 mg naproxen
sodium twice a day for pain and fever, courtesy of my good friend who is a
doctor. The swelling and blueness have gone down considerably but she still
can't walk on it. Bed rest for tomorrow along with ice and naproxen should do it
though. I think I'm going to toss that dinky little stool she has in there into
the trash when she's not looking. Hmmph! She sure can make me mad sometimes when
she trys to hide injuries so I won't worry. Reckon I'll keep her another 40
years though since I'm used to her.
If she grunts or does anything out of the ordinary now though Nurse Sleepy comes
running to get me and wants me to go look at the Momma. Sleepy is lying beside
her on the couch right now tending to her needs by washing her foot whenever she
can reach it.
I've got rats in the greenhouse again so put the warfarin bait out again today.
Up high where nothing else can reach it. The blasted things are tunneling under
the greenhouse wall from the compost heap and dragging compost into the
greenhouse to make a big nest. While I appreciate the help in getting the
compost into the greenhouse for future use I don't like the rats so they've got
to go. Anyone got a boa constrictor that needs feeding?
Speaking of the greenhouse, everything in there is looking so good now. The
bougainvillea is beautiful as are the impatiens. The root bound avocado Miz Anne
has had for several years seems to have grown three or four inches and the bay
tree has grown at least a foot. I made some pesto today from the basil we had
growing in a pot. It was starting to go to flower so we ate it. I'm having a
senior moment as to the name of those other plants that are blooming but
regardless they are nice. Plants that grow on trees but aren't orchids. Sheesh!
If I hadn't tried to remember it it would have just naturally flowed onto the
screen. The terrestrial orchid has a big bloomstalk with about 10 buds on it and
we're anxious to see what it looks like as this is our first bloom on that
plant. The other orchids are resting in the warmth of our living room awaiting
true spring, we have a south facing patio door there.
Other than sprains and strains we are doing well and life is still good.
George