A BUSY TIME AT POSSUM LANE

IT’S A BUSY TIME AT POSSUM LANE

SPRING IS ALWAYS a busy time. Just some years it seems busier than others. This year, it is with huge amounts of gratitude that I report that I am getting some stuff done. I, as in ME! So far this spring, my friends have not been up here bailing me out, doing my chores… one has called twice asking if there was anything I needed him to do – plow the garden, help lay stones on my patio… but I know he has tons to do for himself. How many times have I mentioned the wonderful friends I have? May I do it again????? And I do thank you guys. I go to sleep with a sense of security knowing I have you for neighbors and if I ever need you, you will be there.
Again, my apologies for not being on here… but every spare moment I have has been outside trying to get caught up.
Years ago when I first decided to “build” a patio – or at least do something to keep my ancient Adirondack off the ground (this chair is over a hundred years old – it is one of the few things I brought down here when we had to dispose of the little house in the Poconos…) I basically just plopped a bunch of square cement blocks down… and the number grew, I added another chair… and a Beautyberry Bush… Well, the Beautyberry bush, in spite of being cut back severely, GROWS so much each year, it would come out and hang over the chair. So, now that I am better able to DO THINGS for myself, I decided to redo the patio idea, moving several rows of stones from the southern end to the eastern Buddha-side. Better than that, I decided to actually do it with the ground cloth and sand to make it level, due to all the moles that seem to like this place and have tunneled under the stones.
I actually had to go to Salisbury to buy decent ground cloth. The stuff being sold today is like gauze. No one has the good old heavy stuff of just a few years ago around here. Sam’s had 4 foot rolls of the good stuff. That should last me a few years. I found Roses had 50 lb bags of sand. I figured I could handle 3 bags at a time. Truth is, it was a little too much for me. But, I managed. I figured I would need 9 bags – 3 trips. However, I made a mistake, I told a friend the sand was on sale, and he bought it all, so I was 3 bags short. The good thing is, our local building supply place had sand, bigger bags, so much heavier, but better quality sand – the weight was in the sand not the moisture IN with the sand like the stuff from Roses – and the best part – they deliver – FREE! So I got some 4x4s that I needed that won’t fit in my van, some metal fence posts I need for a friend’s garden, and I did not have to beg someone for the use of their truck, and I got another 200 lbs of sand.
The “patio” is far from perfect, still not as level as I would like it, but no blocks uneven enough to trip over – that’s a plus! And I also picked up a plastic Adirondack style yard chair that is light enough for me to move easily, versus the old one that takes a strong man or a steady wheelbarrow. At any rate, I am as satisfied as I am going to be. The cats love sprawling out in the middle of it and it is comfortable for several people to sit and have a glass of tea.

Probably the other big news is my hair “cut”… a friend is undergoing chemo and a bunch of us promised her that when she lost her hair – we would shave our heads in support of her. Well, I did not SHAVE it, but it is beyond just short! We left a little fuzz in the front because I get a rash from synthetics touching my skin – like the threads they use on the binding on hats – so we left a little buffer for that. The back did get shaved pretty close… fortunately it grows back in fast, so it doesn’t really look as bald as it is. I was shocked at how dark the back is – the hair around the front is white! Go figure! Bald heads are cold!

There is much gardening going on here. Beans are thru the dirt in the Stand Uppity garden. Other things are potted waiting to germinate, or in little pots waiting until we are sure of no frost. The strawberries are in full bloom, the asparagus is slowly popping thru the ground – so far never enough for one meal at a time. Onions are up about 5, 6 inches.
The azaleas have opened this week. In another couple of days they will all be open and magnificent. I wonder how many people will stop and tell me how much they enjoy driving past my little acreage? I think that is so cool. Makes all the work worthwhile. I usually offer them a job weeding. So far, no takers.
The lilacs are beautiful this year. How I love to smell them. I planted one bush outside my bedroom window. It has been a long struggle, but it survives. I do believe it is my favorite fragrance. I told that to one of my tiny visitors one year. She said it was nice, but not as good as chocolate. The Bleeding Hearts made it thru the winter. This is the first year for the white one on its own. I planted it last year. The redbud was a bit pitiful this year, not nearly as full of blooms as in years past. Probably so much wind damage over the winter – the little twigs and tiny branches were all over the ground.
It is grass cutting season – though I must admit, it is more like weed mowing and driving over huge patches of moss. But, we have had an almost dry couple of weeks and so it no longer squishes when I walk in the yard, and the Deere no longer leaves ruts in some places. I am hoping I can get some mulch moved this week and use the tractor, not a wheelbarrow.
If you are in the area, come by and have a sit down on the patio… have a glass of tea… enjoy the quiet serenity of the Buddha and the beauty of the flowers. Soon I will be able to share some veggies with you – Inşallah!