Digging Stuff Up�

2003-11-13

I've started re-doing the front yard, such as it is. About 12 square feet of groundcover and a couple of planters. I've been wanting to do this for a while and now, while I'm home, seems like a good time. My grandmother's funeral sort of spurred me to action. After my grandfather died, she took out almost all of the ornamental plants. Lawn and all. She told one of her neighbors that "If you can't eat it, it goes." While I'd never heard the actual words before, her actions proved the truth of it. She planted fruit trees, berry vines and tomatoes in the front yard. No lawn at all, just bare earth between.

I've decided something along the same lines. If someone or something doesn't benefit from it, it goes. So I cut down and dug up the hedge in one of the planters. Then I put one plant that butterflies love, another that hummingbirds love. With room for annual vegetables, etc. I've done more physical work in the last two weeks than I've done in the last six months. My shoulders will attest to the fact. And the neighbors find the sight of me jumping up and down on a shovel amusing.

In cutting down the hedge I found some insect (I think) eggs laid along a twig. I'd never seen that kind of egg before, so I carefully photographed them and then put them in a container some of the plant material. I wanted to see what hatched. Then I went and worked on the photos. And noticed that all of the eggs were split and broken. Already hatched. Damn! Now I'll never know what was in them.

I have found that tomato cages make wonderful hummingbird perches.

This little girl has staked our garden for her own domain and has been defending it, driving off any intruders. This cage allows her to dine on the purple salvia while seated. She sits on the middle ring and sips from the blossoms. There is a red-headed male that visits. I thought it was her mate, and he may be, she chases him off pretty consistently. She sits on one of the tomato cages at the west end of the yard singing her squeaky, rusty-hinge territorial song. I've tried to get pictures of that, but haven't been able to catch her before she catches me.

I'm going to put more of the same sort of stuff in the other planter, with the macadamia tree, which is now more than five feet tall. Then out goes the ubiquitous groundcover and in goes whatever else I can think of.

I've discovered that even though I have ten times as much time to spend outdoors, that I would still rather be outside and garden or read a book than stay inside and watch a movie. No matter how much time I have, I'd rather spend it outside.

Dad has his first chemo treatment on Monday. Mom said it took a long time, but he didn't get sick afterwards. They include anti-emetics along with the rest of the chemotherapy. They did tell him his hair would thin. He told them it was thin already. Wouldn't leave him much. Mom has been talking to friends and family and hearing stories of others with the same cancer who had treatment that turned out well. It has comforted all of us to hear them. I know that we're not hearing about the treatments that didn't go well; no one is going to tell us that stuff. But knowing there are people out there that have had positive outcomes has helped.

Mom and I talked about China. They haven't told the people he leads the tour for that he's sick. They're not planning to. They still want Dad to lead the tour, even after what happened last time. He still wants to go, if at all possible. Mom doesn't want that hope taken away from him unless it has to be. He's looking forward to it. I know for a fact that something like that can make all of the difference.

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