A Seedy Week and a New App
The first bunch of seeds I started in the storeroom are all out in the little greenhouse now. Everyday I have to keep an eye on the sun, clouds, wind, the temperature inside the greenhouse and the temperature outside. It’s a matter of keeping it from getting too hot so the plants dry up and die or too cold so they freeze. Should the door be open a crack, totally, not at all. Should the heat be on in the pads under the seedlings or not; should the heater be on [usually only at night]. I’m waiting for the peppers I started lastFriday to pop. They’ll go in the window upstairs. Then I can start paste tomatoes and eggplants. They also go into the bay window, the eggplants for six weeks or more, the tomatoes just till they have a couple of true leaves. Then they go to the greenhouse.Tomorrow I’ll start the paste tomatos, cherry tomatoes and Italian and Oriental eggplants.
The cilantro is driving me crazy. It hasn’t germinated. I’m wondering if something is wrong with these seeds.
Monday I sent emails letters to the poets who’ll be in my June workshop detailing what they need to do by May first: send the rest of the fee and fifteen poems. What to bring to the workshop the first day. That sort of thing.
Lately I’d not been sleeping as much or as soundly as I like. Then Woody showed me an app that produces all sorts of restful sounds and white noises. I have been using it. I like babbling brook but have removed the birds, as that high pitched sound tends to wake me. I really like the brook sounds and ocean waves. It gets me back to sleep after I wake two or three times a night.
I’m reading the new Willliam Gibson novel, AGENCY; I always find him interesting. Also Maria Gillan’s WHAT BLOOMS IN WINTER. I like her poetry a great deal, its earthiness, directness, richness. I’ve been reading the new issue of World Archeology. I also subscribe to the American ARCHEOLOGY. Such a difference in tone. The American journal is all fact, scientific, nothing extraneous. The British publication obviously comes from a tradition of upperclass archeologists, amateurs although everyone who contributes to it now and writes the articles is a real archeologist, professional. But they write more personally: I met Joe X many years ago when we were both digging Etruscan tombs under the aegis of Dr Hammerstone. My wife and I had dinner with him….etc. the difference amuses me. I enjoy reading about archeology; it has always fascinated me.
I returned from the “luxury” inn in New Hampshire with a very painful back. I’ve seen Dr. Libby, an OD, twice in the past ten days and he has helped a lot. I’m back to doing exercises again, what I can do with my bum ankle. Even returning to a few free weights.
We’re supposed to get snow tonight. We’ll see. That would be a novel experience this winter, here at least. We had a coating once that vanished quickly, nothing more so far. The experts say we’ll get a couple of inches tonight and tomorrow morning along with high winds. We’re supposed to have company for dinner tomorrow, but if the power goes out in the high winds, we’ll have to call it off. It’s quiet this morning, but the winds are predicted to get quite gusty and to cause power outages on the Cape and islands.
March is usually windy here, sometimes too much so.
Otherwise, nature thinks spring has arrived. Many daffodils are up, scilla, crocuses. The mourning doves are into their mating cycle. Squirrels are active as are racoons. Suddenly we have to take the bird feeders inside at night so they don’t run off with them. I love spring, even though it means a lot more work. Tonight, some kind of seafood, depending on what Woody finds looking good – salmon or scallops or whatever. I have to stop working to check the temperature in the greenhouse every couple of hours, maybe go outside to open the door or close it, or leave it open a crack; turn on or off the heating pads under seedlings. I haven’t started working on the perennial beds yet, but should get started this coming week. We let the fallen leaves stay on the beds for protection all winter. Now it’s time to clear the beds.