Strange clouds -- low, heavy-looking, yet raggedy around the edges like mares-tails, and apt to refract sunlight from odd corners -- have been scudding through for weeks. Risa doesn't know quite what to make of them. She's seen others complain online about these clouds too -- in California, Washington, and British Columbia. The stuff of conspiracy theory, apparently.
Meanwhile, it has rained little enough that she's ready to begin watering. Here's the reason for those fifty-foot beds: a fifty-foot sprinkler hose.
Beloved is transplanting today, so Risa's been assigned to remove all the volunteer potatoes from a couple of designated beds, which will specialize in runner bean, squash, and cucumbers. There are already new potatoes under such vines, so Risa got out her ho-mi and grabbled for them -- the proper word for seeking out new potatoes. This was more of a seek-and-destroy than true grabbling, but just as fun. Beloved watched the new tool at work from the corner of her eye, and later, when taking a switchel break, said:
"I, uh, I want one of those."
I planted spuds today. I use a hori-hori knife, a Japanese tool (available from Lee Valley). I love it - if I only had two tools outside, one would be my hori-hori, the other would be my mattock. A sharp half-moon hoe is the third option (makes weeding paths and between rows nice and easy) but I can do the same thing with the sharp edge of the hori-hori.
ReplyDeleteDiscovered today that said sharp edge remains sharp a very long time - sliced my thumb on it!
No, no, that's not allowed. Thumb-sized potatoes, that's one thing, thumb quite another!
ReplyDeleteDang, that's quite a harvest of volunteers! Very nice, even better that you get two years' worth of harvests from one year's plantings.
ReplyDeleteComplain about clouds?
ReplyDeleteOr you could use science to learn how these clouds are formed: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/06/iridescent-clouds.html
By "complain" I'm saying there has been a lot of informal commentary: "did you see that weird cloud today?" They have been drifting in off the Pacific for a couple of months, off and on. I don't remember ever having seen one (No doubt, but that's my memory, such as it is) and suddenly they are a regular feature. So, of course, I wonder if something has changed a bit up there.
ReplyDeleteYum! The garden looks beautiful, like a labor of love!
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely pic of potatoes in the basket and greens!
ReplyDelete@A, I like it too!
ReplyDelete@T, honored to hear that.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful basket of volunteers. I love volunteers. Always a welcome bonus.
ReplyDeleteMmh-hmm!
ReplyDelete