To The Surbiton Manor Born

So it is the end of the three day Memorial Day weekend, and I have barely sat down since Friday. In fact, the frenzy began last week when the long awaited (ordered in January) pollinator garden from Prairie Moon Nurseries arrived. Long have we wanted to put in a garden of native flowers and plants. Finally pulled the trigger last winter. The thing is, I had not prepared the bed where we wanted to put these between the apple trees. The wind was howling. It was cold. It was threatening rain. I spent a LOT of time ripping up creeping Charlie and dandelions. Wednesday, the plants went in. In the same cold wind.  The good news is that the weather changed Saturday. I was able to deal with a project that has sat there taunting me for a long time.  The situation was this: the patio outside my office window was covered with piles of wood chips from splitting wood all winter long. While this stuff makes excellent mulch (see above - no weird colors or dyes, just plain, natural wood) the...

I hate the spring. Not all of it, of course. But the bit I really hate is the wind and the cold happening when the sun is shining so brightly and things are greening up.  For instance, last Saturday I ran a half marathon in Eau Claire (a lovely time, and a nice town, decent performance - for me - of 2:09:33). I used sunscreen. I saw a lot of people who didn't turning pink. It was 50's at the start, and it warmed into the '60's. Perfect event weather, in my opinion.  After the race and after a nap, we went for a walk around town and in a park. The wind had picked up to gale force, so it was impossible to read a book outside.  We endured mornings in the '30's this past week. Jackets. And the never ending firewood. It's necessary to have a fire every night. Still. In theory, this changes next week. I will believe it when I see it. I do love it every year when the crab apple tree outside of our bedroom window blossoms. But something is off this year. Usually, it...