I just sent out a Journal on Wednesday, a report on our trip to Florida. That was just four days ago, but it seems like a long, long time ago already. Our vacation has taken on that dreamlike quality that comes after all of my adventures. Thursday morning I woke up at my usual time. It was dark. Outside it was dreary and 37°. I got ready for the day. No shorts and short-sleeved shirts now. I put on my thick canvas overalls, my long-sleeved shirt, my thick socks, my hoodie. As it started to grow light outdoors, I looked out on my garden. Parts of the lawn were clear, but there was still snow covering most of the garden and orchard. It began to feel like I had never left, that it was going to be winter forever.
Miriam and Hannah are still gone, so after Stacey left for work that morning, I sat in the still and empty house and felt the usual post vacation gloom congealing in my brain. I had to do something to keep from collapsing into a morbid schlump. I put on some music and made myself busy. The music needed to be upbeat, energetic, and happy, so I picked Big Band. I have a set of records, a Reader's Digest collection called The Great Band Era – ten vinyl discs, that's twenty sides, of great music covering the years 1936 to 1945. It was just what I needed. No matter how cold and gray it was outside, inside the house was warm and bright with Glenn Miller, the Dorsey brothers, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and a host of others.
My first task was tending to laundry, all the things we had with us on our vacation. As I sorted out, folded, and put away all the warm weather clothes, it made me a little sad to think that I wouldn't be wearing them again until June. I turned up the volume on the stereo and moved on.
My next distraction that morning was tending my houseplants. They fared well under Sarah's care during my absence, but they needed a little TLC. Or maybe I was the one that needed it. I watered the ones that needed a little drink and trimmed off some dead leaves here and there. I was pleased to find another of my orchids in bloom. This one, Maxillaria tenuifolia 'Compacta', has small flowers that smell like sweet coconut. That made me happy.
 |
| My Maxillaria tenuifolia 'Compacta'. |
After tending houseplants, I set to work on my seed boxes. I had three seed boxes that were completely full and I needed more room. Rachel sent me two more that arrived the day we left for Florida. I spent the rest of Thursday morning labeling and reorganizing my seed packets. It occurred to me as I was doing that, that I might be a little crazy when it comes to collecting seeds. Like books, music, and plants, I just can't get enough of them. I tell myself that it's for a good cause – a necessity for when civilization falls apart and we'll need all those seeds to survive. Having those boxes full of seeds makes me feel a little more secure. When I finished that, I saw that I now had empty spaces and immediately began to compile a mental list of the seeds I'd like to procure to fill them. Maybe a wee bit crazy?
 |
| My seed boxes. |
It's actually time to start planting trays of the seeds that need a long time to germinate and get established, but before I could do that, I had to clean the woodshed and set up my growing station. I considered doing that on Thursday, but it was cold and rainy and I didn't feel very motivated to spend several hours in the woodshed. It would have to wait for a warmer day.
By noon it had warmed to 44° and the drizzle had stopped, so I went down to the barn to see how things were. Before we left for Florida, something had killed a hen and while we were gone Sarah and Tosh reported that another hen had been killed. We didn't know what was killing them or how they even got inside the coop. They did some reinforcing around the doors to see if that was the problem. When I went down on Thursday, as soon as I opened the coop door I could see more death. There were guinea feathers and the remains of one leg out on the coop floor. And inside the guinea pen there was a guinea hen jammed in the corner missing its head and neck. So whatever this was, it not only found a way into the coop, but also through another wire fence into the guinea enclosure. I did a thorough inspection and saw no way anything could have gotten into the coop. I cleaned up the carcasses and then reset the live trap out by the main coop door. I'm baffled as to who the killer is.
On a happier note, the flowerbed at the front of the house, the first one to be free of snow, has snowdrops bravely blooming.
Friday morning, I went down to the barn at first light to check the live trap. It was sprung and there was a very large rat in it. I dispatched it and reset the trap. I don't think it was a rat that did all that killing. While I was down there, I took a walk along the beaver pond. I haven't been taking my usual morning walks all winter. It's time to start doing that again. I saw two beavers swimming around. It had rained hard through Thursday night and the creeks were running high and water was flowing over the beaver dam. On my way back to the house, I took the long route along the big garden and the edge of the orchard. The rain had washed away a lot of the snow. I thought that if the weather cleared a little, I would try to work in the orchard later in the day.
 |
| Friday morning. |
The Fosters took their turn at escaping to Florida. They left Friday morning. We are watching their dog, Maverick, and taking care of their chickens while they are away. The Shilligs are also in Florida right now and Sarah and Tosh will meet up with them while they are there. So Maverick arrived at 8:00 A.M. Friday morning. That meant I'll have to factor in taking care of him into everything I do throughout the day. Luckily, he's pretty easy to take care of. He naps most of the day, saving his energy for when Stacey comes home. He likes her more than he does me. She fusses over him more than I do.
By 2:00 the sky had cleared a little and it had warmed to 62° so I went out to work in the orchard. I spent two hours among the apple trees, pruning a bit, gathering up the cut branches from previous pruning. It felt good to work outdoors. It was even warm enough for me to shed my hoodie. As I was working, I heard bluebirds singing. I stopped to watch and saw two male bluebirds in the big Tompkins apple tree. I was thrilled. So now we've seen red-winged blackbirds and bluebirds, and this morning I saw our first robin – good signs that spring will soon be here.
When I went down to do the afternoon chores, I decided it was time to let the flock out into their yard again. They'd been cooped in for months and their yard was free of snow now. I plugged in the automatic door and as soon as it went up, all the chickens rushed out. They seemed very happy to be out in the sunshine again. Later that night, I went down to make sure the door had closed. It had. I took a look inside the coop and shined my light around. I saw eight or nine rats scurry into holes. I put a poison block down each hole and covered them over. We go through a cycle with rats in the barn. They move in, they flourish, I start killing them, they go away, and after a while they come back again. Round and round we go.
Saturday morning I went down to check my trap. It was empty. The chickens were already out in their yard. My two roosters were having a crowing competition. They all seemed very happy. We had to take Maverick out for some exercise, so while he ran around, Stacey and I finished cleaning up the pruned branches in the orchard. Just as we finished, it started to rain. We ran errands after that, a trip to the Amish bulk food store, the Dollar General, the dairy, and then up to Wellsville to the library and the grocery store.
When we got home, the weather had cleared and it was an amazing 67°! I decided to tackle the woodshed. This was not a thorough cleaning, just enough to get my seed tray area set up. The deep cleaning will have to wait until later in the spring. Next, I did the chores and then went to work in the orchard. The snow had melted except for the places where the drifts were deepest, so most of the orchard was finally clear. Now that the snow is gone, all the winter vole activity is revealed. They make tunnels through the grass under the snow. They do a lot of damage. I brought out the ladder and began pruning higher in the trees. I'd finished five of the twenty trees that needed work when a thunderstorm blew in. We don't usually get thunderstorms in March. It wasn't severe, just a lot of rumbling and rain. That was the end of work for the day.
 |
| Setting up seed trays. |
 |
| Vole damage in the orchard. |
 |
| Pruning (while Maverick romps). |
 |
| Thunderstorm coming. |
We set the clocks to Daylight Saving Time last night. Now my body clock will be out of whack for a few days. It wanted me to sleep to 6:30 this morning, but Maverick needed to go out at 5:00, which my body thought was actually 4:00, and after that, I couldn't go back to sleep. I just laid in bed and pondered on the things I want to accomplish over the next few days. The weather looks like it will be pleasant. I'm hoping to get a lot done. But today is the Sabbath and all that work will have to wait.
Church was good today. Our Stake President made a surprise visit and we had a nice visit with him. I noticed, as I was sitting up front, that everyone was sitting on the right side of the room except for three people. All the left side people, except for Stacey and the two Haineys, were gone, most of them members of my family. It made the room seem very lopsided. Now we are home. Lunch is done. My body is telling me it wants to make up for that lost hour of sleep with a nice nap. But it is beautiful outside, 54° and bright sunshine, and I hate to spend such a lovely afternoon unconscious. If my nap is short, maybe we can take a walk up the road later. Maverick would love that. I would too.
