Planting

Man, I'm old. By the time I got home with the supplies this morning, I was hurting. Now? I'm scaling back dinner plans because I'm just too tired to whip up the garlic confit I was gonna use to stuff the (half thawed) pork loin.

But things got accomplished. Sort of. Projects were moved further along, at least.

Take the ongoing redesign of the compost bin. I managed to build it out of landscape timbers K had lying around the place, and fenced it off from the coons and possums and occasional stray dog with chicken wire and aluminum tubing (yes, it was ghetto, but it was FREE).

But the coons have developed quite a vertical leap, and have mashed down the wire in a couple of places to make their escape. Twas more of a mess than when I started...til today.

Today, off to the Big Box Store for tposts and more wire. And to my surprise: PLASTIC "poultry netting." In essence, smaller "gauge" construction fence, much easier to work with. PURCHASE!

Get home, tear down and roll up the existing fence...drive my posts (with the new post driver, thank you very much)...stretch the fence nice and straight...oh god, so good...so professional...

Four feet short. I have an open side, so now my arrow-straight and Berlin Wall-high compost fence is even less effective than the mashed down, floppy and pokey chicken wire and aluminum stick contraption I had this morning. About the only critter this fence is going to fool is Spot the Cat, who sometimes gives the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Tra'al a run for its money.

So, mostly done.

OTOH, all the plants I own are in the ground, finally. I've decided that vegetables and fruit plants will grow in the ground, and herbs will grow in pots. I've had pretty good success overwintering my oregano and thyme, not to mention the three year old bird pepper plant...but that's mostly due to judicious pullings-into-garages during the cold snaps that pass for winter down here.

And there are purple petunias in the window box. THAT project's done, finally.