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Still Scrubbing the Fingernails

Spring may have officially started last week but it’s been going strong down here for a month now. Here’s the old garden update (for those of you uninterested, skip to the end where I speak complimentarily of the movie Enchanted and the luminous Amy Adams):

All the previously sprouted seeds (well the ones who bothered to cooperate) are either in their secondary pots or in their final pots. The tomatoes are trying to give me some yellow-leaf backtalk, sincerely hoping the sodding soil we bought isn’t frickin’ killing them. Though it could be the universe’s insistence on raining right after we’ve watered the bastards.

I am perplexed by the melons… The pineapple melon is doing fine, putting on height and girth, but the tigger melon is just lying there, as if to say, “What now, boss?” Er, grow, ya dumb shit! No idea what its problem is.

The pea plant is completely retarded. It’s six inches tall and already putting out blooms and pea pods! I swear it’s like the Jamie Lynn Spears of the vegetable world.

We bought two trident maples (the only maple that will grown down here *sniff*) about two years ago from a bonsai guy going out of business and they’ve been in the ground getting fat and happy since then. Today we did some major pruning on the only one that is likely to ever be a pot candidate (though HUGE, 3 feet tall) and now have multiple pots out back containing cuttings of various sizes, ALL on hardwood. Let us pray to the rooting gods….omm omm.

The pariser market carrots were sown today, as were the tropea rossa onions, and the rossa savonese onions. Though I’m sure the TORRENTIAL FRICKIN RAIN has exposed all of them by now.

Almost through with all this, the kids discovered what we were up to and now we have pots going of birdhouse gourds (Boychild) and catgrass (Girlchild). *sigh*

Oh, reminds me (don’t ask how), I actually bought a garden journal this year, the main reason being that last year I didn’t record the start date of the carrots, thus had no frickin’ idea when to harvest them. Spent all summer poking dirt back to see if they were “done” yet. I bought this book through Amazon (they offer other states too), and to my utter astonishment, have been scrupulously faithful about keeping it updated. Ignore the homilies and cheesy quotes/illustrations and there’s plenty of room in there to record your garden doings on a weekly basis.

Aside: If you’re not watching the new Food Network show Jamie at Home, you’re missing out. Simple, straightforward, funny, and absolutely mouthwatering dishes.

And now Enchanted…yes, we missed it in the theater, for whatever reason (in two weeks, the reason is always going to be “gots no babysitting” *whinge*). From the opening credits, this movie is a complete love affair with Disney. The animation style, the characterizations, the details pulled from every single Disney movie thusfar, made it an utter delight. This one is a buy-er, folks