Dreaming of Spring Gardening in the Middle of a Wisconsin winter part 2

[ShrekDawg]

Hello

What’s up

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What’s up

The water table and the temperature.

 

[ShrekDawg]

The water table and the temperature.

Hahahaha

 

[Callender Girl]

I have returned from across the pond! But, like you, Lisa, I caught some nasty bug. After we got home, we learned that one of our group tested positive for COVID. I'm hoping this is just a run of the mill virus.

Initially, the symptom was motion sickness, which isn't unusual for me. When we got off the bus to tour the Roman Baths, I was seriously nauseated. English museum people are very kind and a bit over the top with their concern. I was escorted to a "calming room" to rest. Later, I sat on a bench on the plaza until I kind of fell over and was lying down, when one of my group came over and said, "Sit up. You look like a homeless person."

Overall, the trip was great. We toured some gardens and homesteads, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and Westminster Abbey and visited Stonehenge. Got to visit Charles Dowding's Homeacres property. I've been a fan since I first bought one of his books. Now, I own three more

I got home just about dark last night, so I haven't looked at the garden yet, but pet sitter Jennifer kept all the critters alive and gathered more than 100 chicken eggs, along with duck and goose eggs.

I am looking forward to getting my internal clock reset. I've been up since midnight!

And, Jim, I've also wondered what became of Anjanette.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Got another 1/2 inch of rain last night. More storms tonight. Lawn is getting long and waterlogged. Nice I don't need to water anything. Too warm. Hiding in the house for the weekend.

 

[jvls1942]

I agree, too warm for me too. but I go outside for short periods.
Barb , and Lisa, I hope you get over your sniffles and coughs quickly. Annie is coughing a little, too.
I got the tiller running. only now I have to hook up some sort of throttle control.
today we are going to an auction nearby. Annie's shirttail cousin is the auctioneer. he is well up into his 80's.
raining right now, 73F at 7:30 am.
my tomatoes are loving their daily drink.
my hose developed a foot long gash in it. Annie swears she did not hit it with the lawn mower.
with my objection, she went and bought a 50ft hose like you see on tv that shrinks when you shut the water off, .
will see how long it lasts.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have one shrink hose that has lasted a few seasons now, and another pair that lasted a few days to weeks. I guess it's hit and miss on whether they last or not. Enjoy your auction Jim. My husband likes them too. Just never know what you will find.

 

[jvls1942]

we didn't stay at the auction very long. just wanted to get an idea of how much junk was going for.
lots of $1.oo items. they always sell the junk first . if they sold the good stuff, nobody would stay until the end. had a bad hamburger and a good lemonade
picked up a free microwave from DD Barby. ours works only if the first number punched is 5, it is weird. it sharpens our math skills.
15 seconds equals 55 minus 15 equals 40/

 

[Callender Girl]

If I had to do math in order to use a microwave, I would be sunk. It would be easier to eat the food raw or frozen solid.

I am trying to figure out if I'm feeling the way I do because of jet lag, the bug I picked up, this ridiculously hot weather, or a combination of all three. I can't quite get back into my old routine, and my brain is foggier than usual.

My top priority is keeping all the critters hydrated during this wretched heat wave. The poultry have been enjoying supplements to their water and lots of tasty (OK, I've sneaked a couple of slices for myself!) chilled watermelon.

My pet sitter isn't a gardener; she kept the herbs and flowers on the deck watered but forgot the veg garden. Aside from some wilted lettuces that perked up with a good drink yesterday and all the spinach, which bolted, stuff looks pretty good. I need to weed this morning before it gets monstrously hot. Or not.

The basic structure of the house, along with some well-positioned, mature trees means I don't feel the need for AC most years. But, yesterday afternoon, I unburied a portable air conditioner that has been lost under tons of holiday decorations in a closet for years.

Thank goodness, it still works. Me, the two dogs and Goo, the cat, were able to sleep fairly comfortably in the living room last night.

Hope everyone is able to cope with the heat.

 

[jvls1942]

Barb, let's call the escessive heat your problem
I braved the heat and decided that I would get some sort of throttle control rigged up for the tiller,
I put on my floppy wide brimmed hat and sat on a lawn chair and tried to jury rig a throttle cable.
couldn't make it work,. So I decided to try hooking up the original linkage rod. which meant taking the gas tank off, you never saw so many small springs going to destinations unknown. i located the hole that the rod came out of,. then I wondered if taking off the linkage arm would cause a problem if I reinstalled it in the wrong position. finally I thought, hey, the rod came out easily, maybe I can force it back in ,. yes, I could.
but I then had to remove the carburetor in order to get the rod into the hole. that worked, but now I have 2 gaskets, 2 bolts and a spacer and the carb body to get in place,. unfortunately I have only two hands. I went in to the AC to think about it. ahah, tape,. nope, the tape wouldn't stick to the oilyish surfaces,. Last resort, get machanic hating Annie to help,. she worked great.
put the gas tank back on and all is fine. Houston, we have throttle control. The End ,,,,,,

the tomatoes seem to want to get out of control.
they have doubled is size this past week. even the scrawny one has.
actually everything has had a growing streak.
stay in and be safe.
as long as the chickens can just sit calmly, they will be ok.