Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Scattered Thoughts, Scattered Showers

Eleven-thirty a.m. and the rain drove me inside. I was out trying to get my "fruiting" garden plants set in - my tomatoes, peppers, chiles, eggplants, and okra. Nights are still quite chilly, so I haven't seeded the corn, beans, or squash yet, but the fruiting plants will be protected until the Fourth of July so they should be ok (as long as I can get everything done later this afternoon - the rain doesn't last too long at a time so I jump out and in as necessary).

I've been keeping busy with various meetings and social gatherings lately. My Soroptimist Club had a Bunco Night, with wine and desserts. Most of us had never played before, but it didn't take long to catch on. It was really fun. Our fiscal year ends June 30th, so as Treasurer I've also been busy with Budget Meeting preparations and our annual dues billing.

Then, the Democratic Women's Club had a Games Night, with potluck supper. That too, was lots of fun - I ended up in a group playing a strange old board game about the Titanic sinking. You had to maneuver about the ship gathering up passengers, food and water, then get to a lifeboat, and then to the rescue ship, while the other players were trying to steal your supplies and the ship sinking kept cutting off routes about the ship. Interesting what games people invent.

Saturday, a group of home-based artists south of here held open houses. A friend is looking for more art for her home, so I went along with her to check them out. I was more interested in seeing others' gardens and studios. It made for an interesting afternoon, but neither of us saw anything that really reached out and grabbed us.

Lastly, Aries took a week's vacation time. Our home is supposed to be barn red with terra cotta trim, but the last paint we used faded so badly that it's been more of a fuchsia for the last few years. Aries has always hated it, so when he saw exterior paint on sale, he decided to repaint the house and outbuildings. Little did he realize that we'd also see rare, scattered afternoon thundershowers all week too. So he gets up early, paints a bit, and then hopes it has time to dry before it rains. So far, so good. He's off to Reno for beer making supplies now. The rain has stopped for a bit, so I'm headed back out to the garden.

6 comments:

Cathy said...

Hello Sadge
Well what busy time you have had, do you enjoy socialising a lot or has it a just all come at once?
I do like the look of that little 'garden' window on the side of the house ? barn. Do you use it much or is it just a dust catcher lol
Take care
Cathy

Sadge said...

Hi Cathy,
My social life has its ebbs and flows - it just seems to be high tide at the moment.

That little greenhouse window is on the east side of our master bedroom. We call it the cat couch (more like a cat sun porch, actually). The bottom shelf is lined with a piece of carpet, and its also where we keep the cat food dish to keep the dog from getting into it. The cat gets up there via the back of a stuffed rocking chair in front of the window. All our cats have just loved it. I keep potted succulents on the top shelf during the winter, but have moved them outside for the summer. Love reading your blog!
~Sadge

Doyu Shonin said...

Quite the rainbow!

Anonymous said...

My eggplant were moving in and out for a while, only last week (I think) did they go out. I still haven't put the okra in their final home - its too fickle! But hopefully soon.... The rainbow is lovely.

Anonymous said...

Hey Sadge,
I didn't think you could grow okra here because of the dry climate. Do you plant seed or the plant?

Cheryl

Sadge said...

Hi Cheryl,
I start okra inside from seed the same time I do the rest of the plants for that bed - mid-March to early April. I prefer Clemson Spineless. Two to three plants provides enough for the two of us to eat fresh and to freeze for winter soups, gumbo and a favorite lentil pilaf dish. Okra (and basil) are the tenderest of the plants I set out, so either wait until no chance of frost or protect the plants at first. You can probably still get a crop this season if you pre-soak the seeds overnight in warm water, plant and keep inside until they sprout, and then set out.