will there be strong storms

Strong storms? That is the question. And by the time I post this, maybe I'll have an answer. Much has been written, warnings have been issued. "An unusual system" "a confluence of unfortunate events" -- all leading to strong storms this evening. The day is warm, very warm. Winds are picking up. It's all rather ominous, but it flusters Ed -- not at all. 

My morning walk -- lovely! Ed tells me -- there are so many more daffodils this year! Well yeah! All those bulbs put in last October produced blooms.

Huge, gorgeous blooms.

 

 

 

Everywhere.

 

 

A feast of daffodils. Enjoy them -- they wont last much longer.

 

 

 

Breakfast? We eat outside!

And then I listen to the winds and I spot weed and wait for one more small shipment of lilies. 

That's the good stuff! In other news -- well, I'm still working on getting the pair of shoes ordered from Spain for Snowdrop -- cheap, cloth ones -- to be released from some unknown Fed Ex location. I Filled out forms. The seller filled out forms. Nothing moved. I call. I get passed on between six Fed Ex reps, one after the next telling me that it's not within their area of responsibility. I get nowhere. In addition, a letter comes requesting customs payment of $35, despite the fact that the law does not authorize customs collection on such small purchases. They fall under the De Minimus exception. (Fed Ex --"Tell that to Customs and Border Patrol! Here's their phone number." I call it. They're not picking up.) Back to endless tracking down of Fed Ex people; the last one tells me -- "in any case, we're still looking for the package." Me -- you mean in addition to everything, you lost it? "No, we just don't know where it is."

I go outside again and weed. And seed. 

Meadows and annuals. I have to admit that I am very lackadaisical in my meadow maintenance and in my front roadside flower field care. Creating a meadow in Wisconsin is tough going, especially with our soil, our lack of consistent rainfall and our deeply rooted soil structure. You have to understand grasses, because not all of them are created equal. I thought that doing a half-assed job would suffice and up to now, it has. Parts of both the peach orchard meadow and the new orchard meadow always delivered a nice array of both grasses and wild flowers. But this year, I'm doing little more besides sprinkling additional seeds on top of what's already there. That's like throwing a rubber duckie into the ocean and hoping it swims to the next continent. (It may, but I wont hold my breath.) The meadows suffer from being enough out of sight that I can't see them as being worth my time. As it is, I have a large swath of land to take care of on my own. I need to prioritize.

But why neglect the roadside bed? This is the only flower field that is visible to anyone passing the farmhouse. Why not invest in that? 

I dont have a good answer, though I have a couple of flimsy excuses: that field is visible to others, but it's not visible to me. Not in the way that the courtyard fields are. And the soil there is awful -- full of roots from the maples that hover in the background. I planted flowers, sure, but their output is meager. I'm thinking about working there next week, because one of the maples is going to be brought down (it's rotting), creating perhaps an opportunity to make something of that bed again, but I wont guarantee my commitment to it.  We'll see how my time pans out.

I did another type of seeding today too. Not just the meadows. In addition, I put in nasturtium and cosmos seeds -- my two favorites for growing from seed each year. Where? It's really random and I never remember where I plant them, so that I am surprised when I see seedlings emerge as the summer progresses. (I also planted sunflower seeds, but those are almost always devoured by animals. Groundhogs? Deer? Rabbits? Pick your bandits!) So long as we may be getting storms (i.e. rain), I may as well plant seeds now, so that I myself don't have to soak anything!

And what about the kids? Where do they fit in? Well, they have appointments and so I am free of child care obligations, both today and tomorrow. Effectively, it means that I should really forge ahead with outdoor work. And I do. I really do. With an eye to the weather tonight. Because, well, the warnings continue: it's not looking good out there!

Evening: well now, what just happened? Did we get lucky, or what? At this bedtime moment, there is no sign of a storm, no sign of tornadoes passing through, not even a drop of rain. It all went to the north of us. A day of waiting for strong storms that did not come. I am so grateful!

with love...