Sweatin' It

Monday was warm, but dry here in Redford. I went to Home Depot at lunch to get the rest of the plants for the raised bed garden (my neighbor already gave me his leftovers – two tomato plants, two hot yellow peppers, one jalapeno and one Brussels sprout).

I also bought five bags of mulch. Unfortunately, the kind I always get (cedar wood chips), they no longer carry. So, I got shredded cedar mulch and a bag of potting soil. My trunk was full!

Interesting side note to the Home Depot trip: When I was walking in, there was a Home Depot guy straddling another guy and bending the guy’s arm across his back, yelling “Somebody call the cops!” The guy he was subduing was yelling, “I got the receipt in my pocket!” I didn’t have time to see how this turned out, but it was all over by the time I left. I carried my receipt in my hand, though.

Back home, I had just enough time to get the plants out and wolf down two pieces of chicken. Then I went back to work.

After work, I retightened all the drain connections and, taking a chance, ran the dishwasher (it’s been too long and I am running out of plates, silverware and glasses). Nothing seemed to be leaking. Then I went out in the garage and checked out the mower. Sure enough, I bent up one of the lawnmower blades. So, I got the empty pack (I keep it so I don’t have to figure out the right part number every time) and put it in the car for tomorrow.

Then I went out back and pulled all the weeds and grass from the raised bed garden. I couldn’t believe how dried out the soil was! When I got most of the junk out, I added some 10-10-10 fertilizer and then used the garden weasel to work it in.

About that time, my neighbor walked over and asked what happened to my lawn tractor. I explained I trashed one blade, hitting a stump I normally drive right over. He suggested that the soft ground sunk the tractor lower than normal and that made sense. He asked if I wanted to use his leftover garden “fabric.” He used it last year and said he never had to pull one weed. It’s heavier than normal landscape fabric and brown. You lay it down, cut an “X” where you want to put your plant and then plant it.

I said, “Sure!” So he brought over what he had left. He didn’t have any of the stakes left you secure it with (so it doesn’t blow away) so I put pieces of concrete on the edges. Since the ground was so dry, instead of planting anything, I hooked up the sprinkler and left it run for almost an hour.

By then it was 8:30 PM, so I quit for the night. I cut up the cauliflower and boiled it. I topped some of it with butter and salt and that was my dinner.

I started watching the movie “Terminator 2” which I set to tape before going out to work. I’m not sure why, but watching a sweaty Linda Hamilton doing pull-ups has always struck me as one of the most erotic, non-porn, scenes I have ever watched in a movie.

I was beat and fell asleep by 9:30.