Worked late

The full moon


4/21/08 Monday
I worked till 12:30 last night. Had planned on planting seed under the full moon but decided not to. The light of the moon wasn’t quite enough to clearly see what I was doing but one of my big concerns was rattlesnakes. My understanding is that they are out hunting more at night and with the rye grain being high and poor light I could easily step on one.


So I mostly worked on running the water line (garden hose) back to the air conditioner. As you can see I’m encasing it in pvc pipe for protection. At some future point I plan to install regular pipe but for now this is a good quick answer.

After digging the trench to a point the area was no longer lit by our porch light I went in the garage and started working on the greenhouse. It went better than I thought though I will have to take some of it apart in order to continue. Things have to be put together in the proper sequence in order to complete the job. I’m getting to the hard part now.

I’ll work on that later today providing I’m doing well. I’m in the part of my cycle where I have few seizures and generally have a high cognizance. Getting lots more done now than at other times.

The important thing that needs to be done is getting seed in the ground. We set the alarm so I can get on that early before the temperatures climb into the nineties. That kind of heat really drains me. I watered the area we plan to put black eye peas in along with a few other areas nearby. First task is to start trucking out wheelbarrows of compost to spread along the rows along with fertilizer and the soil amendments Matt gave me. I’ll be sparing on the compost for the black eye peas because the seem to be hardy and grow well in this soil. That will give me more to use on other types of plants that need more help. I just don’t have enough compost for every area I plan to use. Next year should be better.

After I till all that in I will plant the seeds using Matt’s seeder. Then I will spread mulch over the rows. This will be made by mowing some more of the rye down and capturing it with the grass catcher on the mower. Growing the rye is a great way to help this garden. First it brings up nutrients from deep in the soil which becomes part of the compost made from mowing the young rye plants. I noticed the older rye doesn’t compost well at all. The rye serves to help control weeds though it doesn’t do well against the tumbleweeds. It also works as a windbreak. I bought fifty pounds of Sudan seed the other day because it will make a better windbreak being heavier with thicker stalks. This I will plant on the top edge of the rows peppers and other of the more delicate plants will be. Geese! It almost sounds like I know what I’m doing.

So it’s going to be another busy day, which I like anyway. Love to work and I’m really behind as it is. Had to take a pain pill this morning, which is no surprise. It will be a pain pill day to enable me to keep up a good pace. As much as I hate them they do the job. Today I need to call about renewing the prescription. They will probably require me to go in to see the doctor.
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1:50 – Boy the heat sure does get me. It was January or February that I was out in the snow sowing the rye seed. I can handle that and even enjoy it but this heat sure hits me hard, just sucks the energy right out. Cherie noticed and said I needed to come in and rest a few hours. I told her “no, I’ve got things to do” and kept on trucking but it wasn’t long before I had to agree. Besides that I’m having a minor slowdown anyway so wasn’t moving too fast as it was. Spending lots of time trying to figure out what I was doing or about to do. But we have gotten things done.

Cherie spent much of the morning watering what we have in the ground. She did it despite the back pain that has returned. Friday she had to see the chiropractor that Janie so graciously set her up with so there is no charge for us. Between that and the new mattress the ladies from our Sunday school bought when the learned of how much pain she was having, partly from sleeping on the thirty year old mattress that was in this house when we moved in. We have been wondrously blessed by these compassionate people who live their faith, not just talk about it. It has done much to restore my faith in the God of my youth after many bitter disappointments at the hands of others wearing the “Christian” label on their lapels. God will deal with their hard hearts.

Anyway, we are blessed but my point is that Cherie is a trooper and a tremendous help, enduring much as we work together to create this farm, home, and our future. But in the meantime I must take a break to cool off and rehydrate. I sure enjoyed working last night after the sun went down and everything cooled off. Got a lot done. I’ll probably take a nap as I often must around this time of day anyway. See ya.
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