Yesterday was gorgeous–74 degrees or so and sunny. A perfect fall day. I kept telling myself, since I was trapped inside grading papers all morning and most of the afternoon, that it was actually a little too warm to work in the gardens.
Instead, I worked online down at the coffee shop–the furnace guys were here removing my original-to-the-house (built in 1951) furnace and putting in a spanking-new 95% efficient unit with a fancy air cleaner filter. They were banging and wrenching and screwing (not that kind!) and singing of all things, so I headed out to a more concentration-friendly locale.
When I hit home at about 3:30pm, the difference in the air quality in the house was simply amazing! But the Energy Star settings on the programmable thermostat leave something to be desired. Since when is it a savings to heat the house to 70 degrees?
So, I’m working through the manual and will have to knock some serious degrees off those settings. I know everyone called it a political misstep when Jimmy Carter told everyone to turn the heat down and put on a sweater, but for cryin’ out loud folks–turn the heat down and put on a sweater! Either that, or do some more jumping-jacks.
After yesterday’s intense grading work-out, I decided to take today off. When my boy isn’t here, that means that I go out and work in the gardens at whatever speed I’m feeling up to, and I repeatedly tell myself, this is all I have to do. There is nothing more that needs to be done.
So, I finished pulling the bean vines down from one of the trellises and raked both sides of the bed, and I manured and turned half of it. It wasn’t that much, really, but half this bed is about 100 square feet.
Working at a leisurely pace, I also pulled out the rest of the broccoli stalks and the lowermost row of eggplant and their cages. That’s about all I managed, but it was my day off, after all.
While I was raking, I uncovered this little guy, but he hopped off to find better shelter after a bit. There were actually mosquitoes out today–so hopefully he was getting a little something to eat before hibernation.
The only things left in the garden for us to eat are the mustard greens–but I forgot to grab a bag and go back and clip some for our dinner. I did snap off a few last broccoli florets for H before pulling the plants, but it looks like leftovers are on tap for tonight–something easy so I can continue the lightweight theme of the day.
