Little things

  

That’s what I’ve been doing lately.  Little things.

Many little things that have kept me very busy.

The back porch is finished!  And beautiful!

The Boys like it out there.  Zack sits in his comfy bed while Daryl hides amongst the bromeliads.

My Great Plan

My great plan was that the finished porch would winter over all my potted plant this year.  It also included a decision to line the outside of the porch with plastic to make a sort of greenhouse.  I mean, how hard could it be to staple clear plastic to the outside of the porch.

So, first of all, I spent two days moving plants on to the porch.  Little plants and very large plants.  Day three I pulled out the staple gun, the sheets of plastic, and the 10’ ladder. 

A few noteworthy things 

1  The staple gun is very difficult for me to use.  I have to be able to put my full weight into holding it in place and pulling the handle.
2  The wind loved the individual sheets of plastic and blew them all around me.
3  The 10’ ladder is aluminum which makes it lightweight.  Good / Bad.  Good, I can carry it easily.  Bad, it wobbles easily.
4  The porch is really tall.
5  I am not tall.  Even on the ladder I had to stand on the second to top step and reach up over my head.

I did manage, after many bad words and sheer stubbornness, to get three panels up.  Stood back and surveyed my handiwork.  Crooked, lopsided, and uneven.  Well, that’s bad – and I pulled them down and put them away.

Fine!  I’ll come up with something else or maybe I’ll just look at all those plants and tell them – 

Live or Die – you’re on the porch!  

Maybe we’ll have our normal mild winter and not a repeat of last year.  Something to worry about later.

Then arrived Thanksgiving.  I was invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with my niece and family – Ellen’s daughter.  And, it was a happy and fun celebration with nine adults, 1 baby, 4 dogs, a couple of cats, a big lizard and a hedgehog! 

Saturday I decided to bring in the Christmas tree (which was living in the loft of the shed).  I wanted to set it up undecorated for a day or two so the Demon Duo would get used to a tree in the living room.  And, while I was up in the loft, I’d go ahead and get the tubs of ornaments down.

Again – the 10’ ladder.  The tree sections were heavier than I remembered from last year but I got them down.  And, got down five of the 6 tubs.  The last tub? – the last tub was really heavy plus I was getting tired but I wrestled the tub off the loft floor and started down the ladder.  And . . . . .

yep, I fell off the ladder.  Didn’t break anything but I torqued my back and raised enough bumps and bruises to make me lay on the shed floor and cry for a couple of minutes.  I managed to get everything onto the back porch then spent two days sitting in the recliner or laying flat on my back.  During that time, I determined there is no place for the big tree in my small living room.

Hmmm - anything else?  Oh yes, I have a few plant things to show off -

Giant Yellow Crown of Thorns

Euphorbia tirucalli Rosea or Fire Sticks

And the wildflower seeds I planted in October are blooming and/or covered with buds.

Okay, that is all I know.

2 Dec 2021