Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The Shivers

We're going on day eight now of significantly cold weather in the Northeast. As much as we ("we"=everyone ever) complain about the cold, as much as we ("we"=Camille) have already specifically complained about a day that we were woefully unprepared for (no hat, no gloves, lots of whining), we're all glad that it's finally here.

The first inch and a half of snow of the year drove the birds to our feeder. In two days, they've gone through nearly a third of the birdseed. I spotted another cardinal yesterday morning, which gave me a little boost as I headed on out to work. That's just the second time we've had a cardinal at the feeder in over two months.

Our amaryllis has begun to unfurl, which makes us both happy. I'm not sure I've ever seen a plant of such girth and height grow at such a dramatic pace. It's been less than a month since the plant was just a bulb, and now it's ready to burst.


We've got some other goodies that Camille planted that have begun to make their way in the world as well. They're bulbs of some sort, though I'm not entirely certain what variety. I don't think Camille is either, so this should be a pleasant surprise.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Death and Beauty

This photo of Sawyer makes me laugh, because he is totally frontin. It seems as if he caught a bird and wants to get inside to show it to David (the quick-acting, if grossed-out, photographer). Thing is, he's glomming off of Finley's hunting skills. She had caught the bird while it ate seeds on our deck, and after she had eaten some of the bird (a bloody mess), Sawyer took it up with excitement and marched around the porch.

I do appreciate his joy. He's a little clumsy and slow sometimes, but the boy's sure got spirit.

Finley has better timing and stealth: she knows, for instance, that crouching needs to happen behind the barrel -- not out in the open, as Sawyer tries; but she doesn't celebrate her victories or parade them around. Moments later, she's looking for another kill. She has been determined: two days ago, she crouched for 30 minutes in a cold rain, just waiting, waiting.

David's macro shot of the dead little creature is lovely. I am fascinated by the feather patterns and their delicacy. We have identified all of the other birds that show up on our deck, save for these little grey ones. I assume they are females of some species.

Her death didn't deter the other birds long. They are back to feeding -- a bluejay among them today.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

To-Do's, Too Soon

Okay, that's a lie. It's not too soon to garden. And it's not too far off!

I am thrilled that we did seeds last year. I worried it would be a lot of hassle (and it is) and that it would require a lot of maintenance (and it does), but it extended our growing season and made the winter blahs less bleh. Maybe I bought too many (especially since I know nothing about flowers!), but we will have fun getting something started.

We will be doing seeds again this February break, so I thought a list of things on the blog would make sense. At least then I won't lose the little scrap of paper I usually use for notes.
For seed germination:
- set up front porch -- measure, put in screws, buy more lamps, find tables
- buy trays (we have seed starting materials
- plan for schedule - beets and peas first, etc
- organize labels and draw map for plan of porch
- add insulation to windows?
- plant seeds!

In yard:
- make plan for garden - what goes where
- make schedule - what goes when
- till soil underneath, add fertilizer (buy organic fertilizer)
- design and buy materials for rasied beds
- prepare deck for herbs
- make beds
- set up hoses/watering system
- plant seeds/plants!

We decided not to take a vacation this summer (we'd planned on Nova Scotia), because we love our house too much, and we don't want to miss any part of the garden this year. We might take a three-four day trip to the Fingerlakes Region in NY State for our anniversary, but even that isn't a requirement.

--Camille

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Mine, Hers, Ours -- Whose?

While listening to Camille read her latest Lincoln Street blog, while feeling guilty for not writing more, I fell into a little reflection on the language of ownership. I will expand.

I admit to this: Camille is the brains behind the large number of the activities we do together (trips, weekend projects, going on hikes). The gardening is no different. I'm certain that we both extract the same closer-to-earth, further-from-the-grocery-store goodness from gardening, but the fact remains that Camille is the reason that we end up in the dirt.

Now, Camille is quick to point out that we are equal partners in hard labor--and we are. We both do early morning waterings, we both pick the suckers off the tomatoes, and we both suffer through early evening mosquito bites. We are a united gardening front. It's Team Bernstein or bust.

We are also a united front with housewarming gifts we buy people, and with birthday greetings, and with thank you notes sent. It's an us thing. But...

But every once and a while, she slips. She'll say, as she did last night, my garlic, or some similar and pointed variation of ownership. It's her homemade jam or fudge brownies.

Now, Camille will most often catch herself and correct herself in the same breath, circling back to the subject and using a crowd-pleaser of a collective pronoun, but that my is always lurking.

The thing is, I'm okay with that. It isn't because I have to be, or because I want to be. That big old bottom line is that without Camille, there wouldn't be any our garlic.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Lasts and Firsts

It seems crazy that I was able to plant (in the ground) over 25 bulbs (daffodils, tulips, and something whose name I can't remember) on January 13th. The snow is supposed to arrive tomorrow, but for weeks the weather has been record-setting high in temperature. I was happy for it, because my long-delayed plan to cover the garlic and flower beds with straw is finally complete. (And none too soon, as the other bulbs (planted in October/November) are now one inch high!)

My friend Thomas from Switzerland (shown here walking with me in the gorgeous forest of his country) sent us a photo today of their first rose this year, which makes us all wonder if this unwintery weather is part of larger trend in climate change. Are we doomsdayers? We probably all need a good old-fashioned Farmer's Almanac Weather Cycle History to calm us down.

I am not a scientist, so I don't know whether to read into this mild winter something portentous for the summer. Some people fear a wickedly hot summer, based on current trends, and I wouldn't look forward to the humidity; but the wet and cold summers we've had in the past two years are harder to deal with from a gardening perspective. I can, after all, offer more water to my plants, but I can't use the shop-vac on them when it rains. And my grow lamps couldn't manage adult plants (nor do we have enough of them for all the flowers and vegetables we're planning).

So bring on the sun -- when it's time. Right now, though, some snow would be welcome.

--Camille

Monday, January 1, 2007

Bickering Old Couple


David has done the majority of the raking, I will admit. And on Dec 27th, I forced him to go for a trail run, even after he had done 1.5 hours of raking. I claimed that chores can't count for exercise. (We both decided, individually, that we need exercise again. It's shameful how slothful we have become. (We are never lazy about eating, however. That must be said.))

Anyway, here's a snippet of the conversation:
Camille: Come on, it's our second day of new life. Let's go for a run.
David: I just spent an hour and a half raking. I am sore and exhausted.
Camille: Are you kidding? That doesn't count. Otherwise, let me count the hours I spent standing and bending and stirring in the kitchen. And how about the calories I burned tossing and turning in bed when I can't sleep? Come on. Let's go for a run.

With no recourse but whining, David (a champ!) went for a run in the woods. It was muddy and tiring (and cold), but fun.

Well...two days later, I lost a bet (about how long it would take David to run into the video store and rent a movie), so I had to finish the raking. I had my new iPod (thank you, David, for the xmas gift!), so I loved, loved, loved hanging out on Dec 28th and raking for two hours while dancing. I also did battle with a hedge clipper against some vicious vines that are choking our trees in the woods.

My dear husband came out to help the last half hour, which brought my total chore-time to 2.5 hours. I was EXHAUSTED and did not want to go to the gym. David reminded me that chores don't count.

I recanted my earlier declaration.

You win, David. You win.

In other news, the cats are obsessed with watching the birds. We love identifying the species, of course, but I am glad that now the cats have a hobby to occupy their time during the dark days of winter. Because Finley certainly isn't doing much bulb forcing.

Or any chores.

Cats=sloths.

--Camille