The Season Switch

In New Zealand, it is time to set out seedlings. I haven’t even started my seeds yet. I think its because I haven’t gotten a grasp on the seasons here. My mind is still twisted into four seasons and the proper order of things has July a summer month not a winter one.

We are in the midst of a ‘polar’ storm here and I had to yank my brain back to the southern hemisphere after vocally wondering how the storm could come down all the way to New Zealand. It didn’t. It came up from the South Pole.

So that gives you an idea of my brain fry. I read in my gardening magazine that strawberry plants are being set out.  I’ll have to get on my bike. And I try. I really try. I go to the potting shed (also known as the Ram’s Retreat) to see what I need to do to make it usable. The first thing I notice is that I need a door. Bunnies are cute (and plentiful) but I don’t plan to feed them. Next is a screen over a window that has lost its glass. Third is to clean, clean, clean. My heart is willing but my hands say, ‘wait a minute’. No cleaning until I get the approval from Dan to spend the money on fixing this up.

I ask Dan. I am crafty enough to talk about setting my seeds up in my room. With my arthritic hands Dan can just picture the water spillage. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” he says. “I am worried about the floors” which are unfinished plywood. Next I murmur about the garage and its double window. “Perfect”, I enthuse. He looks at me and queries “What about the potting shed. That’s what it’s for isn’t it?” I try not to agree too quickly. So this coming weekend we’ll make a plan for the restoration of the shed.

In the meantime I have a lot to do. With or without a proper shed, I need to get the seeds in the potting soil. I bought these seeds online and naturally my eyes were bigger than my plot of ground. That may be because this much vaunted ‘garden’ only exists in my mind. I have selected the verge running next to the driveway down to the new barn. It gets full sun and is not in a paddock used for livestock.

Only one hitch, but a major one. It is covered with weeds and grass. The weeds are fairly easy to handle but the grass is another matter. I pull on a clump of grass and a horizontal root over 10 feet long comes with it. If I’m lucky. If not, I have to keep yanking. And yanking. My hands don’t work too well so I limit myself to weeding for about 45 minutes twice a day. Not much gets accomplished that way. But I have instructed Dan to bury the possums in a trench along there. This is for the nutrient value and so that Dan has the pleasure of doing the digging for the plants. A pleasure I willingly forego.; particularly in the rain. And remember, it is always raining here.

Dan came back to the kitchen after his first funeral somewhat irritated. It seems that this creeping grass covers a multitude of sins. Namely, that the driveway extends under the grass to the fence. It is ‘only’ a gravel driveway but digging in it is problematic to say the least.

A second problem is that we seem to have depleted the stupid possum population. The bright yellow trap stands empty day after day. The fruit is still eaten but no more carcasses  to feed my seeds. Maybe I’ll have to switch baits.  I’ll try banana this coming weekend. I’ll also get those seeds planted and measure for the door. Then I have to figure out what tools Dan’ll need to build the door. Right now I am thinking solid panel lower half and screen for the upper. I’ll keep you posted.