May Day!

Gentlemen, start your engines. The perpetual droning of the lawnmowers has begun. It's one of those stupid things we humans do.

I keep chipping away at my lawn, little by little, and replacing it with more useful and interesting things. We have two new beds in the vegetable garden this year (one exclusively for herbs). The weather finally warmed enough for me to plant some seeds (cool weather things: snow peas, kale, chard). Now we have to get the wire fencing back in place before those seeds sprout. The rabbits are already queuing up with their little cafeteria trays. And the deer...well, let's just say that the dozen or so tulips I planted outside the picket fence last fall are unlikely to get to the blooming stage. Reminder to self: stick with daffodils. They hate those.

There was a small disruption in the force for the perennial garden last week, because our well head sits in one corner of it, and we were having some issues over the winter. The water pump was turning on too frequently, and we had the well guy out here a couple of times to install new valves. But it was only when the snow melted and the ground thawed, and we were able to see water seeping out of the ground and puddling in the driveway, that the source of the leak announced itself. Surprise!  So last Monday the backhoe came and dug up that corner of the yard (I took some plants out ahead of time to try to save them), and the pipe joint causing all the trouble was replaced. The guy tried to be considerate and not dig up more than he had to, though I'm just amazed at the number (and size) of rocks he managed to unearth in that little spot. So I'm having to rework the soil, which is okay, because I wanted to rework the design in that corner a little bit this year anyway.

It turned out to be kind of an expensive week, because the washing machine in our (now rental) house in Cleveland bit the dust. Since we rented the house with all appliances, it was only fair to keep them working, so we bought our tenant a new washer.   The joys of being a landlord!

This is always a busy time of year, and this year is no exception. There has been the film series at the college, and Tom and I did the Earth Day service on "The Importance of Less" at church, with some great musical contributions by Ylsa Guiffre.  Last Wednesday, Tom and I both had tables at JCC's Earthfest (he for the office of sustainability and I for the food buying club) and it was a lot of fun. BRENDAN: THEY HAD BABY GOATS THERE!!!

This week, Tom is taking the Cornell Cooperative Extension's Master Food Preserver course, so we'll have an expert in the family. If you need help with canning, pickling, freezing, or jelly making, let us know!  Master Gardeners and Food Preservers need to share their expertise with others in their communities.

Yesterday, our grandson, Logan, turned FIVE!  We were not able to be there in person this year, but we bought our own cupcakes from Wegman's and celebrated with him over the phone as he opened the presents we sent. We have not seen the kids since Christmas, which is too long, but that's reality when they live 500 miles away! We do plan to see them later this month, and the baby will probably be walking by then.

It was really unnerving having family in the Boston area during the bombing episode. They were not downtown that day, and in fact live about 30 miles outside of the city, but it was still too close, especially since there were so many unknowns right up until the time the second suspect was captured.  This was a dramatic series of events, and way over-exploited by the so-called news media. But, taken with the constant drip, drip, drip of other incidents (school shootings, including the in-class attempted gunshot suicide in Cincinnati; a grisly home invasion double homicide here in our quiet town; a murdered transgender woman dumped in a pond very near our former home in Cleveland; and the constant acrimonious shoutfest that makes up our public discourse), I can't help feeling that the wheels are starting to come off of our so-called civilization.  I know some people think we should barricade ourselves in bunkers and arm ourselves to the teeth to fend off the outside world, but I'm not that paranoid.  As always, I think it's good to acquire the skills and knowledge that will prepare you for any eventuality, and the security that comes from knowing you can handle whatever comes at you.  And you just keep moving ahead with your life, taking the reality checks in stride. The government isn't the enemy. Other people are not the enemy. Being unprepared and helpless is the enemy. And each of us should know how to fix that.

It's warm and sunny here this week, so I'm going to get the new stain on the picket fence before the plants start growing up on it. The dog likes to lay in the grass and just watch.  It's a tough life.