I have a busy couple of weeks starting today as I host three different sets of guests, so I’m not likely to have much to say here during that time. But I’m not going on hiatus - I promise.

And note to self: NEVER, EVER, under ANY circumstances allow your lawn to go four weeks unmowed in the spring. Especially after having fed it. And not right before you’re having company over.

Family Lives Throwback Life in Modern Setting
(link to NPR audio, no transcript)

May 24, 2006 · Reverting to a lifestyle of living off the land isn’t so unusual. But one Massachusetts family is living that ideal in a less-than-bucolic setting. The family of four is gardening, living by candlelight and forgoing most modern conveniences in a low-income, inner-city neighborhood in Springfield. Karen Brown of member station WFCR reports.

Definitely worth a listen. Honey from bees, avoiding the washer and dryer, growing their own vegetables - much of interest to the modern gulcher who’s still living in an urban center.

Though every muscle in my body is now screaming at me, I’m proud that I made good on my threat to attack the yard work once the weather cooperated. I weeded everything that I intended to weed, mowed the back yard, and pulled out a ton of morning glory on the north side of the house. Morning glory is beautiful, but like blackberry brambles, it gets into everything if left untouched. Unfortunately, it’s coming from the neighbor’s yard, so I wasn’t able to remove it all.

I didn’t get my starter plants from lewlew into their permanent homes, but that’s because I decided that the soil is going to need some nurturing before it’s really acceptable for planting. In the meantime, I’m going to get a couple of planters and some potting soil tonight, which will give them time to get really healthy while I work on fertilizing the soil and getting rid of the mossy patches.

I did something incredibly stupid, too. My lawnmower is a corded electric one - not my choice, but it was a gift, and it’s decent. While I’ve been very attentive to the location of the cord while mowing the back yard, I completely forgot about it when moving to the front. The first thing I did was run over the cord and slice it almost in two, triping the circuit breaker for the garage. Sheesh. Live and learn, eh?

I apologize for the lack of commentary lately. Between a generally demanding workload that pays well in terms of overtime and some recent work drama related to workload and hiring, I’ve had little time or energy to devote to reading the two dozen or so blogs and news sources I normally scan. Sometimes income has to be a priority, and if I could make a decent living at blogging for fewer than 10 regular readers - hmmm, it might be generous to suggest my readership is plural - it would be higher up on my To Do list.

Last weekend, Yak Attack’s lewlew was kind enough to give me some of the abundant flora from her garden. Unfortunately, the Pacific Northwest weather cooperates only when I’m at work, so I haven’t yet had time to put anything in permanent homes. Mint, lavender, candytuft, succulents galore - it’s quite the vegetative spread, and I look forward to the sights and smells once they’re established.

I did manage to tackle the high grass in my back yard. I hadn’t mowed since shortly after I moved in 7 months ago, and it was getting so tall that any passing Vietnam vet might be trapped by unpleasant flashbacks. My fabulous neighbor, a retired man with what I suspect is more time than he knows how to fill, occasionally mows my front yard and parking strip when he’s feeling up to it, and for that I’m grateful. But the randy dandelions have been frolicking and seed-spreading like teenagers whose parents are out of town, and my back yard was a lumpy mess of pathetic-looking grass and golden knee-high weeds. At some point I’ll just till the entire thing over and bring in fresh sod, but for now, I’ll settle for a shorter lumpy mess.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to a dry weekend when I can get dirty planting and weeding and trimming. But until that day, I’ll try to give my blog the attention my yard isn’t getting.