Skip and I made a 3 day/ 2 night trip to Stillwater specifically to scout the conditions of campsites 39 – 46. We utilized the water access off Moose Road and had a short paddle to site 41 where we set up out base camp. The 1st day we were hampered by high winds and merely relaxed in camp. The following day we located and inspected each campsite with an eye towards future use.
I have been working on my garden lately. You may remember that I got tons of leaf mulch from my neighbor. Last fall I basically stripped the entire garden by hand and then buried the leaf compost. In April I rented a tiller and really worked the dirt and mulch together. I think it will be good for retaining moisture and loosening up the soil.
In early May I planted cool weather items: spinach, lettuce and Swiss Chard which failed to sprout. So today I replanted them. I started a new row of Asparagus with 20 root stocks. They are just beginning to come up. I put in potatoes which are doing very well so far. I planted 6 sweet peppers that Eric got for some reason. I started Brussels sprouts, broccoli and eggplant inside but they didn’t get very robust. I blame the Agway “potting soil” that I bought; it had a lot of bark and wood chips in it. At the end of their tenure inside, I started watering them with Miracle Grow and I got them outside in a cold frame for a week. Hopefully, now that they are outside, they will take hold. I had similar experience with my tomatoes, but they developed better root structures.
Why did the tomato blush? Because he saw the salad dressing!
I joined a local paddling group that has a day trip planned for every Tuesday. The group is mainly retired females paddling kayaks, but there are a few men paddling as well. The past two weeks we have paddled around ponds in Madison County. The black flies and mosquitos are still problematic in the Adirondacks so the group all these early trips in the southern tier. I have been impressed with their organization and ability to schedule trips from May through October. On my 1st outing I took my Prism Solo canoe but yielded to group norms for the 2nd outing and used the 12′ kayak. I worked out entry and exit procedures but was uncomfortable in that I couldn’t move my legs. After and hour of paddling I was desperate to shift my legs.
Tripp turns 1 year old on Friday May 21. The little boy is 94+ lbs.
Eric used his connections and presented Kathryn with flowers, a card and chocolate for Mother’s Day. Well done.
Billie Jo and Eric each gave me a pear tree for my birthday. My small orchard needed a couple of replacements and I have found pear trees to be low maintenance and productive. Tripp inspects the work.
I read a lot during our quarantine and binge watched 10 seasons of Shameless. I re–read the five George R R Martin Fire and Ice Series. After visiting the Frederick Remington Museum I binge read 6 Will James novels: Sun Up, Cow Country, Cowboys North and South, Scorpion, The Drifting Cowboy and the Lone Cowboy.
According to my public library I checked out 60+ books since January 2020:
We set up a 50 gallon watering tub under the eaves on our deck to catch water dripping off the roof. Cullen readily jumps into the tub after a walk that has left his paws somewhat dirty. Now Tripp has been trained to do the same. After the ‘wash’ the dogs can drip dry on the deck or in the mud room before coming into the house. It helps reduce the amount of dirt and silt tracked into the house.
As the ice melts off our ponds we begin to monitor the water temperature and guess when the catfish and bass will be eager to eat. This year that date was April 8th. We fed a small amount of fish food to a few rather sluggish but hungry catfish, skipped a day and then fed a more more active group the following day. Tripp was fascinated by the fish activity.
