The Mountain Thymes

 Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson wrote the lyrics to "It's My Lazy Day."  ....Well, it must be the season No rhyme or no reason  I'm takin' it easy It's my lazy day.  When I got up this morning and knew I didn't need to go to town or get the mail or make a pie, I thought today was going to be my lazy day.  I showered but dressed in loose yoga pants and a loose warm pullover, did thirty minutes of lazy yin yoga, which consists of laying on the mat and holding the pose for three minutes before taking a different stretching pose.  I discovered yin, which is perfect for aging joints or soreness from overworking in the gardens and just before crawling under the covers at night, a few years ago.  After eating a hot oatmeal  breakfast ,  I made a cozy mug of tea and headed for the recliner to sit and watch the birds gather the sunflower feeder.  And there I sat enjoying the quiet.  I think I dreaded the freezing temperatures returning even though it is short te

 Temperatures behaved like a roller coaster these past five to six days dipping to twenty some nights.  Most of the houseplants stayed in the sunny windows day and night except for the cold hardy collards and arugula.  Those containers got moved up against the house on the covered porch and I put plastic and a large tablecloth over them.  Tonight should be in the mid-forties so everything stay out except the baby transplants I just did today.   It took me two days to vacuum over the weekend when I decided to move some furniture which started my going through magazines, keep...not keep, then vacuuming the recliner seats and sucking up only one of my favorite new socks.  It's that definite sound of an object quickly disappearing up the vacuum tube when you realize that sock is a goner. Decided not to cut the Miele vacuum bag open.  They are expensive and that's the last one until I order more from Amazon. They are very efficient bags trapping over 99% of harmful allergens hermeti

 In my head, spring has arrived................ The Carolina wrens agrees.  The pair built this tunnel nest in two days.  I've seen late winters that they build but abandon and other times the female lays her four to five eggs and sets on them through the bitter cold nights.  We can still see a snowstorm one day and seventy degrees the next, especially during March's transitioning from winter to spring.   A few weeks ago I started assembling my new raised gardens and thinking about where the gardens would receive the amount of sunlight certain plants require.  The heavy wine barrel gardens had been scattered around and needed to be moved back into the sunlight.  The only way I could moved them myself was to dig all the dirt out and put the dirt elsewhere.  So a few days ago I started shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow, moved closer to the raised gardens, and shoveled that soil into the new empty raised beds.  Once I emptied the barrel I could tip it on its side and carefully r

 It was cold here today. Not a full sun.  Clouds inhibited any solar warmth.   Birds almost emptied the feeders. Threw more farm seed from Tractor Supply on the ground for the ground feeders like my winter juncos.  Don't think we went much over thirty, dry breeze, wind chill BUT it's lighter earlier in the morning and lighter longer into the afternoon with sunset today at 6:31.  I feel spring. I'm still sleeping a restful night with no hangover in the morning.  This Rx works for me.   Sent a seed order to Baker Creek for seeds I want to try but can't find here and have been searching images of different ways to do raised gardens. Found a container through Amazon to try. It arrived today and was easy for me to assemble with pictures so I didn't need to read or call Jim and Lauria for explanations.  Being a visual person, I like pictures.  This container is a 4"L x 12"H x 2'W.  I started small and if I like it will order the 6'L x12"H x 3'W.

 I figure I'd better blog while I'm sane, for as long as it lasts.  I wasn't going to start any seeds for a few more weeks but I feel spring happening in my veins. On the 10th I planted six arugula and six collard seeds and covered the sets with saran.  Now I need Mother Nature to provide sunshine.  Germination is between 7 to 14 days.  These are cold weather greens so on sunny days I can put them outside no matter what the temp.  My poor kitchen garden that Cliff built for me about 12 years ago is no longer useful. I'll begin taking it apart on a good day.  It's rotting and falling apart but it has served the purpose for all these years.  The huge oak tree now has a canopy so large that  it shades the little garden too much.  Time to make some garden changes.   I had a large kalanchoe plant that I hoped to cut up and root for five smaller plants.  This was a week ago and they don’t look like they are dying.  I think they may be rooting by now.                      

 Thursday afternoon I had an odd thing happen.  I felt light-headed and felt like the room was beginning to spin.  It only lasted less than ten seconds but I did my BP a few times.  First time was unusually high for me because I'm not on any Rx, 155/75.  So I calmed down, took some relaxing breaths and waited fifteen minutes before taking it again. Then it was my normal 117/67 with pulse of 65 but Friday morning I called my doctor.  This morning he called back and apologized because the note got misplaced and he had just read it.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't having a TIA.  After listening to me for awhile he suggested it very well could be from sleep deprivation.  I've been waking three to four times a night with a mind that talks to me, sometimes chattering nonstop.  Between the holidays and Cliff's anniversary in January what I'm experiencing is normal,not unusual.  If I experience any more spells, he'll order tests for me but for now I'm on a Rx t