Bogieblog

Four

Four Score and Seven Years ago items of interest from yesterday:

1. The Blue Moon rose looks like it is coming back from the roots.
2. A whole bunch of chipping sparrows started visiting the feeder.
3. One lone Evening Grosbeak checked out the feeder then left (maybe an advance scout - going back to get friends?).
4. Late in the day there were Brown-Headed Cowbirds at the feeder. I know some people don't like BHCs, but you gotta admire a bird that don't scare off when Blue Jays want the feeder (the Jays had to wait their turn) - especially with the size difference.

And there you have it; the four most interesting things from yesterday.

Pottering Around

Last weekend WS put up the collapsible greenhouse, and I placed all the veggie pots out there. Those had been re-potted from their starter packs to 6" pots several weeks ago. The herbs and flowers did not get repotted at that time because I had no more room to put plants.

Yesterday I finally got to re-pot the 48 seedlings that had been neglected and put them out in the greenhouse. It was warm enough that I could do the repotting on the deck, keeping the mess to a minimum.

The veggies have been happy in the collapsible greenhouse, even when the temps have dipped down to 30 - and I haven't put a heater in there. The greenhouse is kind of a pain because we have to guess what the weather will be like (on days we work) and either open the door before we go to work, or leave it closed up . The weather guessers are no help; on days they have said 55-60 and sunny (so we have opened the door), it never got above 48 - and was cloudy all day. Since the greenhouse is out in the woods (don't want to bake the plants in a full day of sunlight), that means it never really gets warm in there. However, as I said, the veggies have been happy, so we have done alright (and an unperfect greenhouse is tons better than no greenhouse at all!).

Either today or tomorrow I will raking leaves out of the flower beds, finishing up the new mulch in the roses (last week about 1/3 of the bed was still frozen so I couldn't take up the old mulch), and maybe planting some of the stuff that I got at end-of-season sales last fall. The other day I will be doing housework and studying for my final.

I know which of the days is better for each priority according to the weather guessers - but what actually happens, as far as the weather goes, may be a different story.

Flood and Bird Pics

I got more pictures back, so will share a few with you:

Missy and Prince are keeping WS company while he is working on the computer. Also visible is the plant stand with grow lights. The visible plants are in 6" pots in the picture.

Just because they look so pathetic, another pic of Missy and Prince. I stood on part of the workout bench to take the picture (the plant stand was 1' to the right of me). As you can tell, there is absolutely no room for working out!

This is from my flowering maple (Abutilon). It is a houseplant that blooms February-April (actually looks like it may go till May this year). It is a very messy plant, dropping leaves all over the place - all the time. It also isn't very graceful, with branches growing willy-nilly - very long and very few too (and yes, I have tried cutting it back, doesn't help at all). I swear every year after it gets done blooming that I will rip it out of the pot and be done with it, but it doesn't happen. Maybe this year.

Mostly House Work

We saw our first robin for the season on Thursday.

*      *      *      *      *

WS left yesterday morning for Kansas to attend his mother's memorial. She was cremated and didn't want a funeral, so the family is holding a memorial on Monday - it would have been her 80th birthday.

*      *      *      *      *

I wish I could have gone to the memorial, but I have finals on Tuesday, Pet-sitting until Sunday night, the cleaning crew for the attic is supposed to be on Monday, and the contractor for the basement is supposed to call on Monday, so I am here instead.

*      *      *      *      *

I am taking next week off work to "supervise" the cleaning crew coming in for the attic (they figure 3 days). I also have to be here to finalize arrangements with the contractor (we finally got someone to do the work on the basement). I'm hoping that both projects will be completed next week and then we can call the carpet people in. After that, it will be arranging for a contractor for the bathroom ceiling, which is a victim of the problem in the attic. We think, we have someone to do it (depends on what insurance decides the job is worth), but arranging it will be another problem entirely.

*      *      *      *      *

Dealing with insurance companies sucks. They are not very forthcoming about the process. Even when I ask point-blank what I need to do, I don't get an answer. When they give me an answer, it seems to exactly the opposite of what the paperwork says - so I still have no idea. Can't even cash the checks for the basement - the adjuster told me one thing, the checks say the complete opposite. So I am stuck in a Catch-22.

*      *      *      *      *

Enough whining for now. Tomorrow will be about floods and gardening (I'll leave you in suspense as to whether they are related or not).

Belated BD Wishes

I have been remiss in wishing Cop Car and The Fantastic Niece Happy Birthdays!

April Weekend

After 6" of snow on Sunday, massive rain on Monday (anywhere from 5-7" - a lot when the ground is still frozen so none of the water can't be soaked up), rain and drizzle Tuesday and Wednesday, the Gods took pity on us and allowed the sun to shine in.

Thursday the sun came out for a short visit. Friday, it was out in full force. It got warm enough that when I got home from work (yes, it was supposed to be my off Friday, but I had to be there for calibration), I opened the slider and the front door to let in fresh air.

We had a general contractor and a carpeting contractor come in to measure the basement for estimates late yesterday afternoon. In between their visits, WS helped the neighbor haul in dirt to fill in his driveway. I swept the sand and dried mud off the porch and deck and checked on all the plants in the yard. Everything looks pretty good (from what I could tell withought any leaves actually showing). I may have lost the Blue Moon Rose - but if the roots survived it will come up again. Tulips and irisis are starting to show some green and a couple of crocus (that the chipmunks missed) are coming up. The lilacs by the house have huge green buds swelling up and getting ready to send forth leaves too.

The helebores I planted last year are a slight dissappointment as they are just now sending up some shoots - they are supposed to be earlier bloomers than crocus. However, to be fair, they are in the portion where the ground is usually frozen until late May / early June. The crocus are next to a small rock wall that gets full sun so the ground thaws out much sooner in that particular spot.

New Pictures

I thought I had pet-sitting duties this morning, but it turns out I got to sleep in as they don't start until tonight. So, I'll share the latest pics:

Shadow having fun in newspapers. The newspapers came from a plant that was delivered the 1st week in April - right after we got 10" of snow (not to mention the ground was still frozen. Not having any room in the house, I potted the plant up and threw it outside. I think it has survived (it was still pretty much dormant when I received it). When I ordered the plant in February, I gave them instructions to mail it the week of May 1st - they decided April 1st was close enough.

  You can tell where the low spots were in the den!

The wall had to be cut out as it had soaked up water from the boiler.

  This used to be where I hung clothes on racks. I can actually fit one rack in infront of the washer (way over in the corner.

Next week I should have more pics to share.

Don't Look For Me

All the road and bridge closures have aded 15 miles to my commute (now up to 65 miles). Add that to pet-sitting, and it won't leave time for blooging the next couple of weeks.

2007 Spring Floods In NH

WS has conjunctivitis and a sinus infection. He is on 3 different medications right now.

*      *      *      *

It took me 100+ miles, 1/2 tank of gas, and 3 hours to get home last night. I won't be going to work today unless it is later when I can actually see the roads. I know that most roads I take are washed out, flooded, have mud slides, have bridges closed or dams breached. The town where I work has its own problems.

*      *      *      *

Our road is now only 1 lane wide in some spots - like just above our driveway. It was undermined and buckled when the loader came up the road. WS put up reflectors so that people would have some warning to avoid that area.

We are lucky - our driveway held out just fine, the neighbor's across the street has a 3' deep crater in it. One of his vehicles was evacuated to our driveway, their others are stuck there until repairs to his driveway can be made (at least the vehicles are okay). Every other driveway on our road  (that I saw) wasn't in much better shape than the neighbor's. People couldn't get onto Tubbs hill because of the wash-out and were parking at the top of Dickey Hill (which is now a whole 1.5 cars wide so was quite challanging to navagate when I finally got home last night. Last we knew, there is no getting out the other end of our road either.

*      *      *      *

Slideshows of flooding in NH can be found here. A video that shows an area that I normally travel to work is on this page and is titled Landslide Closes 101. I don't travel that portion of 101, but it also shows the Souhegan River flooding the Boys and Girls Club in Milford - which I passed by twice yesterday i my quest to get home. I have travelled that road for 18 years and never seen the Souhegan get that high. I have no idea what the audio portion of this video says since my computer is crammed into a corner of the workout room (no extras like speakers attached to the computer - just the stuff needed for homework and email), but it should be interesting.

The Manchester Union Leader has several articles and pictures on the latest Nor'Easter as well as a story on the Souhegan River flooding. Here is a video, from the Nashua Telegraph, that shows the Souhegan from the Milford bridge just outside the oval (registration is required). I did manage to snag a picture of the Boys and Girls Club in Milford:

*      *      *      *

Although there wasn't much good news in there - we are extremely thankful that our basement is dry, our driveway is in excellent condition, and no mudslides have occurred (knock on wood).

Global Warming Quiz

I got 9 out of 10 on the Global Warming Quiz. #10 screwed me up.

Don't look at the continuation until you have taken the quiz.

Link found thru Drumwaster.