Oooh, My Head

I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how it didn't stop. I'd forgotten how frustrating it was. I'd forgotten how much I wanted it to stop. I'd forgotten how I had no power over it.

For the first time in years, my headache wouldn't go away. Instead of my usual off and on for 5 days, and then gone for a few months, for 10 days, it was present, in different intensities. It started out consistent. Then it grew worse. Then it got better, and I though, OK, it's just about over. And then worse again. And 10 days later, it is finally gone. I think. I hope.

I'd forgotten. And I really hope I don't have to remember again. For a long time. If ever.

Tortuga

I got a call from E last night just after I'd left work. There was a very large turtle in our yard. He said its shell was about a foot long. I told him to take lots of pictures and to stay back a bit, it sounded like a snapper to me.

An hour later when I got home, E told me how the kitties had been very excited about the turtle, and had been checking it out. How he couldn't keep them away from it. But, nothing, thank goodness, happened, to either the turtle or the kitties.

By time I got home, the turtle had wandered off. E went on a scavenger hunt and found it again, just at the tree line in the woods. I grabbed my Audubon Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians and went to have a look. Sure enough, it was a snapper. It was probably a female going and looking for a spot to lay her eggs. The guide said they travel a long way from water to build their nest.

So, maybe in 9-18 weeks, we might be seeing baby snappers traveling through the area, going back to the stream or pond that mom came from.

Blogging About Yelping

I've been thinking for a couple of days that I should blog about my new, other writing past-time, Yelping. Yelp.com is a site where you can go and review any and all business that you frequent. And you can see what other people think about places you're thinking of going to. Or even find places you didn't know existed, and get some feedback on whether or not to go.

Years ago I had created a web site where I was reviewing restaurants. I figured that it would be beneficial for other vegetarians. I'd had a hard time finding restaurant reviews that were veggie minded. I'd only reviewed a few places when I gave up, creating my own web site was not my thing.

And then I found Yelp, and reviewing restaurants became easy. As did reviewing other things, like our local organic farm.

So now I'm blogging about Yelping. I find it kind of funny, actually. I guess I haven't gotten enough of writing yet...

Vegetables for Families in Need

The company I work for has a volunteering reward. Each year, if you volunteer your time, the company gives you a paid day off. So last week I volunteered with some co-workers to build a vegetable garden for a low income family through the Growing Places Garden Project organization.

We met at the home of the recipient at 10am. Since it was in Westford, I had a nice short commute to work for a change! When I arrived, Nikki from Growing Places was there, unloading tools from the truck. I started helping, and the others started arriving. MB was next, and she started pitching in. Then SL arrived. We were making a raised bed garden, so Nikki directed us to position the three 4 ft. by 8 ft. bed frames, and start laying newspaper on the lawn inside the frames. No digging up the sod for us! BJ arrived and then MR, and they helped finish laying the news paper. And then it was time for the heavy lifting.

A load of compost had been delivered to the front of the house. The garden was in the back, about 100 ft. away. So, with 4 wheel barrows, we started moving the compost to the back. When the first bed was about 1/2 full, Nikki and MB stayed to mix in vermiculite (to help hold water) and chicken manure (to add microbial activity and nutrients). BG showed up and helped us lug more wheel barrow fulls of compost. And more. And more. When the second bed was 3/4 full, I stayed to help mix in the amendments, while SL attached a wire fence trellis to the back of the now full first bed.

And the compost kept coming. I kept mixing and spreading, while the others finished bringing the compost back. Then they filled the wheelbarrows so we could move the remaining compost off the lawn, once we asked the homeowner where she wanted it. At about this time, a man pulled up in a truck. He was the homeowners nephew, and was worried about his aunt, since there were so many cars at her place. We assured him that we were just there to build a garden for her, and he went in to ask about the extra compost.

When all 3 beds were full, I helped SL put a trellis on the back of the second bed. BJ and MB were putting nails int he frames to attach twine to. The twine made up 1 ft by 1 ft squares, to help the homeowner know where to put the plants. And MR, BG, and Nikki started putting up a wire fence around the garden. When the trellis was done, SL and I helped with the fence. B was unrolling, SL and MR attaching it to the posts, and I was pounding them the rest of the way into the ground with a 5 pound beater. Fun! During the fencing stage, another truck pulled in. This time it was Cindy, one of the founders of Growing Places. She'd brought the vegetable seedlings by.

When the fence was up, a group went to move the compost while the rest of us picked up tools. Nikki remarked how we had the fastest garden completion time this year, we were done in an hour and a half! When everything was picked up, we took a group picture, and then my coworkers and I headed off for a celebratory lunch, on the company. Another perk of the volunteer program!

So at this point, you're probably saying, hey, wait a minute, you forgot to plant the vegetables! It turns out that's a separate part of the program, a mentor helps the homeowner plant the vegetables and gives them tips. It usually occurs when the beds are set up, but since the homeowner wasn't feeling well, they'd scheduled to plant on another day.

So, next time you're in the gardening mood, but don't have anything to do in your garden, consider building a vegetable garden for those in need!

Great Blue Herons

The other day I was telling E about the birds I saw while on my way home. He asked if I'd seen the Great Blue Heron in the stream down the road, and I jokingly said, you mean the one standing near the shore on one foot? Then I had to explain to E that they all did that, and no, I hadn't seen the one he mentioned.

But, that lead me to think about how I've been seeing a lot of Great Blue Herons this spring. If I leave the house, I see at least one. I don't recall seeing a Heron a day ever before. Maybe I'm just in their flight path. Maybe there's a great nesting/feeding spot and they've invited friends. Or maybe I wasn't this observant in previous years.

Who knows?

Now, I know you're saying, hey, if you see so many, why isn't there a picture? And the answer is that usually they're flying overhead while I'm driving to or from work. On the highway. At 65 mph. Yeah, I'm really going to whip out the camera then!

Childhood 'Truth' Debunked

Growing up, I thought that lady's slipper orchids were rare. We'd go down into the backwoods to the one spot where the bloomed. And over time, they stopped blooming there, and I though, wow, they must be just about extinct now...

And then I grew up, and moved to Townsend MA.

It's blooming season for the Pink Lady's Slipper orchid. I went for a short walk in the backwoods (here) this weekend. And I found a multitude of Pink Lady's Slipper orchids. In one 10 x 10 area, I counted a colony of 38 orchids! They're everywhere here! I feel like I've found a lost treasure! So I went back to the house and got the camera, so I could share with you.



Since then, I've done some research. The Pink Lady's Slipper orchid is listed in NY, where I grew up, as "Exploitably Vulnerable due to loss of habitat and exploitation". I also have my own theory that the backwoods (back home in NY) was logged enough for firewood that the orchids didn't make it. They seem to be very fragile flowers. They can't even be transplanted because they won't make it without their fungus symbiot. That's some dependent lady! Makes me think they're royalty... Or Goa'uld...

Elsewhere in New England, they're listed as "Secure (common, widespread and abundant)". My research also turned up that they do better in acidic pine forests, which I live amongst here, versus deciduous forests, which were back in NY.

So, one more childhood 'truth' has been debunked. I now no longer think that:

• Pink Lady's Slipper orchids are almost extinct
  
• Red and Gray squirrels don't occupy the same territory because they don't get along
• Snakes eat strawberries
• My mom can change traffic lights to green with her mind
  

Oh, and here's a little Red Eft (so cute!), that I saw on my walk, too. Enjoy!

Summer in April

I keep a garden log. According to the log, last year in late April it got to the 80s for 4 days. But, the saving grace, it was in the 30s at night. And now it's late April again. And yesterday it was 89 degrees F here. 89! Did it cool off last night into the 30s? No such luck, it didn't even get down to 60. Ugh, ugh, UGH!!!

I know, most people love this kind of weather. But really, it's hot, and the pools, which are the only reason to tolerate this kind of weather, aren't open yet. The trees haven't leafed out so there's very little shade. The area swimming holes have 40 degree water. The ice cream trucks aren't even around yet! (Not that they come by here, but I hear them in the development that borders our property.) I don't even have E to distract me because he's gotten his spring cold, (poor guy), and is spending his snuffly weekend watching The Wood Whisperer video podcast (yeah, I know, how can I pass THAT up?) I've finished all of my books, so I'm rereading old material.

OK, so I'll try to see the positive side of this. My close line is up, and I've dried 4 loads of laundry in 4 hours. ... ... That's it, that's all I've got.

There's nothing fun to do in April when it's 89. So I'm hot. And bored. And whining.

Thank you for listening. :)