Things I Can Cross Off My List--but not in the normal way

So the mason bees aren't happening. I've just got too much on my plate these days. It's probably too late at this point anyway. Mason bees emerge from their cocoons about mid-March (now) and only live for a couple of months. By June they're all gone.

Right now my taxes and applying for a home loan are taking up all my mental energy and time.

I'm requesting some assistance in moving my Huge-o Leaf Pile to the back garden so it'll finally get done. My lawns desperately need mowing, and I thought about it yesterday and the day before--two of the first beautiful sunny days this year--but I didn't think it was really dry enough to mow.

"Maybe another day or two of sunny weather," I thought. And then it rained last night. Sigh.

On the bright side, this blog post has highlighted two things so far that I can "cross off" my list. No need to get the mason bees, or mow my lawns. (Though the mowing will have to be added to another list very soon.)

I've also decided I'm not going to start seeds this year. I am going to the Lane County Propagation Fair next weekend though. I'll probably get all inspired to start tomatoes and pepper seeds anyway, but my current plan is to buy starts for my container garden.

Speaking of container gardens, here's a container you may not of thought of:

(source: www.fungi.com)

Ali, my friend Tamara, and I are all going to a Shitake Mushroom workshop tomorrow in Cottage Grove at Cascadia Permaculture.

I wanted to say that the plugged log I get to take home with me at the end would be the first container in my container garden this year, but I thought of another.

I want to remind myself that while bringing flowers inside isn't gardening, it is enjoying nature and I do love bringing it inside with me.

These flowers were put in their "container" the day before yesterday.

Spring Equinox isn't until next week, but She sure has poked her faerie fingers in the Eugenian soil in my neighborhood. My magnolia tree is pushing out buds, and my raspberry canes are sporting teeny leaves. And so has my climbing rose bush, among other things.

I'm still sitting in front of my HappyLite (as I type this, in fact), but soon I'll be able to shelve it for the sunny months.

I'll be sure to post pictures and prose on the mushroom workshop next.

Thanks for stopping by.

***

p.s. And just for those of us still pining and thinking of Costa Rica, here is a short video on a great addition to anyone's permaculture garden:

Winter Derailment, and News From the Landlord

So the guy that talked to me about the "free compost" from the City? You know, the leaves? Well I don't know if I'm doing that next year. I had ONE LOAD of leaves (hereafter called Huge-o Pile) delivered at the beginning of December--which only leaves two months to compost over the garden before you're supposed to be planting sugar snap peas (February). Hmm. Who thought that up? That's not enough time. Especially when two snow and ice storms come during the Winter, you have to borrow a wheelbarrow to haul the leaves because the pulling them through the yards on a tarp didn't work, and it takes you thirty minutes at a time to haul three miserly batches to the garden. Those huge heaps-o-waterlogged-leaves in the wheelbarrow don't cover very much garden space. About a 2X2 foot square I'd say.

Complete waste of time.

I still have an enormous mound of them in my driveway (making it so Ali can't park there), and it's the end of February. I've got two writer's conferences to get to in the next two and a half weeks, and my 40th birthday party to plan. Planting peas isn't going to happen anytime soon. And what am I going to do with pile?!

Move them to the garden, of course. BUT, it'll probably take me until July. No worries though, because it's looking like I'll be needing to move after all.

Landlord decided to sell, and I'm not eligible for a VA loan like I was hoping. Plan B is in force, and now I'm just at the waiting stage.

Which is my very favorite part.

Or, since I didn't do my Spanish practice today (or yesterday, or the day before): mi parte muy favorito.

This also means that, once again, I'll either be planning a move--or moving--during the planting/gardening stage of the year. Harrumph!

Ali says not to worry, We'll container garden.

Spreading the leaves seems superfluous now, but still needs to be done before moving, I figure. I'm sure the landlord would have something to say if I didn't move them. Plus, having the "garden" composting under leaves means that I don't have to weed-eat the area. Win!

Moving, or maybe not moving (probably I won't know for months--which is highly irritating because I can't pre-plan anything), prevents me from starting on the permaculture model I wanted in my back yard. I'm not going to work on the garden or chicken fence now. Nor get chickens. And I'm certainly not going to plant any fruit trees. Or collect rain water in giant barrels I haven't acquired yet.

I could still prune the roses and the blueberries and raspberries. And it's possible to get a $40 "green house" from BiMart and start tomato and pepper plant seeds. I can plant them in pots and give away the  extras I won't need. And I can plant annuals in my flower box in the front yard. I can plant herbs in the kitchen, too.

I'll keep it smaller than I anticipated (by a long shot), until I know where we'll be living. Then the garden/permaculture planning can start anew! Other ideas: if I can't buy a house, or find a rental that has garden space, I will container garden the whole way (a bunch of pots all together look really cool),

and/or garden in Ali's space (if he hasn't moved in with us by then.)

Yeah.

It's sounding like container gardening is where I'm going this Spring/Summer. I have a reference book on it I bought years ago. I guess it's time to check into it. Start thinking about, anyway.

Look back next week for a post on Mason Bees and Container Gardening Plano Numero Uno.