Extremes

 Oklahoma weather is a whirlwind (literally) of extremes.  

There was an almost 90 degree difference between the sleet storm, and this past week.

Yesterday, it was in the 80s, today, it is going to be 40 degrees colder.

Anyway,  that being said, the warm up this past week was nice.  We were able to get out for several walks. But the bad news is that we started to smell something out in area of the back yard.

Yesterday, I followed my nose, and discovered that Arya did actually come back to us to die.  She was in the open shed with the plastic bin/straw shelters, but had crawled behind the wood box.

It was really hard for us yesterday.  We were heart-broken that we had searched so hard, but still missed her.  It felt like a failure, but then we realized that she had come back to her safest place. To us. So we kept our promise, in the long run, and tended to her.

She is now buried in our back yard, with Star, and our Louie.

Dave will get a flagstone at the Lowe's garden center to put over her.  

Before all that, after my chores were done, we had gone to the organic garden center (NOT Lowe's, HAHA) in search of fertilizer and compost.  It is time to refresh my container garden soil, to get it ready for planting.

I did the barrels yesterday, because they are the biggest, and the hardest work.  I was feeling really good yesterday, with no pain, and lots of energy, and got that accomplished.

The soil was so hard, it was like chipping rock!  I watered it down, and watered it down, and watered it down, and the water just sort of ran out the sides of the barrel, and didn't soak in past the top layer that I had pried loose.  I had to literally work like a slow-motion jack hammer with the pitch fork to break up the soil.

Got it shoveled out into the wheel barrow, where I mixed in the peat moss, mushroom compost, and some fertilizer with the pitch fork.

Dave helped me get it back into the barrels by tipping the wheel barrow up so I could scrape every last bit of the enriched soil back in.

This process of hard work gave me a wonderful sense of accomplishment.  I used to be able to work hard like that all the time.... but the random pain caused by my meds has definitely slowed me down a bit.

My muscles will probably be pretty sore by this afternoon, HAHA! Especially my shoulders and arms.... It will be satisfying in its own way, though, to feel that soreness!

This same process will be carried out with the smaller planter, and the fabric buckets, the next time we have a warm, dry weekend.  I can probably do them all at once--- just dump everything into the wheel barrow.

I basically have the same plan as last year.  The trellises in the containers will be for a cucumber plant, a delicata squash plant, and maybe a zucchini, or yellow squash, plant.  Beets and radishes in one barrel, and something else in the other.

Lettuce is NOT going in this year, because the farm bag deliveries I get always have an abundance of lettuce, and I ended up letting mine to go seed last year.

In other news, I got fitted for N95 masks on Monday.  The process was really interesting, and the masks are REALLY uncomfortable, but they are the best available.  I received several of them, and in two sizes, so Dave could have some, too.  We are ready for the next surge.

Also had my zoom meeting with the consulting team on Monday for work.  They only allowed a half hour, and that was not enough time to go over everything in my job description.  We only got about two-thirds of the way through before the time was up.  SO, I emailed the coordinator the documents that I keep in a folder on my work computer, that map out everything that I do.

My late boss had me start doing that several years ago, and I still maintain it.

Clearly, I have the greatest number of responsibilities, and have had for years.

Not sure what was accomplished, but I suppose I will find out eventually.

The covid numbers in Oklahoma have continued to decline rapidly, so we went out and bought our own groceries on Friday, after I had my blood draw.  It was so liberating to get back out, and do that myself!!

The baseball lock-out has now delayed the opening of the baseball season.  We find this disgusting and disappointing.  Baseball used to be less about money, and more about being America's Pass-time.

Spring training games should be happening now, but spring training hasn't even begun.

Later this morning, I have a zoom with my international sisterhood.  This is the one that was rescheduled from when that awful storm took out the power across areas of southern England.

Dave is going to Costco, and Petsmart.

It's supposed to rain this afternoon. It was hot and extremely windy yesterday, so there were lots of grass fires, despite the moisture from the sleet storm ten days ago.  Hopefully, it will be a good, soaking rain.

I see my Doc tomorrow for my 3 month check in (thus the blood draw I had on Friday).  Thinking about asking if I can take a month off of the hormone blocker so I can dance without pain, leading up to the showcase on April 4th.

After my zoom, I plan to do some serious practicing, even though my hip tendons hurt today, with the weather change.

Have a good week!