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It finally rained. No, that’s not an April fools joke. Earlier in the week I emptied .27 inches of rain out of the gauge, enough to clean out the bird droppings and wash dust off the grass. It didn’t stop me from continuing watering, though. I run the traveling sprinklers around the perimeter any day it isn’t too hot or cold. It’s a slow process and only time will tell whether it makes a difference. Much to my shame, there are still trees standing along the perimeter that perished in the drought of ’11. I’m hoping we don’t lose any more.
Joyce rotates her tomato plants between the garden, the mounds, and the south side of the shop, as per tomato growing best practices. This year they will be on the mounds. I’ve set up 14 cages, the number she requested, have the top soil positioned for each and the drip system configured. All she has to do is plant the vines. The master gardeners recommend planting on April 1. We won’t make that but we won’t miss it by much. Chris has seeded the beds south of the shop where Joyce had her tomatoes last year with dill for his bees. Joyce asked him to do that rather than her letting the dill come back from seed in the garden. Seems there were more bees than she liked last year and since she isn’t planting anything south of the shop this year it should be a good accommodation for all concerned.
Finally, I had the big elm next to the pond trimmed. It had needed it for a long time. I am reluctant to trim elms because they are old and prone to cashing in their chips. This one, though, is in a prominent place and, since it gets plenty of water, may outlast most. If there is any elm on the place that is worth trimming, it is this one. I also had the Russian olive close by removed. It was mostly dead but it was the last one on the place and I put off having it taken care of for sentimental reasons. The pleasant smell of Russian olive blossoms in the spring brings back memories of my youth. I was gratified to see that once it was removed, the spruce on the island really stands out. It was one Mom and Dad, um, liberated as they did at nearly every opportunity. I suspect it came from Tres Ritos, at least, that would be a good guess, and could be over 60 years old. It, too, gets plenty of water. We lost three of its kind in the ’11 drought. The species isn’t suitable for the High Plains but as the island spruce demonstrates, they can thrive where they get the water they require.
The Wylies rolled in Friday morning around 3 a.m. Both Jill and Dave had to work Friday. I think Jill was on a conference call by 7. Short night. We had pleasant weather yesterday (Saturday) and the mothers wisely chose to stage the Easter egg hunt then rather than wait till Easter when the weather was predicted (and is) much less pleasant. Jill and the girls went to church with us this morning and we enjoyed an excellent Easter dinner. I helped the shorties take turns hitting golf balls off the mounds Saturday. That makes a good practice range for them. Rebecca, who has had some practice the others haven’t, may be putting her drives into the trees on the south side of the pasture before long. When that happens she may have to hit whiffle balls with Grampa.
After passing her driving test on the first try a couple of weeks ago, Abigail has been driving herself around town. After a decent interval allowing her to gain experience behind the wheel, we’ll start using her to run errands, something Jill used to do for us back in the day. Gosh, we miss Fetch.
March wasn’t a bad month. It had its moments. There was some cold but nothing that would scare a brass monkey, unlike January and February. Some days April will still have to hold her skirts down like Marilyn Monroe on a sidewalk grate. But ever so gradually the average temperature will rise and the moderately-windy days increase. Heck, it might be a good idea to savor the remaining chilly days. Take today, for instance. It is 35-40 degrees and overcast, just the kind of day for loafing around the house. Hot summer days are not far off. May they be accompanied the occasional benign thunderstorm.