White Hickory Tree

White Walnut Tree

Word of the Day

Supposibly - Describing something that is supposedly possible.


I decided to get out early this morning to dig the six holes for the six nut trees that I needed to plant. It is NOT easy to dig holes here at The Lake. You either encounter roots or rocks. However, I stuck to it and soon had six nice holes that were, in my judgement, far enough from the house so as not to cause future problems, far enough from other trees so the new little trees (and they are REALLY small)will have a chance to thrive, and far enough from each other so that each tree will have plenty of room to grow and, hopefully, produce...eventually. All six trees, don't ask me how I ended up with six trees when I only ordered five, are small....3 foot twigs sticking out of the ground. They sent me four white hickory trees and two white walnut trees.

I back-filled each of my holes, with tiny trees, with top soil which means that I had to dig more holes to get at top soil. Our soil here, six inches down, is solid clay. You could make pots with it. Actually, when we were kids, we did use it like modeling clay. I figured that these poor trees needed all the help they could get so I dug and dug and dug, back-filling each hole with the blackest, richest of topsoil.

Each tree is marked with an old tomato ring and an orange flag with its variety. One tends to forget. I'm praying that the tomato rings will scare off the deer until the trees get a chance to grow some. I'll probably have to add chicken wire to the tomato rings but, that'll have to wait for another day.

By the time I finished digging, planting and watering the six trees, I was wet with sweat and surrounding humidity and exhausted. Once again, I found myself wet to the knees. I had mud up to my elbows and somehow I ended up with dirt and any area of my body that was exposed. I'm not sure if the Deep Woods Off kept the woodticks away or if it was even too cold and humid for them. Mad Men and Englishmen have nothing on me.

After changing into clean and dry clothes and washing up so I didn't scare anyone who might actually see me, I sat down to a late breakfast and a nice hot cup of coffee to help warm me up. As I sat...I noted that it would be nice to have a fire going in the fireplace...which thought made me think that I really needed to clean out the ashes before I could build a decent fire in said fireplace. So, I cleaned out the fireplace and took the ashes out to the composter along with some kitchen scraps that I've been collecting by the sink and decided that I'd better get the dishes started. No big deal. However, while cleaning the fireplace, I noted that I should get out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum up the bits of ash that I'd spilled on the hearth. And, of course, if I'm going to vacuum, I figured that I should vacuum everything. Then, I noted that the vacuum cleaner needed cleaning so I took care of that. And before I could vacuum, I had to take a few loads of things down to the basement that were out in the hallway so I could do a decent job, really vacuuming everywhere. And then, while I was down in the basement putting things away, I noted that I still needed to wash the sheets that I'd used to cover my plants when we had that late season frost... so those are in the washing machine but probably need to be put in the dryer by now. But, then, as long as I was down in the basement, I figured that I should make the beds down there so the rooms will be ready for whoever comes to visit next. So...I did that too and put toys and books away. Meanwhile, I noticed that I really need to vacuum down there but I haven't done that as yet...maybe later. First, I had to finish soaking off labels from the wine bottles so they could be stored down in the basement and out of my hallway. I need the bottles for when I make wine later this summer but I can't use bottles if I don't take the labels off and make sure they're clean.

And so...from one single exhausted thought, I've driven myself to further exhaustion. I still need to get those sheets dry, folded and put away. I've got four more bottles that are soaking to get the labels off. And, I'll probably drag the vacuum cleaner down to the basement to vacuum the guest rooms later...or maybe I'll save that until tomorrow. The sun is kind of shining and I'd like to just sit a while out on my deck. I'll wait on that fire in the fireplace.

Random Quote of the Day

I shot an arrow into the air, and it stuck.

Graffito, in Los Angeles