The News from South Philly

Today the weather is predicted to grow sharply warmer and remain so for the rest of the week. So this afternoon's exercise will be the Great Hippeastrum Exodus. I have three of the slightly larger milk crates that I think will serve well as housing for the collection, supplementing the staking I did with their higher sides. The collection will get almost full shade for a day or two and then be moved a few feet to a space where they'll get sun in the mornings but won't be subjected to the hotter noonday or afternoon sun.

I see that LJ is in full meltdown this morning. Another DDoS attack, perhaps. Fortunately, there's Dreamwidth. I should train myself to post here, but I usually read over at LJ...

EDITED TO ADD: And I see LJ is back, so I'll attempt a crosspost. I'll add that the three crates have been brought inside after a good rinsing, and the first crate (the class of 2011) has been set out. The other two crates are loaded and ready to go downstairs. Meanwhile, new growth on Franklinia continues at a stately pace. As soon as the seedling has put down serious roots in its little yogurt container I'll plunk the whole container full of soil in a much larger pot.

If I had a bigger space I couldn't lavish all this attention (and write at such mind-numbing detail) on just a few plants. I'd be too busy doing epic battle with weeds and bugs.

Speaking of mind-numbing detail: I had potted up a couple pieces of creeping jenny a few weeks ago. Today I added them to the gallimaufry in my window boxes out front, and discovered that they'd sent roots clear down to the bottoms of their little pots. I had thought that the plant was very shallow-rooted, but apparently that's only when it's creeping. Once it has a foothold it gets more serious about putting down roots. (That's probably a metaphor for something if I were the reflective type.)

While I was fussing with my plants out front I had the storm door open, using that little flit-gun-like anti-slamming device and a little keeper. The Scamp came out to help. He alerted on a couple of passing dogs and looked positively alarmed at the sound of some smallish diesel trucks. But he was definitely in Mighty Explorer mode and went after my next door neighbors' tree pits. He was still investigating the smells when I had finished my work. I called and he ignored me, so I went out and herded him back inside. Herding cats is an art form -- too aggressive and they say screw you and scamper away, too timid and they pay no attention. Today I got it right and chuckled as I closed the door.

City schools and offices closed today (Thursday.
City schools and offices closed tomorrow (Friday.
Our street is plowed by still snow-covered.

The Scamp caught a mouse this morning -- Roy watched him toy with it. An hour later he was still toying with it and the poor thing wasn't dead yet. Shortly thereafter, the Scamp got tired of the game, dispatched the mouse, and went off to eat his cat food. The mighty hunter!

The bud on my hippeastrum 'exotica' is starting to get nice and fat; the stalk is only about 4" long. 'Gervase' is taking his own sweet time.

There are many more green and gravid-looking swellings on my Nopalxochia. I'm becoming more hopeful by the day.

I have found a cure for the winter blues. Call up Pandora to some nice station (I've fine tuned a "classical and romantic" station that I think well of). In another tab, call up one of the Flickr Flower Show groups. Here are two, both already set for "slide show":

2009: http://www.flickr.com/groups/964183@N22/pool/show/
2008: http://www.flickr.com/groups/584926@N20/pool/show/

Use the little doodad in the lower right to expand the show to full-screen.

Sit back, enjoy the pretty pictures and the lovely music. Knit. Smile.

It is humiliating to have your bike fall over, and to have you fall over with it.

It's also pretty painful. The back muscle that has been unhappy for the past few months became extremely unhappy, in a crampacious fashion, and my shin made "a hematoma is coming!" sensations.

This contretemps occurred while I was in the process of dismounting at the Trader Joe's. I wobbled into the store and picked up the things that were on my list -- green beans, coffee beans, Clif bars. I forgot a couple things I'd been thinking about getting as long as I was there, but oh well.

This is perhaps divine retribution for my putting off the Trader Joe's run until today. At least I also made it to the PathMark, where the biggest free turkey I could get was 15.5 lb. Waaaahhh. I don't need my big new roasting pan for such a puny turkey. But the really big ones weren't free. Waaaaahhh. On the other hand, I was able to pick up three of those uncut loaves of stuffing bread and four boxes of Bell's Poultry Seasoning, which is hard to find at other times of the year. Other than a quick run for mushrooms on Wednesday, I think I'm set for the Big Cookathon.

While at the Trader Joe's I did pick up several bags of petits pois. (Because I felt this hematoma coming on, you see, and frozen peas make the greatest icepacks.) I came home, made my lunch, set up big pillows on the love seat so my shins would be higher than my heart, positioned the peas just so, covered the rest of me with sweaters and lap robes and The Scamp, and napped for a sinful, decadent, three hours.

One more nice thing. The young folks in the neighborhood are enjoying civic mindedness. They convinced the elementary school four blocks away that trees on their sidewalks would be a good thing, made the arrangements with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and planted eleven trees this morning. Pictures will be posted. We are hoping this will convince the rather more suspicious principal at the school right behind us that trees are A Good Thing.

P.S. -- I have a lump about the size of a pea on my shin, not much of a hematoma, thank goodness. And the back spasm pretty much gave up during the mile ride home.

FORGOT TO MENTION: I also bought two 4-packs of pansies. They'll go in my window boxes tomorrow. In Sept/Oct I forgot to water the window boxes and all the dusty miller and feverfew died, waaaaah.