Today was cloudy and windy and cold most of the day, with a couple small showers, but late in the afternoon the sun came out. The wind kept blowing, though. I went down about 4PM and planted the rest of the lilacs. So all 200 are properly in the ground where they will keep til I am ready for them.
I have sent the address of this blog to a couple or three friends who didn't know of it, and I intend to keep going through my inbox starting with the oldest pages until I have notified everyone who might take an interest.
I am too sleepy to write any more tonight.

It is not long before sunset now. Late in the afternoon the sun came out and after giving it some time to dry off I went out and planted for a while. I got about 40 planted, and I suppose I could have done more, but I was getting hungry, so I quit and came in. I am very muddy and getting a little cold as the sun stops sending any heat in the windows. I need to get the fire to burn better and maybe take a shower. 60 or so left to go.

It is pouring rain right now. Yesterday after 4PM I went out and properly planted 64 lilac bushes in their temporary patch, which brings the total too over 100, so there are less than half left just heeled in. But it was getting late and the black flies were bad, and there was not a cloud in the sky, which looked like today would be good too, so I figured I'd do the rest of them today. I didn't even take in the bucket of vegetable seeds which was sitting in the tub on the back of the 4-wheeler. There was still no cloud to be seen when I went to bed. But this morning it had clouded over. It still didn't look like it would rain soon. But when I looked out the window I saw raindrops on my truck already. I immediately went out and took in the seeds and covered the gas tank of the 4-wheeler which leaks rain water into the gas. Before I could get oatmeal cooked for breakfast, it had started to rain in earnest.
The rain is good for the lilacs, no doubt, and it would be good for them to be planted in the rain, but I'd get too wet and cold too quickly.
Yesterday I finished sanding the insides of one bucket of spoons and started sanding another one. I want to get those 2 buckets finished before I cut out more.
When I sand the lilac ones I smell the incense smell of the lilac wood right through my dust mask. I wonder if there is a way to make incense of the sawdust or shavings.

Greed Buds, Dead Buds

I should tell what happened the next day after my last post. I heeled in the rest of the lilacs, but i noticed that, although the first box, the ones i had already planted had healthy-looking green buds, and only a few bushes that didn't have, the others were reversed, only a few with green buds and most with dry, dead-looking buds. They didn't seem to be just dormant and hard, but dead and kind of crumbly. I called the place i got them from and they said they made a note of it and would replace them if they didn't grow. She asked if I'd soaked them, and I hadn't, but after reading the pamphlet they send with any order, it said for shrubs, soak the whole thing, not just the roots for several hours in muddy water. So I took them back out of the ground and soaked them in a barrel full of water. Then they went back in the ground, but still not individually, really planted. I hope to do a good deal of that tomorrow.
I talked to a neighbor and found how to fix a brake line like that. I have never had that trouble before. But the necessary repair parts, can't be had locally, but 40 minutes drive down the main highway. I have been trying to find someone who's going, but so far I haven't made contact. So I am stuck at home.
Today I built my second workbench in the shop and did one sanding on the insides of the batch of spoons that has been drying, which includes lilac, apple and maple. Two more sandings on the insides and then sand the outsides. And there is a bucket which is one step in the process behind that bunch. I think I should finish those before I cut out a bunch more, but I gotta get crackin' or the wood will.

200 Lilacs!

This morning the man with the tractor came to rototill the garden and I had him do a patch for temporarily planting the 200 lilacs as well. Incidentally, I learned that it is his nephew who has the machine I hope to get to clear the ground for the labyrinth. Then I got ready to go to the post office.
The notice in the mail on Friday must've been the sandpaper. When I started for town to pick up the parcel, I stopped at the mailbox and there were 5 more parcel notices. When I got as far as the bridge just before you turn onto the pavement I noticed something not quite right when I stepped on the brake pedal, so I paid more attention when I stopped at the pavement. It definitely went down too far. When I arrived at the post office I nearly ran into the low concrete wall at the edge of the parking area even though I was being careful. I got down and peered under the truck. I saw dripping on the other side. When I went around and looked I found a brakeline had a serious leak.
While I was trying to figure out what to do, the clerk came out of the post office and said, "There are 5 big parcels for you. Want me to bring them out?" She brought them all out and leaned them against the truck, each about 6 inches square and 4 feet long. I put them in; then I had to go in and sign for the 6th, which was the sandpaper.
I was in a quandry because I had to get something done about the brakes, but I also had to get home for an important call from the MP's office lady who is trying to help me with an infuriating bureaucratic problem. So I started off carefully, using just the emergency brake, and went right past the garage and straight home, intending to call a mechanic this evening, to see if he could work on it if I bring it to his garage. After a long time waiting and calling about the bureaucratic problem I went out to plant. It had started to rain. I planted one box which contained about 42 lilacs from 10 inches to 3 feet tall, mostly 2 feet or so. Then I tried to plant some vegetables, but it had gotten so muddy I gave up after 3 or 4 feet of row, and came in, very soggy and cold and muddy. I had to take off my muddy shoes and pants in the shop and the rest of my clothes in the bathroom and took a hot shower.
I hope it drys enough tomorow to allow me to plant both some vegetables and the lilacs.
But I forgot to call the mechanic and I still have to do something about the brakes.

I don't know if the next step in this story is about to unfold or not, but I got a card in Friday's mail telling me i have a parcel at the post ofice. It might be the 200 lilac bushes I have ordered, or it might just be a package of sandpaper I also ordered. I was busy making ready for my housewarming which was yesterday afternoon and evening, so I hadn't looked in the mailbox til Saturday, and the P.O. wasn't open.
Johnny Matthews called Friday morning saying he is coming around with his tractor to rototill gardens "the first of the week". I will get him to rototill an extra area in which to put those lilacs temporarily til I get the land cleared, whether they come tomorrow or not for 2 more weeks.

Blooms & Birthdays

The way these blogs work, the first post goes off the page and I am concerned because that's the one that explains what this blog is all about. I intend to ask my friend and blog consultant, Robin, what to do about that, but I want to put here a notice to anybody who happens to read this for the first time to go to the bottom of the page and click on "Older Posts" and go to the first one to see the explanation of why I even made this blog in the first place.

Nothing more has happened as far as the labyrinth project itself goes that makes very exiting reading. The 200 lilac bushes I ordered have not shown up yet, but the 15 to mark the route of my water line have and I have planted most of them. The rest are just heeled in in the garden. I went out yesterday afternoon intending to plant them, but it was so cold I just planted the few handfulls of hulless oats I grew last year from a small sample. There is a Gaelic saying that whoever doesn't plant on a cold day won't harvest on a hot one, so I thought I should do it even if it was cold, and I'd plant at least a couple of lilacs afterwards. But it was blowing so hard and cold my hands were numb, and it started to rain, so I gave up.

The serviceberries (saskatoons, Indian pear) are a little past full bloom. Plums are blooming, the apple treees are slowly opening their buds into small green leaves. That is the stage things are at here.

It has been staying cold, in the 40s F (5-10C) in the daytime, which is quite a bit below the normal high of 14-15C (upper 50s to almost 60F).

I am working on another batch of spoons while the ones I made before dry enough for finish sanding. Some lilac, some apple, a few maple. I think there is a total of 54 in this batch.
Well, today is my birthday and my daughter and her husband are coming out, so I have to make sure everything is clean when they get here.