A Story - "Pop Quiz" and New Seed Starting Set-up

A Story

Pop Quiz

Dr. Masters greeted Debra with a smile, but her eyes were wary.  The appointment would be straightforward.  A clear diagnosis and simple treatment were being reviewed.  Why did this older woman make her squirm?

Debra waited for the doctor to start the conversation.  She nodded her head and agreed that she had looked up her condition on the Internet.

Dr. Masters felt like she was back in high school facing a pop quiz.  But she was the doctor, she was the one who had studied medicine and had years of experience.  Was that a look of skepticism when she mentioned the dosage of medication?  A quick pivot, and she thought she saw a softening in Debra's face.

The appointment was over.  Debra smiled and thanked the doctor.

Dr. Masters took a deep breath as she left the examination room.  She felt that she had barely squeaked through the test.

 

My son gave me a new seed starting set-up. It's pretty cool and well designed.

I really like the flexible cells. The upper rim and bottom are firm but the middle is rubbery. It will make popping out the seedlings super easy.

There is a water reservoir in the bottom. A plastic stand supports a black felt wicking mat that soaks up water and keeps the cells moist. I found it kept a very steady level of moisture in the soil. I also like the fact that the dome is quite high so air circulation is good. I use rainwater or melted snow for my new plants as our untreated well water is very hard and the treated water has salt from the water softener.

I only planted 4 pepper plants in this tray and they have sprouted now.  I kept the tray about 4' away from our propane heater so that it would stay warm. Yesterday, I planted some tomatoes in the empty cells. I remembered to label them.

The set-up comes with LED lighting built into the green cover plate.  The light  has a USB cable that I have plugged into a small external battery pack I have. The green cover plate swivels so you can close the holes or open them for more air circulation. I have kept the holes open and the soil has still stayed evenly moist.

I think this set-up would work  very well for starting flowers that often take a little longer to get going.

I will have to transplant the peppers and tomatoes after a few weeks into larger pots.

This is the box it came in.  It was bought from Amazon. It doesn't have a company name on it.

A Poem - "Goodbye" and Red Hypoestes and Improved Ant Bait

 A Poem

Goodbye

 Goodbye my dear mustang,

My rugged bay pony built to withstand wind and snow

Always mindful of the need to survive.

Your mellow greetings still linger in the air,

Your rich throaty murmurings sing to my heart.

Memories of your beauty will always wave to me:

Your movement, your strength, your agility.

The little flycatchers will wonder where you've gone.

The robins will miss your shed fur for their nests.

My life is forever changed because of you.

Your life resounds in rippled waves across my world.

This red hypoestes (pink polka dot plant) has stayed nice and small over the winter.  Last summer it was on the back deck where it grew to about 10" tall.  I gave it a good prune and it kept its small form while it was on the cool windowsill for the winter. I'll put it in a bigger pot for the summer and it can be outside in a semi-shade location.

Every spring we have ants of various sizes.  I read somewhere that ants like trillium plants and we have lots of those so there are just a lot of ants in our environment.  Over the years, I have used borax/sugar mixes to keep them in check but last year I came across a brilliant improvement to my ant bait. The secret is a piece of Eggo waffle. In the picture, you can see that I took a plastic container and poked some holes near the brim.

Next I put a piece of Eggo waffle on the lid and pour over my equal parts borax/sugar mix that I have dissolved in some hot water.  Put the container bottom back on the lid. The waffle is like a sponge and the ants are happy to break off a little piece of the sweet treat to take home to the nest. Every so often add more borax/sugar solution to the waffle.

I might add that some ants prefer protein so peanut butter is a better bait for them, but my ants like sugar. 

You have to experiment to see what they like.

A Story - "Body Breakdown" and Growing Onions

A Story

Body Breakdown

Sitting on the couch at 2 am, Penny tried to remember how to activate her leg muscles to stand up.  Her sore wrists, hands, shoulders, hips and back had kept her awake and she wanted to get up and pace the floor to ease the stiffness and pain.  Marshalling her brain, she gritted her teeth, pushed on the arm of the couch and staggered to her feet.  She shuffled forward, walking slowly up and down the length of the living room.

The suddenness of her new incapacity had been startling.  Almost overnight she had gone from being strong and active to being stiff, sore and weak.  Polymyalgia rheumatica, the doctor diagnosed.

Thankfully, medication brought the storm under control.  Hope and relief came flooding back.

For my zone 4 garden, I need to start my onions in February.  In my region in Ontario, it's important to buy long day onion seeds.  I have an inexpensive grow light that I can put the seedlings under to help them get through the dull winter days.  Even still, they are floppy.  It won't matter though and once in the garden they will straighten up.  They will be planted outside in early May.  By the end of July, they will be ready to harvest. Last year I planted some yellow onions and some red onions.  Both varieties kept well and I still have one red onion left that's in good shape. I just stored them in paper bags in the dark at cool room temperature. I have about forty seedlings in these pots and that will do me until this time next year.