Wednesday, May 1, 2024

SUDDENLY MAY!

Time is marching right along. It always does. But this morning I felt panic rising. We have family coming for Memorial Day, and I have things I wanted to accomplish before the date. Well, I had to give myself a good talking to. Most of those things don’t matter anyway, and I don’t need to pressure myself. Gramma Kathy does not like pressure!

On Saturday, May 25, we will hold a brief graveside service in Milo’s honor at the Gilbert Cemetery. This is Memorial Day weekend, which makes it possible for our children and their families to be with us on this solemn occasion.

Meanwhile, housework and yardwork beckon, but it’s still too cold to think of planting the garden, especially at the farm. It came close to freezing here in town the other day. But – gardeners are definitely thinking about planting, and I’ve heard Grandma’s advice to wait until after Mother’s Day more than once this year. I have started vegetable seedlings in my kitchen window, and they aren’t doing much. I suspect they’re cold. I don’t know if they will last until time to plant – perhaps another three weeks. I should probably repot them.

I’ve made a nice start on the pansy afghan. Making the effort to work more tightly is hard on my hands, but I am determined to add at least one full row every day until it’s finished. If I put it away (and I’ll be tempted to do so when it’s hot) I will lose momentum, but you know how it is. Making blankets is a cold-weather activity. Still, it has taken me weeks to get the gauge and learn the pattern. Picking it up again after a recess would be difficult.

Mike tells me we’re going to the transfer station this afternoon. We have a lot of yard waste generated by his weeding, and he has used motor oil to dispose of. He has also been cleaning his shop, working on bicycles, and weeding. KW

2 comments:

Chris said...

Yes, we never plan to put out plants until after Mother's Day. We even had snowflakes filter down this week along with freezing nights. I always remember getting up to two inches of snow of June 10 one of the years I was teaching. It was the first official day of my summer vacation! The pool didn't open! haha!

Kathy said...

And it looks like the cold temps will continue at altitude this next week. And you're right, Chris, that it can be cold in June. I think we've experienced less of that in recent years, but the possibility remains. And on the other side of the growing season, it can freeze and spit a little snow in August and September, but in recent years, it has been warmer. I always think that the growing a warmer fall should extend the growing season, but I find that as the days shorten, the garden gets the message.

And of course, we stood on the pool deck with teeth chattering during morning swim lessons when we were girls. Seems like yesterday.