Multiconstruct

After a pretty harsh winter I got my first real chance to get my hands in the dirt since probably November. I went to Westlakes as I had some other shopping to do. I got 2 more 50 lb bags of sand for the horseshoe pits for the winter settling. I also picked up 2 cubic yards of composted cotton waste. I paid a little more than if i would have gotten compost and peat but i figured composted ag waste was better than supporting peat mining, a fairly bad thing from what i’ve read. I also got a can of brown spray paint for the rain barrels, the special kind for plastic. Plus i got a small bottle of black for the rims and ridges so i have a faux rustic thing going. The can only covered 1 1/2 barrels so i will need another one. I saw bulbs and was tempted but resisted to focus on clean up, or so i thought. At Aldis i ended up getting 15 gladiolas and a gardenia. Dad wasn’t feeling up to cutting down the rest of the ant infested red bud so i didn’t have to stack wood and haul brush. Instead I dug up a small bed up on the high side on the east, next to the neighbors privacy fence. I put the gardenia in the middle and the glads around it, fairly dense, putting in about 4 inches of the cotton compost. I did a couple of short dense rows of mescalin mix over the tree roots where i couldn’t get very deep. Didn’t realize glads need to go in 8 inches or i probably would have put them elsewhere. Too wet to go about anywhere else. Lots of spring bulbs popping up, but no flowers yet. Doesn’t look like i’ve got many crocuses coming back. I think the squirrels have been in them. There’s this stubby tailed bastard i’ve caught in my tulips twice. Dad says i shouldn’t begrudge them a little eats. I also cleaned up my herb garden, white sage, chives, and oregano coming back already. I considered raking the leaves out of the beds but decided to wait. Compost is going slow. With a march vacation coming probably won’t get as much of the really early stuff in. Nonetheless some time outside felt really good.