A Fading Light

There are days when you just seem to hit some kind of wall. That was today. My brain woke up briefly around 3pm. Otherwise this was a zero energy day with a mild headache. What could it be?

The fourth day of destruction for the turd box ended with an approval by the powers that be and the start of covering up the whole mess. The two Black Cherry trees came down without crushing the cozy cabin at least. Was that big one supposed to fall that way? Is all this destruction to blame?

Speaking of gas filled boxes, the oven, I found, was the last click away from being off. Had I been breathing carbon monoxide during the night with the windows all closed due to the new chill in the air?



This new chill in the air is scheduled for the whole week. Is my body acclimating from its tropical origins all over again? Does this happen every year? How long does it take?

The news of the weird, I mean world, has been unsettling this week. Not surprising, but still a lot to take in. I just put in a $5000 dollar turd box and am tragically under-employed.

There is no real schedule for a person that is tragically under-employed and it is my nature to keep going until there is no go left. Perhaps I just ran out of steam. That is when the guilt for being lazy kicks in, when I am exhausted. Brains can be such fun. Shut up brain.



My very nice mail carrier gave me some "sang" seeds, Ginseng, Panax quinquefolius. This came about when I asked if she knew anyone who might be missing Chow Fun. Maybe she said he belonged to the guys my neighbor in the Kingdom of Madison found digging "sang" on his property and held at gunpoint until they were hauled away by the Feds. I told her I hadn't seen any Ginseng on my land. Of course not, it is long gone she said.

The seeds take sixteen to twenty two months to germinate, coming up their second spring. Growers stratify the seed in sand boxes sunk in the ground then plant them the following fall. So I did manage to stratify my Ginseng seeds in sand today. It only takes four to five years after germination to have a harvestable size root.

Another item for the roadside possum stand that may be in my future to help pay for the turd box.

The Turd Box

What a mess! You can see why my gardening efforts have been confined to small strategic locations so far.



The drain field amounts to three 80 foot long lines with nine feet between the lines. This is over kill for the cozy cabin. The septic system is planned for the future house as well and is sized for a four bedroom system.



The main drain line has to come from way over there.



To get to the drain field on the far side of the sunny utility valley.



That is where the turd box goes. That's what the man called it. This location is between the cozy cabin and the future two bedroom house. Both will feed into the same turd box and drain field.

The two Black Cheery trees, Prunus serotina, between the cabin and the trackhoe have to come out, mainly because I do not want two eighty foot tall trees that now have three quarters of their root systems compromised that close to the cabin. The wind howls up here in the winter when the fronts come through. I do not want to be worrying about getting squashed like a bug while I am huddled inside trying to stay warm.



One of the good things about all this destruction is that a fresh supply of rocks is being unearthed. I like rocks.

It has been too gray and wet for me to continue wrapping the cozy cabin with tar paper and house wrap. It needs to be dry when I cover it. So I spent some time with the wall today and my new supply of rocks.



The view from the basement patio will look out over the drain field gardens. Just think how lush they will be with the extra moisture coming from the turd box.



The land will heal and over the winter while the ground is bare I can collect the rocks left on the surface and plan the flow of beds for the real gardens to come at Ku'ulei 'Aina.

Tempted

Now Up: Voting for 2008 BlogAsheville Awards

I'm scared. The Blogger Staff of Power is an awesome responsibility.

There is another little contest. I don't know that there are any prizes, but I like a creative challenge.



Extravablogiversapaloozathon Party Posters



Click on the image to expand them.

Ka-Bloom Day

It has been a moody gray day all around. Thick low clouds hovered above, undecided whether to drop lower and fog things in or lift up to pour down rain. A fine mist permeated the atmosphere. Dread was in the air.

The Humane Society came and got Chow Fun today. Thank you very much to the irresponsible dog owner who has made me feel terrible about your dog.



A distinct chill increased as the day wore on. I needed a sweat shirt to stay warm. It was 58 degrees at 6pm. I am not ready for this sort of thing.

Will a late blooming transplanted Joe Pye Weed make me feel warm?



The news I woke to this morning was grim. The laissez-faire, deregulated, hope that you get trickled on economic policies of the Republican party continue to plummet to their natural conclusion. The house of cards that greed built is going up in smoke. Will September 15th 2008 become the day when the Republican party is finally known as "the party that wrecked America?" Of course you can't dismiss the supporting role of the rest of the lesser politicians known as the Democrats.

This one little Sedum 'Lidakense' has been propagated from cuttings into well over a dozen starts. Maybe this will help me feel a sense of abundance. It's cheery red blooms late in the season are an added bonus.



The second patch of corn planted on the 4th of July has finished blooming and is settling in to form some ears. The coming week looks chilly. I wonder what that may do to the corn? I do know the raccoon has already taken his portion of the crop, impatient varmint, having discovered it during my absence. Now that the corn is being personally irrigated again the pillaging has stopped.



Further afield Goldenrod still holds forth in a section of the roadside vegetable garden. If need be there is more room for food production. How that could happen without me learning how to freeze the stuff is another question. Even with predation, ugly tomatoes and miniature melons, the vegetable garden is bountiful.



The other major event of the day was the beginning of my own road to nowhere. An earmark from the federal government is not paying for it and I will never pretend I wasn't for it all along. I was however more for it when it was an idea in my head than I am now that I see it. It changes things dramatically and I swear I felt the earth cry.



It's not like this was virgin ground or that nature itself doesn't tear wounds into the earth. It was just the reopening of an old wound trying to heal.



There was a purpose. The septic system is being installed. For now the road goes to the drain field and the main drain line leading to the field will be in the center of the road. Later the road will head on down to the bottom of the property. This just get two things done at the same time while a machine is here working.



The road cut has created two steep banks that will need to be planted and stabilized. When I think about it, I will be able to incorporate this into the design idea of a sunny hillside of low mounding texture and color. It's just much steeper than it was before. It looks scary, but the banks along the drive at the resident gardeners house are just like this and haven't moved in thirty years and I have way more sun to grow things.

The road to nowhere does have a point. I will be able to use a truck as a gardening tool to haul stuff when needed. This area between the cabin and the road and over the drain field will be the main cultivated and civilized garden area that I create. Once this septic system is in, the real gardening can begin.



So sorry it was a gloomy Bloom Day. There are up to a hundred others to choose from by now at Carol's May Dreams Gardens Bloom Day headquarters.

Another pesky aster has appeared. This one is white with very tiny leaves. If I was organized I might start a list of all the different asters on this mountain. For now it will have to be the unidentified white aster.



Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow.



I would like to have a larger store of warm memories before the chilling days to come.

Hurry

An unrepentant wind plows through the tree tops parting the leaves like so much hair on the scalp of the earth. It rolls in steadily, constant in its forward movement. This is no summer breeze. This new wind may be part of the storm called Ike as it transforms itself into a strong front far to the west. The warmth still present can not hide the wind’s reminder of a different time.

The parade of wildflowers marches on. The white froth of Ageratina altissima is quickly joined by the deep lavender blue of the unidentified aster. A new wave of color sweeps the mountain. A golden sea of Solidago ponds in the valley. Ragweed sneezes pollen and seeds cling to all parts of me as I pass through.







These signs are new to me. I study them for the littlest details. An expiration date I never had to contend with looms on the horizon. Perennials grown from seed in the spring must be planted before to long. A sack of bulbs that jumped in my cart and followed me to the register sits in the foyer. Roots need to be placed in the ground while there is still time.



Hurry, the wheel is spinning.

Anybody Want One ?

A little baby bear,



Not.

This Chow Chow dog was sitting at the end of the drive this morning when I went out to the mailbox. It growled at me and just barely backed off enough for me to get by.

The dog was still there this evening when I came back from adding more house wrap and installing another window in the cozy cabin. It had sat there all day and watched every car that went by, looking intently at each one.

I am not a dog person and the thing would not let me get too close and growled at me. I had to give him some food and water anyway. My closest neighbors are not that close and if this dog had wandered off and got lost, why hasn't it kept wandering? Why is this dog sitting at the end of my driveway watching every car that goes by?



I called the humane society after I fed him and left a message. I am not a dog person. Of course they were closed and have a half day schedule on Sunday. It may be Monday til they come to catch him, if he is still here and alive.

This Chow Chow dog is sitting at the end of my drive watching every car that goes by with intense scrutiny. The motorcycles scare him. It is pretty much a blind curve on the road out there and he looks way too much like a bear to be out there like a sitting duck.

I hope he is just lost and not deliberately abandoned, but sometimes you have to wonder what is wrong with some people? This is not a place where a dog should end up lost.

Anybody want a dog? Leave me a comment with a number to call. You have til Monday morning most likely.


Sunday Morning.

After breakfast, Chow Fun has resumed watching the cars go by.



The growl has turned to a bark and I can get a little closer. The Humane Society just called. They can come tomorrow. I am not a dog person. Anybody want some Chow Fun?

This Day

The Morning







Late Afternoon



Evening meadow



Waiting For Angelica

Back To The Grind

Now we return to our regular gardening, cozy cabin construction, and ethereal thoughts blogging at Outside Clyde. Sometimes I just get so incensed by outrageous behavior that I can't contain myself. It has to be let out.

It is a good thing I have acres of trails to wander, to cleanse my mind and spirit, to be reminded of what really matters, life and this good earth.

It has taken a week since returning from my brother's wedding to get back into what appears to be the routine of the tragically under-employed. The march of the wildflowers goes on undisturbed by any commotion in my life.

Lobelia siphilitica, the Great Blue Lobelia is every where, blooming like crazy.



Helianthus maximiliani continues to bloom despite a drought which thankfully has ended. There has been rain anyway since I got back. After Miss Fay gave us 6.5 inches, there was another week of nothing and a few potted plants on the deck where rather crispy upon my return. Oh well there are plenty more and the near dead seem to be recovering slowly. Let's see greenhouse/cold frame with irrigation system, row covers for fall veges, meditation maze and tea house overlooking the stream. What else was it I needed? Oh yea, a job. All in good time.



I told you it would return to me. This is Ligularia dentata, Bigleaf Ligularia or Golden Groundsel. There needs to be much much more of this.



Bit by bit the cozy cabin gets incrementally drier, as bit by bit the rains return. I managed to get two sections of the ridge caps on the roof, one permanently, the other temporarily. I couldn't quite reach all the way on the front living room end and was asked not to climb on the roof while I am here alone, so I just put it on with two screws until I can properly seal it and screw the whole thing on. It rains less inside now. I even managed a decent temporary plywood cover for the high back end of the loft ridge peak by going from inside.



Fifteen pound felt paper goes on the exterior walls first followed by the house wrap. Then it is time for doors and windows. I have doors and windows on my cozy little cabin. Yippee!



Can you have a favorite Goldenrod? This one that I think is Solidago roanensis stays shorter and more compact and blooms directly along the stems.



It is time for other things now. The Anemone, a sure sign of fall, is blooming with the first of the still unidentified blue aster that will sweep the mountain in great waves and last well after the first frosts.



It is best not to get to far ahead in my thinking. There are still plenty of glorious warm days to come and way to many tomatoes to eat. The world's ugliest tomato is ripe now. I'll have to eat it with Carol's wild dreams in mind.



A bit of a surprise, very out of the routine, for this blogger in the wilderness were several nominations for the annual Blog Asheville's Extravablogaversipaloozathonamado. It's a blogger party.