In A Nutshell

There I was at work, just a working away.  It was almost 6:00 and I saw Cuz come over and start talking to Group Leader Shark. 

"Uh oh,"  I said.  "What have we done now?"  

Actually, I said, "What we done did now?" because in real life, I do speak in local vernacular from time to time.  But that's not relevant to this story. 

Then the morning meeting started and she chewed us up one side and down the other.  Apparently, someone got caught carrying—oh the horror— a Coca~Cola into the plant this morning.

"Do not be carrying Cokes into this plant!  And it has to be in a clear cup!  I don't care what these other departments do!  You will have a clear cup!"

And I'm thinking, "That right there is exactly what is wrong with this plant in a nutshell.  I wish she'd get this bent out of shape of this jacked up garbage we get from tubing as she does over what kind of cup I'm drinking my water out of."  

So, I go back to my stand and finish the order I’d been working on-- which is the one I'd started yesterday when the line was already down waiting on it, and I had to wait on the adapter tubes before I could even start brazing it. 

I found out this morning that they'd sent that line home early because they didn't have header assemblies.  And yet...they still didn't have the adapter tube line coming in early.  Go figure...

So, I finish that order, then go get line 3’s next order, and the parts stager tells me, “It only has two legs, but it’s next.”  I spend the next two hours waiting on adapter tubes, and the line is down waiting on me, and ... the adapter tube line is working on parts for line 4– which we are 11 hours ahead of that line, instead of line 3, which is down waiting on us. 

Make. It. Make. Sense.

Please!  

I honestly believe that if our parent company weren't propping this company up, they'd have gone out of business years ago.  The place is so poorly managed, it's a wonder it can function at all. 

Anyway, I finally got the parts I needed and brazed the order with the line's parts stager taking them out  of my hands as fast as I can braze them, and after a day like that, I said to myself, "Self, I really need to play in some dirt!" 

So I went to the store after work and bought a few more bags of garden soil.  Then I came home, filled all of the bird feeders, put the soil into my beds, came inside and took a shower -- and still made it to the TV in time for the Atremis II launch.

Because I'm multi talented like that. 

All right then... I think these two are ready to be planted. 

I'll have to see how much the soil settles after the next rain, but there's likely enough to go ahead and plant my tomatoes and banana peppers.  I'm still going to buy up a bag or two of soil at a time while they have them in stock, so I'll have some ready when I get around to getting the rest of my raised beds. Or for when my current beds need a top-up.  

While I was outside, I took photos of my herbs for your viewing pleasure.  Here is my lemon balm:

Broadleaf Sage: 

Greek Oregano: 

French Tarragon: 

And I just realized I didn't take a photo of my rosemary or mint.  Oh well...I'll get them next time. 

The last thing I did was to drag the hose around and water everything, and I also put out the bee pond, since it's so very dry. 

Yeah, we got a lot of thunder last night, but very little actual rain.  We're supposed to get some storms Saturday, so maybe we will finally get some rain.   They're saying 100% chance, so we'll see. 

And finally, this meme showed up in my socials today, and now I have to add Dracula to my reading list. 

Can you believe I've never read it?  I must rectify that as soon as I've finished the books I'm currently reading. 

One Of Those Days

It was one of those days at work.  We -- meaning the brazers -- stood around all day waiting on orders from tubing.  They came trickling in at a snail's pace.  I hate days like that to begin with because it makes the time pass so slowly.  

I've never understood workplace logic.  The sub brazers come in at 4:00.  The header line comes in at 4:00.  The adapter tube line comes in at.........6:00.  Guess which parts we've been waiting on all week.  It just doesn't make any sense.  

To make matters worse, after standing around piddling all day because we didn't have work, thirty minutes before quitting time, the line comes rushing up to the brazing area looking for headers because they were down waiting on parts.  The only problem is, tubing didn't even have the adapter tubes ready.  

I just wish I could get it through their thick heads that you can yell and scream and blame the brazers all you want, but until you fix the actual problem -- TUBING -- nothing is going to change.  But this is what the plant does to its employees.  They set you up to fail, then blame you for doing exactly what they intended for you to do.  

It's much easier than being organized and efficient, you know. 

I'd thought about running in and getting some more garden soil after work, since they're predicting storms this evening.  I wanted to get it into the beds before the rain gets here, so it can settle in a bit.  After the day I had, that plan went out the window, and I just came on home.  

I do hope we get some rain; it's so very dry.  Even my poor little purple deadnettle isn't growing this year.  Last year it was thick and tall and I could sit outside and hear the bees buzzing all over my yard.  This year, it's short and stumpy and really struggling.  

In a bit of better news, the cat seems to be on the mend.  She's still gimping, but there is no sign of infection and she's eating well.  I don't think a vet visit will be necessary this time.  

More good news, the wild fire in Carroll County is 90% contained, and hopefully they'll get some rain to thoroughly drench it.  It ended up burning 4246 acres, which is the second largest wildfire in Mississippi history.  

And finally, just so this post isn't a complete waste of your time, here is a photo of my zinnias.  

 I'm going to have to thin them soon.  Maybe I'll do that this weekend. 

But for now, I'm going to watch an episode of The Repair Shop, then go to bed. 

Good night. 

Good News!

Good news!  The county is finally getting the debris from the ice storm cleaned up on my road!  Woo Hoo!  It's only been two months, but to be fair, there was a lot of debris from that storm.  

It's going to feel kind of weird to be able to drive straight down the road, instead of weaving my way around fallen branches and stuff.  Well, it is a narrow road -- barely over one lane wide.  But we like it that way.

Except when it's blocked by storm debris...or the garbage truck. 

In other news, I'm sure you'll all be pleased to know that I made it into town and put the book I just finished back into the Little Free Library, and look what I found to replace it!

Funny thing is, I almost bought this one for my Kindle over the weekend, but backed out at the last minute.  Good thing, because now I don't need to.  This one ought to read up a lot quicker than the last one did, then I'll take it back for someone else to enjoy. 

By the way, Edna, I finally made it to The Nest Egg, but the yarn was already gone.  Oh well, it's my own fault.  I should have gone that very first day.  

Since I was in town, I briefly thought about running to Walmart and picking up a few more bags of garden soil, but I didn't.  I came home and watched the next two episodes of The Faithful: Women Of The Bible, and knit on a sock yarn hat instead. 

Here's a fun fact for you.  My mother wanted to spell my name Rebekah, like in the Bible, but talked herself out of it at the last minute.  She spelled it that way anyway, up until I started first grade, then figured she ought to spell it like it was on my birth certificate.  After I was grown, I had considered a few times going down and getting it legally changed to that spelling, but never got around to it.  I suppose I still could, but there just doesn't seem to be any point at this age. 

More bad news, that stray tom cat came into the yard and attacked the Incarnation of Evil again yesterday.  He mauled that same leg joint that she was still slightly limping on from the last time he got her.  This time, I was able to make it out into the yard in time to give him a good, hard kick, so maybe he'll think twice before coming back.  

There is no animal control out in the county, just in case you were wondering.  We have to take care of these things on our own.... 

And finally, I get the strangest earworms sometimes.  For instance, this was today's:

Don't ask.  Even I don't know. 

I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things. 

I Cheated

For weeks, I've been trying to get these hats tagged and ready to send off to the Seaman's Church Institute, but have been dragging my feet.  The thought of signing all of those tags with my chicken scratch handwriting -- which is only getting worse the older I get -- was very offputting.  

Well, today, I got a brilliant idea.  I'd just print labels with my signature and stick those to the tags.  In other words, I'd cheat.   So, after church, I got my address blanks out, got online and found a template, then made up signature stickers that I think will work right nicely. 

I printed them out and got them stuck to the back of the tags in a jiffy, and now they're ready to tie on to the hats.  I was going to dig out my Christmas ribbon, but that might not happen since all of the Christmas paper is stuffed into the back of the closet once again.  

Eh, I ought to get it out, because I've already bought one of Brennan's gifts.  Might as well wrap it before she accidentally finds it.  Not that that will happen, because I probably won't see them again until Thanksgiving anyway.  

The only other noteworthy things I did today was to finish another sailor hat, 

Yarn:  Mainstays 

Colorway:  Blue Blend

Pattern:  Basic Beanie

Needles:  US 8 / 5 mm

and I planted a few of my bachelor's button seeds.  Then I finally got my act together enough to fix my garden hose and dragged it around there and watered everything.  

For those of you with memories like mine, the hose had busted sometime last summer.  I'd gotten one of those hose mender things, but no matter how much I tightened the hose clamps, it still leaked.  Well, last December when the plumber came to fix my sink, he left his little bottle of pipe thread sealant goop.  I messaged him and let him know it was here, but he never came and got it. I figured after all this time, he didn't intend to, so it wouldn't hurt any if I borrowed a little bit. 

I got it out, took the whole hose mending apart, then slathered a good bit of the pipe goo onto the fitting -- and my hands and my screwdriver, and made a right proper mess of things while I was at it.   But no matter, that's what soap and water is for.  

A few minutes later, and I tried it out.  It worked a charm.  No more leaks!  While I was at it, I washed out and filled both the bird bath and deer trough.  It's so nice to have a working hose again.  I mean, it worked before, but if I forgot to turn the water off, it dripped all over the place and likely ran up my water bill.  

That was my day, other than catching up on the most recent season of Call The Midwife on PBS.  I'm kind of getting the idea that this will be the last season.  If so, it's had a good run, and better to end before people get tired of the show, but I sure hope it's not.  

On the bright side, if this is the last season, it won't be long before I can buy the entire series on DVD and will have it forever. 

And finally, the latest on the Carroll County fire is that it's burned 4200 acres, and is only 40% contained.   They're saying the debris from the ice storm and the 2023 tornado -- the same one that hit Rolling Fork -- has made things so much worse.  They're saying it could be days before it's contained. 

What we need is a good rain, but it'll be Thursday before there is any in the forecast.  In the meantime, the Cajun Navy is on the way to help out. 

Accomplishment!

Yes, you read that right.  I actually accomplished something today.  And just what was it that I accomplished?  Well, I'll tell you. 

I finally, at long last, finished this book!

Yay me!  Next time I go into town, I'll put it back into the Little Free Library and see if they have something else I want to read, though I still haven't read the book my brother gave me for Christmas.  I might even take it in tomorrow, if I can get myself dressed and moving.  Then, once I've dropped the book off, I can run by Walmart and pick up some more bags of garden soil.

Which segues nicely into my next accomplishment.   Ever since I've lived in this house, I've collected up twigs and small limbs that fall, and over the years, I've built up quite the collection of them.  Even using them to start fires in my wood stove, I still had a lot.  So, what better use for them than to fill my new garden beds?  

The best part, after getting the majority of the twigs up, I found a nice, thick layer of compost underneath them!  Once I added that to my beds, it filled them up quite nicely.  

And there was enough to fill both beds about halfway up. 

I'm going to let it all settle a bit, and hopefully get rained on a few times, then start adding soil later on in the year.  I'm well aware that these probably won't be ready to be planted this spring, but they weren't really intended to be part of this year's planting anyway.  

Speaking of rain, we are nearly 5" below normal for this time of year.  It's so bad, we're under a burn ban and red flag warning.  In fact, there is a massive wildfire in the county just to the South of us, covering some 3000 acres.  I sat outside by my fire pit a bit, but didn't light a fire -- not even in my wood stove this morning.   It got down into the mid 40s last night, which would have made a fire feel good, but I didn't feel like fooling with one. 

But as I was saying,  I got this entire section of the old chicken coops cleaned out, ready to start re-filling with whatever I want to put into it. 

I don't yet know what that will be.  I do know it won't be chickens, though.  I might move my potting table here.  With this one being on the end, it will get more light than where I have the table now.  At least, I'll be able to see when I'm potting stuff.  

Moving right along, I'd brought all of my plants inside last night even though it wasn't supposed to frost, just in case.  As soon as the sun came up, I put everything back outside, including the zinnias.  

They do need thinning again, but I'm debating on whether to try to separate the seedlings instead of just snipping one off.  I've got some pots I can up pot them into, so I may try to do that.  Then again, in just two more weeks, I'll feel safe enough to plant them into their permanent homes, since it'll be past the danger of frost.  According to Grok, it's probably safe to plant now, but I think I'll wait anyway. 

I recently watched a YouTube video on pinching zinnias, which I'd never done in the past -- probably because I'd never started them from seeds before.  I think I'll pinch these when they get big enough.  The video says to wait until they have at least two, and preferably three, sets of true leaves before doing it.  As you can see, these have just started getting their second set, so it's too early to pinch these.  We have such a long growing season this far South, so I have plenty of time.  

I might go ahead and plant some of my bachelor's button seeds, and save some back, just in case.  Oh, and look at this!  As I was taking photos of my bluebonnets to force you to look at, 

look what I found!  It's a baby bluebonnet!  

It looks like some of the other seeds I'd planted might germinate after all.   I know it can take a few years and several freezing and thawing cycles sometimes.  

Now, if you'll excuse me, House Of David season 2 is up on Prime Video, and I think I'll go watch an episode or two.  

Laters...

Next Project Up!

After thinking about it for several days, I suddenly realized I actually did have a couple of those long beds that didn't have any dirt in them.  By golly, I'm going to get out there and dig out the red clay before I start filling them!  First I had to pull the liner out, and at this point, I'm kind of wondering why I put it in in the first place. 

I didn't know what I was doing.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Now that I know some plants need a deeper root structure, I won't be putting that liner into the rest of my beds.  And I will be digging the red clay out before adding compost and dirt.  

Anyway, I had to shift the bed a bit to get the liner out, and once I got it back into place, it didn't take long at all to get the clay dug out, even with the copious amounts of breaks I took.  

I don't know what it is with this corner of the yard, but it simply will not drain.  We haven't had any rain in 10 days, and all that red clay was still soaking wet.  I'm going to put down a lot of compost before I start adding dirt to these.  I'm not in any big hurry, because I only bought these so I could better gauge where my 4 x 4 beds need to go.

I mean, that's not the only reason I bought them, but it is the reason I bought them now.  I don't even know what I'm going to put into them yet.  I'm considering moving the dirt from the other two beds on that side -- which are currently empty of plants -- into these two beds, then removing the liner and clay from under those.  Then I can re-fill them and they'll also be ready for whatever I want to do with them. 

OK, I'm rambling now.  Let's move on.  

Today was also the day I took on the somewhat unpleasant task of thinning my basil.    

 They're all down to one plant per cell, except for a couple of the smallest seedlings.  I've notice some of the larger plants have flopped over.  I'm hoping it's just because they were leaning on their cellmates and will perk up in a day or two.  But, even if I did accidentally kill them, I've still got plenty more.   So many more, I'm wondering where I'm going to put them all.  

Eh, I'll find a place for them.  

You know, someday something that is blogworthy will happen and I'll write an interesting and fascinating post once again, and stop boring you with my garden news. Today is not that day.  

Thus, you get boring garden drivel.  And I'm going to go knit a bit. 

Laters. 

I Remembered

I remembered yesterday. 

I remembered to go get the garden soil.  I just didn't feel like doing it, so I didn't.  I have been so tired lately, I didn't feel like doing anything, so I came on home and watched TV, and knit a bit on the next sailor hat.   I tried to sit outside for a little while, but the mosquitoes found me in next to no time.  I really need to dig out my citronella candle now that spring is here.  

Anyway, I went to bed last night at a little after 6:30, and though I didn't fall asleep until sometime around 8:00, it was so nice just laying there not doing anything.  

Even so, I felt much better this morning when I woke up, so right after work, I zipped on in to Walmart and picked up four bags of garden soil.  

I put two bags into each bed, and it got them just over halfway full.  

I'll put a couple more bags in each one before I plant, but to be honest, it's probably got enough dirt in it since I dug out the clay.  I did some figuring and I can put four tomato plants into the one bed.  Now, I just need to decide which kind of tomatoes.  I'm leaning towards Roma tomatoes, because I've read they make the best soup.  

Don't get me wrong, I love me a good 'mater sammich, but there's no way I could eat that many tomatoes before they all go bad, so I'm thinking I can make tomato soup and put it into the freezer for next winter.  Tomato basil soup mostly likely, since I'm going to have a garden full of basil, too. 

While I was out there, I decided my green onions were ready to harvest, 

well, past ready, really.  I cut them, then chopped them up and put them into the freezer for whatever I might need green onion for.  I'm thinking omelets for one.  Maybe I can toss some into that soup while I'm at it.

By the way, I pulled up my little celery plant. It really wasn't doing anything, and the leaves keep dying off.  Unlike my bluebonnets, which are more gorgeous than ever. 

In other news, I watched the first episode of that new show on FOX, The Faithful:  Women of The Bible.  It was pretty good.  This one was about Abram and Sarai, and it got to the part -- spoiler alert -- where Sarai sends her handmaid Hagar in to get pregnant by Abram, and I'm literally shouting at the TV, "Don't do it, Abraham!  You have no idea the absolute hell you are about to unleash on the world!"  But of course, he didn't listen...

Well, it's already past my bedtime, so I guess I'd better get off of here and go get ready for bed. 

Goodnight, all. 

Feeling It

All that work I did in the garden over the weekend...yeah, I'm feeling it today.   Even so, I'd thought about running in to Walmart after work and picking up a couple more bags of garden soil.  Alas, I was nearly home when I remembered, and wasn't about to turn around and go all the way into town.  Eh, I'll go tomorrow.

If I remember. 

Instead, I simply dumped the one bag I already had at home into one of the beds and called it a day. 

Even that took more energy than I thought I had, so now I'm inside watching TV, which is my plan for the rest of my all too brief evening.  

I know there's a bit conflict over making Daylight Saving Time permanent, and while I'm all for stopping the time change, I'd rather have standard time permanent, for two reasons.  One, it's natural time, and our bodies are more naturally in tune with it.  Secondly, I already feel like I have to go to bed in the middle of the day.  DST just makes that feeling worse.  

OK, now that that is out of the way, my little zinnias are really coming on.  Even the one cell that I planted a second set of seeds has one growing. 

You know what the best part of that photo is?  See those little things that look like worms?  Those are oak tassels.  Yes!  The oak trees are dropping their tassels!  The Great Pollening is almost over!  Woo Hoo!  

You know it wouldn't be a gorgeous spring day if I didn't bombard you with yet another photo of my bluebonnet bed.  

And finally, someone in one of the veterans groups I'm in posted this today, and it was too funny not to share. 

 Now, if you'll excuse me, I know this is short, but my arms feel like noodles, so I'm going to get off here and just chill until bed time. 

Laters.

What Is This?

What is this?  Any guesses?  No?  OK, I'll tell you.  

It's the empty spot where my compost pile used to be. 

And just where exactly is all the compost that used to be in that pile?  It's here, in these two beds.  

Yep, I got out after church and moved the rest of that pike into my raised beds.  I was a bit appalled at how much trash was in my compost, though.  Weird trash, too, like I found four art gum erasers in it.  Art gum erasers!  How on earth did those get there???  I also found a lens cap to my old DSLR camera, which I'm also not sure how it got into my compost.  The rest was stuff like weedeater string, old plant tags from the store, and stuff like that.  At least that part makes sense.  

In the end, I think I got it all sifted out.  Now my beds are ready to start adding the garden soil to them, 

but by the time I got done, I was too hot and tired to start doing that.  

Not only that, I think Snoop Dogg has moved into my neighborhood, because every time I step outside, I'm bowled over by the stench of that skunk weed.  When did marijuana become legal in Mississippi anyway?  I don't remember voting for that.  

Anyway, I got all of the compost moved, then came inside and just rested for the rest of this day of rest.  I watched a few episodes of The Great Pottery Throwdown, and what I love about that show is the judges.  Your pottery could completely fall apart and you present them a pile of rubble, and they're still going to find something positive to say about it and tell you, "Good job." 

And finally, I remembered why I stopped doing Eye Candy Friday.  It's because my DSLR crapped out, and I just wasn't getting the quality shots with my phone camera.  I'm tempted from time to time to buy a new DSLR, but can't quite bring myself to do it.  It's not a practical purchase, but think how good my little bluebonnet photos would look with a better camera...

 

Done! —ish

I might not be able to move tomorrow, but by golly I'm done -- ish.  

This morning, I finally put the last raised bed together and got it into place.  It went a bit easier this time since I had already done one and kinda knew what to do.  Then I got the old tape measure out and made sure everything was nice and symmetrical, and I think it looks really good the way I have it set up. 

  

That's all I'm going to do for this year, but when I get it all into place, the other half will look just like this half, only in mirror image.   

After a bit of a break I dug out all of the red clay and I'm telling ya, it went so much faster using the shovel.   Of course, if I had known how thick that clay layer was, I'd have done that the first time, too.  Nevertheless, they both are done now, and ready to be filled. 

By the way, those stakes are only there to mark where the corners should be, just in case I bump them while working around them.  I'll pull them out once I get the beds filled, which I started doing after another break -- I'm at the age where I need a lot of breaks.  

This is a trick I saw on several YouTube videos and gardening sites for cutting your costs when filling a lot of raised beds, to use compostable bulky stuff like twigs and limbs.  I filled the bottom of this one with storm debris, 

and the other with pine cones. 

Since I'm going to be re-planting these beds every year, I can do this, because this stuff will eventually compost down and, as it does so, I'll have to add more soil on top of it.  I'll have to top up my perennial beds, too, but not as much.  Fortunately, my state tax return has already hit my bank account: $13 whole dollars!  Woo Hoo!  I'm rich!

Still, that's enough to buy three bags of garden soil.  I just have to convince myself to go to the store and get it.  It won't happen today, that's for sure.  Before I do that, I'm going to put in as much as I can of the compost pile that I've been saving for years.  In fact, after yet another break, I already started doing that.  I got a couple of wheel barrows full transferred, then decided I ought to knock off for a while, because I'm not as young as I used to be and I'm already feeling it. 

I was going to mow the front yard, but I'm not sure I'm going to get around to that.  Eh, I might here a bit later when it's cooled off some.  In the meantime, I got my hummingbird feeders filled and put out. 

And I decided that my little zinnias needed to be thinned. 

Even though the plan was to put three seeds into each cell, apparently, I spilled some and a couple of them had six or seven seedlings in them.  A few moments with my scissors and they're down to two plants in each -- or one if only one seed had germinated. 

In a couple more weeks, I'll thin them down to the strongest seedling in each cell.  Two weeks after that, we should be past the danger of frost, so into their permanent home they'll go.  

And what would a blog post be if I didn't show you my bluebonnets.  

I can't tell you how tickled I am that they've done so well this year. You know what?  I think I'm going to go mow that front yard anyway.  Can't have weeds blocking the 'bonnets, can we?  
 

Eye Candy Friday

Back in the day, when blogging used to be much more widespread, Eye Candy Friday was a big thing.  I really enjoyed seeing the photos different bloggers posted of things that were pleasant to look at.  It's kind of fallen by the wayside, though.  Only one of the blogs I follow still does it.  

I'm a might tuckered today, and don't really have much to share with you, so I thought I'd do an Eye Candy Friday this week.  Here, for your viewing pleasure is my bluebonnet bed. 

Like I said earlier, there's not much to report.  I finally got all of the red clay out of  my raised bed, 

but once I got done with that, I was too tired to start filling it up or even to put together the other bed.  Those will be my projects for tomorrow, along with getting the hummingbird feeders filled and put out.  I think when I put the second bed together, now that I know how thick that layer of clay is, I'll skip the stirrup hoe and start with the shovel. 

I tried to sit in my chair for a little while, but the mosquitoes found me pretty quickly, so I came inside and took a shower.  Then I sat down and watched Sidekicks in memory of Chuck Norris. 

By the way, I received confirmation today that Inspector Gadget will be in the assembly area for the foreseeable future.  One of the supervisors back there is leaving and IG will take his place.  Sucks for them.

He he he...

Progress!

Today was such a gorgeously beautiful day, I couldn't stay inside.  It was absolutely perfect for getting outside and piddling in the garden, and that's just what I did.   

First thing I did was to check on my little zinnias, and they're doing fine. 

There is one cell that didn't seem to have anything germinating, so I planted a few more seeds in it.  I'm not sure if the ones I planted didn't grow, or if I somehow overlooked that one.  Either is possible, I suppose. 

Then I got a wild hair and decided to start hardening my little basil seedlings. My reasoning is that we're experiencing a warmer than normal spring, and they'll do better outside in the sun anyway.  If we have a late frost, I can still bring them inside for the night and put them under the grow light until it warms back up.

While I was outside enjoying the day, I said to myself, "Self, those little basil plants are going to need a place to live.  Might as well get those other beds put together."  I got one done today, and will probably do the other one tomorrow.  Now that I've got the hang of it, the next one ought to go much faster. 

It wasn't that hard to put together, but it was a bit annoying because there weren't any screw holes pre-drilled.  And I couldn't find my rubber hammer.  I finally did, but that part took longer than putting the thing together.   The kneeling bench my sister gave me for Christmas really came in handy, as well.  It made it so much easier than squatting. 

The 4 x 4 beds are made of resin and came pre-colored.  If I had have remembered that they beds were this dark, I might have painted my other beds the same color.  On the other hand, that might just make that whole corner too dark.  Nah, I'll leave them as they are.  

I think I'll leave this bed right where it sits.  There is plenty of space on this side for me to get between the beds and work, 

as well as on this side. 

Then I got another wild hair and decided to dig out all of the red clay and get back down to regular dirt.  My reasoning for that was if the plant needed to grow deep roots, that clay might be an issue.  So I got my stirrup hoe and scraped and scraped and scraped and scraped.  And I got my dirt rake and raked and raked and raked and raked and I was asking myself, "Just how much red clay did that land scammer dump here?"  

I would have kept going, but I was already getting sore, and I had to caution myself not to over do it, so I stopped.  Before I came inside, I got my shovel and dug straight down to see how much further I had to go, and it's not that far.  Only about an inch more.   

I'll take care of that tomorrow evening, then I can start filling the bed.  

The last thing I did before coming inside and taking a shower was to mark approximately where the rest of my beds will go.  

That way, when I do get the dirt guy out here, I can show him where to stop clearing, and this time, I will point the flags out to him.  I guess I just assumed the land scammer would know, hey those flags must mean something, and avoid them, but no.  He plowed them down like they weren't even there. 

I would have loved to sit outside and enjoy the day for a while, but alas, I have to get up way too early in the morning.  Yes, we're back to going in at 4:00 AM.  I wish they'd just pick a time and stick with it.  

With that, I will bid you good night.  I'm going to bed. 

Laters.