Sorry I;ve been quiet. I have the cold to beat all colds. Gee Madeleine, give a gardener a few days of warmth and sunshine and see how soon they forget the past few months. lol. I did call in sick at work today. No sense spreading it as I work in "cubicle city". Very close proximity. I wish all my co-workers would do the same. Being a federal employee we do get generous sick and vacation time but many abuse it and then when they really need it, they don't have any so they come in sick and contaminate everything in the office. Oh well. Even with the cold, I was able to get out in the garden and do some serious cleanup. Even the neighbor remarked how "naked" it looks out front now, I was probably a sight to see with my kleenex and gatorade. The theme was pretty much "weed" cough, weed, sneeze, weed blow, weed cough, ...
I will probably stay home tomorrow as well. I would probably have a hard time explained how I got sunburnt while sick in bed.
Fortunately they are too aware of my passion for gardening as I have donated to many of their gardens over the years. On the bright side, many plants I though lost are either sprouting or have green wood where they were but back. I was able to get my son out to help with some of the pruning and I taught him how to determine by feel and trimming whether things are dead. We had a running joke between us since he was little. Since I propagate and grow for resale for a little extra income, I have always had a yard full of plants in pots of all sizes. When I upsize plants I usually use fresh soil and leave the old soil in pots to amend the yard soil or add to the compost bin. I would usually leave them to the side to accumulate. At about the time, I asked my son to help it was winter and some of the plants were dormant. I would point out which plants were for the compost. He would often pick up a dormant one with spent leaves still attached and say "What about this one, it's dead" I would then reply "it's not dead, it's sleeping for the winter" Now occasionally, like everyone, I will have a plant die in the pot. If we come across one while working, I will tell him to put it in the compost pile and he will always reply "Mom, it's not dead, it's sleeping" Leave it to him to find a way out of doing extra work.
So how is everyone else's week going?
