Today in Plumbing

It turns out that the sewer connections in Asheville
have a dirty little secret.
The pipes connecting to the house are metal.
The pipes between those metal pipes
and the sewer
are made of some sort of laminated tar paper.
It is really a miracle they lasted 60 years or so.
But now the time has come
to pay the big bucks
and dig the big holes
and replace the pipes
so that water will continue to leave the house
and not pool in the basement.

2012

I have been thinking about the short and long of the Mayan calendar.
The calendar ends in December of 2012,
so people are cashing in with books and movies
about the end of the world
at that time.

Working with hospice patients,
I'm familiar with the energy
that comes with this way of thinking.

If I have two years (or less) to live
what do I need to get done?
What do I need to say to people?
What do I need to learn, to forgive, to resolve?

It is a good and healthy thing
to live with short term deadlines.

Motivates us to get moving,
to do the things that we keep putting off
for uncounted tomorrows.

But I'm also intrigued with the LONG
of the Mayan calendar.

In our culture it is unheard of
to plan ten years ahead,
much less 5000 years.

If I make a new calendar
not for this month or this year
or this decade or this hundred years...
but for the next 5000 years,
what sort of planning does THAT entail?

The Mayans were truly remarkable
with their calendars short
and their calendars long.
They were people comfortable with
both the short view from harvest to harvest
and the long reach into the vast unknown.

Biltmore's Flower Quilt

Some pics of the great flowers at the Biltmore House last Sunday evening. Very pretty.

Below, the view on the other side of the wall from the flower quilt. I basically took the above picture, pivoted, and took the one below.

The Backyard in August

Butterflies and Godchildren

Butterflies

The butterflies started hatching out yesterday.
So far there are three.
No clear pictures as of yet,
but they are sitting quietly
in their butterfly habitat,
with sugar water in a feeder
at the bottom.

Chrysalides

It turns out that plastic cup photography
is not my best, but still...
Over the last couple days the catapillars
all made their way to the top of the cup
and each changed into a chrysalis.
In a week or so, they will be butterflies!

Hiking John Rock

Hiked up John Rock yesterday.
John Rock is the rock face behind the flags. Here we are at the top.
That's me behind the camera.
You can see the parking lot
in the lower left hand corner
of the picture.
There was a lot of "up" in the hike.

As unenthused as I was about portions
of the "up" in the hike...
those portions where I was sure my
out of shape heart would explode
in my chest...it was worth it.
The picnic at the top
was simply lovely.

The hike down was also lovely.
The mountain laurel were in bloom.
Down is easy on the heart
(and hard on the knees)
but you can enjoy the views more.

Bigger

The future butterflies are making great progress.
I think they double in size daily.

The Painted Ladies are Coming

My brother and sister-in-law
started sending word this week
that a package would arrive
that required "immediate attention."
When asked if the package had air holes,
they replied in the affirmative.

Open mouthed children not included.

The cats were interested in our new bugs,

thinking the cups would roll nicely

along on the floor,

like all good cat toys....

so for the time being,

catapiggles live in the china cabinet.

They apparently live their little cattapiggle lives in their cup,

then turn into crysalides under the lid,

at which point we move them to the butterfly habitat.

How Green is my Grapevine

The Budding of the Grapevine

Was it six summers ago

that I planted a twig in the ground

and declared it a grapevine?

This summer promises plentiful grapes...

the vine is established and rooted,

and is breaking out in little pink leaves

with vigor and enthusiasm.

Likewise, the asparagus patch

is sending up huge, tender stalks

left and right.

Had a fist full for supper last night,

fresh from the garden.

The blueberries are younger,

only planted last year.

I look forward to year six

and seven and eight with them.

I need to start thinking of apple trees.

Home on the Range

Easter Potato

Local wisdom says to plant your potatoes on Good Friday,
but it was raining, and I was working,
so Easter afternoon
instead of hiding eggs
we tucked potatoes in the ground.



We planted a mix from Burpee of red, blue and yellow potatoes.
One of my favorite things is to watch the potatoes grow
(they grow fast into sturdy plants with purple blossoms)
and then to dig the treasure out of the ground,
pounds and pounds of good eating.



I also planted some shallots and Egyptian walking onions left
abandoned from last year...they are probably all completely kaput,
but if even one grows, I'll be a happy camper.



Spring always brings wild onions (wild chives?)
in wild proliferation...they stand tall and proud amongst
the raised beds of the garden.
They smell nice when you mow,
and are good for picking and chewing
as you walk around the yard.



It won't be long before the garden is green with veggies and weeds.
The green in the far end
of one of those middle beds, above,
is STRAWBERRIES,
which come back stronger every year.
One of my younger friends (I think she's five)
was most disappointed when she came
to visit mid-winter
and was told there were no strawberries to pick.
Gathering eggs from the chickens
was considered a mediocre consolation prize.

New Vegetable Garden Fence

Chickens love the vegetable garden.
Lots of dirt to scratch,
lots of bugs,
lots of fun hopping the little red fence.

We trimmed their wings, but it turns out
they don't really fly over the fence so much
as leap it in a single bound.

This new metal fencing should do the trick.
Still working out the gate piece,
but on the whole, spring vegetables
are again on schedule.

A Video to Put a Smile on Your Face

http://www.new.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=76148416916&h=0RcqI&u=5blqe&ref=mf

Cooped Up

The chickens stayed cooped up all day today...

since their coop looked more like a triangular igloo

when day broke this morning.

Local Recipe

This from a sign at the Cradle of Forestry:

Winter Green

So it is 39 degrees outside (Fahrenheit),
and the garden is flat and brown.
What can one do to experience a little sprouting?
Cut the top off some carrots
(real carrots, not those whittled things),
and put them in a small dish with some water.
Tiny green trees will grow.
Many root vegetables will do the same....
something to sustain our spirits until Spring.

Water, Water, Everywhere

Here are the girls drinking water
out of the tiny plastic pond by the beehive.
While they have their very own water source,
they like to sample everything available.
Yum!

A particularly good time was had drinking water
racing from the downsprout
during a rainstorm last week.

Two HUGE eggs today.
No eggs yesterday.
Two the day before that.
One egg the day before that.

As spring progresses, they should get more regular,
with one egg each every day.
Yum!