(no subject)

[drscott]

It was a transitional day. First, I woke up to say goodbye to Frans, our guest from Amsterdam, who was leaving early to do a wine tasting in the Santa Cruz mountains, after which he'll take up residence at the local Corporate Inn for the next few weeks of fun at Sun. For those of you who haven't been there, I am useless for an hour until I pump some coffee into me, and someday I wil be too bleary to make the coffee, and it will the The End. So Frans must think I couldn't care less that he was leaving -- no doubt I mumbled.

The work for the day was clearing brush and trimming bushes in the side yard. I put on my skimpy shorts and made it a tanning event, sunscreening up my face and shoulders first. Lots of butch chopping with clippers and scything of brush. There's a lot of mint over there, so I did smell like peppermint afterwards.

Then Mike helped me move the solar pool cover out from there to the pool for its annual cleanup. Dead leaves and crap everywhere, after hiding back there it was an apartment house of spiders and rotting vegetation. Much high-pressure hosing later, it was clean enough to pull across the pool for a trim.

I decided it would be much easier to use if it was cut down to cover a bit less of the pool's surface. This solar cover stuff is basically glorified bubble wrap that floats on the water's surface, mylar with aluminized backing. It puts a few R between the water and the sky, keeping heat losses from evaporation and radiation down and allowing the sun's heat to build up under it. I cut two feet off both sides and eight feet off the end, where it had started to rot from exposure. The newly-trim cover leaves some water exposed but weighs about half of what it did, so it's much easier to wrangle. So next time we need to use the pool, a night or two under the cover will get the water up to the 80s where I like it.

More yard work and a shower later, we relaxed to watch Prime Suspect 6 (and presumably the last) with Helen Mirren, recorded last week. It was great.

Comments

[excessor.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to be embarrassed by how much work you do in your yard vs. the no work I do in mine. Even without a pool, you have all these tasks (“chopping with clippers and scything of brush”) that I evaluate briefly each week and then think to myself Why yes, I'd rather read right now. I guess I should get off my ass. sigh

[orange-groves.livejournal.com]

I miss my yard from Riverside occasionally. But my late partner was definitely more the gardener than I. I just loved my herbs. I don't think you should feel guilty at all.

[excessor.livejournal.com]

The problem is that dr_scott's yard looks absolutely stunning and mine is…not. I really should get busy.

[orange-groves.livejournal.com]

Hire a gardener! LOL

But I do miss my herbs *sniff*. Unfortunately they don't grow well even in a window where I live.

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Hired gardeners (within standard middle-class price ranges) tend to allow gradual deterioration. I frankly think we spend too much time doing house chores, but my partner loves gardening and so we do a lot of it.

Re herbs: maybe a window box with a supplemental grow light? You hardly need any space for some good herbs. The marijuana growers have done wonders for the hydroponics/indoor market, so maybe you should try it.

[orange-groves.livejournal.com]

Yes that is very true with the gardeners. As Miss Marple observed, the only one who can do it is the person who cares.

I had rosemary in the window and it died. Twice. I cried :(

[excessor.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I already have a yard guy. But he just does the bare minimum. dr_scott is correct—the gardener's activities just barely keep the thing going. I think of him as basic maintenance, whereas I have responsibility for improvement. So far, I would probably have fired me for doing such a bad job.