flea

ta-blong. As in, "where does this tablong?"

(Meaning "belong," in case your two-year-old translator chip is wonky.)

I should also note, as I mentioned in comments elsewhere, that I had a good morning planting trees at Casper's school. The project was a day of service one, with some sponsorship by the city (the guy in charge was the city forester, and the city will bring a truck to water the plantings until they are established), a few volunteers from the service organization that organized the thing (a family of 4 from Kenesaw, which was nice), and mostly parents, most with kids, from the school. I met and had a nice chat with a parent whose younger child is at the same place as Dillo, and met a family whose youngest daughter shares my name, who have just been zoned into our school (and the school-age kids are unhappy about it.) I worked alongside a latino couple for a while, moving mulch, and only found out at the end when Casper and Dillo and mr. flea showed up that they are the parents of one of Casper's classmates. They didn't seem to speak much English, but I would have made more effort if I'd realized. Dillo and the younger child of one of the PTO parents who's the main engine behind the gardening and planting efforts hit it off, so that was nice.

We planted about 15 flowering cherries, 6 redbuds, 10 lil' gem magnolias (they stay small), a scattering of oaks and maples, and some bushes mostly between the magnolias. The school used to be fonted by a lawn with flowering cherries, which were all lost during the renovation construction that ended a year ago. When we first saw the school, it was asphalt drop-off loop and parking and vast expanses of red clay covered with anemic pine needle mulch. Two immense cedars planted in the 1920 (when the school was built) survived, saved during the construction by parent protest. The trees we planted today were pretty large - 2" mostly - so should make the place look inhabited again, come spring.

And now I want very much to plant a flowering cherry and a redbud in my yard.

Out of the blue yesterday afternoon Casper asked me if Santa Claus is really real. I took evasive manoeuvres and asked her what she thought. She had a very logical approach - she talked about how there were so many people ('even in one house!') and it didn't seem possible that Santa could give them all presents.

I don't know if she thought this up by herself or some kid at school or afterschool has been talking about it. My family's Santa tradition is that everyone gets stockings, and those are from Santa, but in general we don't make a huge deal out of Santa. We've never done the mall photo op, and we left cookies last year, but it was all sort of low-key.

I do remember working out that Santa wasn't real for myself, probably at about Casper's age. So it's not outside the real of the possible. I also remember helping my mother fill the Easter baskets when I was 10, and being really sad about it. Even if you don't believe, it can be nice to see the fiction maintained. (Note: this may also explain some of my religious pretzelling.)

In gardening news, I had two cherry tomatoes off the plant last night, and need to dig up the basil for inside. I also weeded the bed on the E side of the house (with Casper and Dillo and little S. from next door's help!); my plan is to make it an herb garden (rosemary, lavendar, etc.), or native plant garden (um?), or butterfly garden (lantana, buddleia, etc.). Or something low-key and mostly not edible, at any rate (because of the risk of lead paint). My big bulb order is scheduled to come tomorrow, so I have to plan where to put everything and get them in the ground soon.

It was nice to be without a car, though tomorrow will be a bit tricky.

Saturday morning mr. flea had a hankering for donuts, and was bemoaning our carless state, so I suggested he ride his bike, as Dunkies couldn't be more than 2 miles. He did it! Took him about 20 minutes each way, and he arrived home at 7:45 with a quart of milk in each side pocket of the backpack and a dozen in a bag in the center compartment.

Building on this success we walked to the farmer's market, with Casper riding her bike the entire way (and back) with only one crying incident (when she and mr. flea had a miscommunication about crossing the street walking the bike). And she learned the concept of "burning rubber" which she finds very satisfying. I called P. to say we were carless and would miss the birthday party, and she offered to come get us. We had a lovely time at the little pool, which had a whole section that was 2-3 feet, so Casper could frolic freely. She has learned a fair bit of swimming at the Y in just one week even, and tells us she can out her face in the water now (though she told us she could only do it AT the Y!) Dillo was slow to warm as usual but very much liked a watering can he appropriated. After dinner and cupcakes Casper embarrassed me a bit by gleefully opening our gift to the birthday boy herself and brandishing it at him (a book) and further had to be restrained from opening all the other presents as well. I think the cupcakes had started to kick in by then.

This morning we set off to walk (Dillo in stroller and Casper on her bike again) to an early brunch at Whole Foods (foiled by various other brunch places that don't open until 10 or even 11!) but as we crossed campus we fell in behind a large group of teenagers who, it turned out, were also heading to WF, so we carried on to Elmo's. We had a bit of a wait, as might be expected, but were lucky as it turned out, since while we were eating their dishwasher died and flooded the kitchen, and they had to close. For the first time we ordered Dillo a meal of his own (chocolate chip pancake, natch) and he ate about half of it. Then groceries at the WF and home. mr. flea biked back over to return a video later, and worked for a couple of hours at Lilly. I hope he takes to this biking thing!

We have a ride to the Y (Lakewood) tomorrow for Casper, but I think mr. flea will have to go get her on the bus in the afternoon if the car isn't fixed by then (which I doubt it will be). Hmm, and it now occurs to me I will probably be dropping Dillo off by bus in the AM, which is both awkward and liable to make me late. Ah well.

For father's day I got mr. flea Flight of the Conchords DVDs and a Nerf Blaster. I am good at presents, if I do say so myself.

I dug up a mess of daffodil bulbs from the yard to take with us, and researched storing iris rhizomes, so I can do those next. (I am leaving plenty of both - not denuding the yard!) Aside from herbs and lilies, not much is going on in the garden. The rabbits found the peas and apparently SLEPT on them as well as nibbling off the shoots but leaving peas in their pods in neat little piles, uneaten. Weirdoes. Then we had the 100 degree week and that was it for peas. I did have a calla lily bloom last week; maybe 100 degree heat is what they need.

So far in my Freecycle adventures I am dealing with a flaky woman who wants my stroller but can't seem to come get it (alas, she is the only person who seems to want it), and a sensible person who is coming tomorrow to take a cat cosy. Of course, I hauled the cat cosy out of the basement and not only did the cat immediately begin sleeping in it (she had disdained it, hence the basement) but Casper also wanted to take it in her room to store toys in. I told them both it was promised to another and have put it on the porch. Next up I hope someone will want two enormous boxes full of styrofoam packing peanuts.

It got hot and sunny. Okay, it's only 80, and still nice in the house with no AC, but it was damned hot in the sun, with a hat on, pushing some 65 pounds of child in a stroller to the farmer's market. Didn't have much cash, so we just got strawberries (eaten before we left the market), some beets, mixed purple and orange (casper's choice) and some salad mix. Next weekend maybe we'll plan to go pick our own strawberries; they are a dollar a pound, but I imagine people always pick more than they mean to.

I resisted all seedlings, because: moving! So this year will be peas and that's all.

The first of the iris bloomed today. Peas 1 are fading blooms and have 3-4cm pods; peas 1 are starting to bloom; peas 3 and 4 are well up. The kale seedlings I planted have done NOTHING. Rabbit fodder soon, no doubt.

When we moved down here from CT I brought my lemon thyme, a lily-of-the-valley, and a wild iris in pots. They are all still thriving in the garden here. I'd like to take several things with us, but not sure how the space issue will work out. I can certainly dig up some daffodils once the foliage fades and transport them as bulbs. The iris probably too, and the big clump desperately needs a dividing, though I've never moved iris father than across the yard. I'd love to take the thyme again. I have calla lillies in a pot that don't bloom (maybe this year? I thought I'd killed them but they are in shoots again) and two amaryllis that need to be planted out to grow foliage and rebuild. All of those will have to come in pots. I planted parsley and basil in pots on purpose, to be transportable (need to move them outside as they are leggy and unhappy, but it's been too cold at night until just now).

Must mow lawn. Really should have gotten mower sharpened.

The peas planted March 1 are in sprout; planted more peas today and have rather a lot left. Maybe tomorrow.

Bought impulse kale (TM jonquil) at the Farmer's Market and planted it. Only a flat of 6, mixed red and green. Hope that it is early enough and large enough seedlings to beat the bunnies, who never seem to trouble us much before June.

Planted seed thyme, basil, and parsley, in pots for inside.

We have daffodils starting to bloom, as usual as they are ending for the rest of the block. Also grape hyacinth, iphion, blue squills. No redbud yet, but Bradford pears are out in force in the neighborhood.

Sunny and 80 degrees this AM; it rained briefly while we were napping and is now overcast, but I was hoping for more steady rain, as I stupidly forgot the shower bucket this AM.

We're now officially in "exceptional drought," which makes it all the more galling that it's been insufferably humid the last couple of days. Turn that moisture into rain, please?

Also insufferable is the fact that some people are continuing to water lawns. The sprinkler system at the Looni's Catholic Student house (by which I walk on my way to work) had been on this AM, although the water regulations allow watering only on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mostly the Looni is letting the grass die (or go dormant, I hope), which I applaud.

I've put a Rubbermaid bin in the sink and am using grey water to water the garden (such as it is; I planted a bunch of fall crops, including kale, lettuces, and the last of the bean seeds I had, in hopes that the rabbits would have forgotten about me. The rabbits remembered. Casper keeps finding little piles of rabbit poop in the lawn). I should have been doing this long ago - it's a little awkward but not too bad and I get TONS of water. I can also empty the tub out after the kids' bath with a bucket if I need more.

The great rabbit massacree of 2007 has occurred.

Beans completely GONE. http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/634426986/

Basil, too.

So frustrated. I work so hard to keep things alive in this infernal climate, and in one night - bam, all gone.

Wah.

How about you? Yep, I came back and once again we are in mid 90s and orange ozone alerts. The garden survived my absence and Casper and I ate 4 beans the other night. I have blooming sweet peas (not wildly thriving, but living, and blooming: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/566311845/) and set tomatoes and generally things are ticking along. Must be vigilant about watering, though.

The Dillo's eighth tooth is through. He is so energetic - will climb on anything. Favorite toys include the doggy xylophone and putting shapes in the shape sorter (without the shape-sorting lid - we are at basic levels of skill here!) Has slept until past 6am the last couple of days! Still very chubby.

The kids transitioned back to school just fine yesterday. On Saturday Casper had her Tap & Tumble recital, which was darling if very very long. The twos were funny as hell and all over the place; the young threes were a combination of tragic and funny - Zoe stood with maracas on hips, the opening pose of their routine, for basically the entire song, and Harrison made horrified tragic faces; and the older threes and fours (including Casper) were pretty much with-it, if not exactly smooth dancers. Casper was one of the clumsier ones, but not outstandingly klutzy (she is also one of the younger ones, and was wearing sneakers that made her stumble, whoops.) I can report that I am such a sappy mother that I got weepy when she came on 'stage' - maybe it was sleep deprivation? http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/566754595/

We also had father's day festivities at Elmo's. Casper was not best pleased about the whole idea of the annual ritual of the photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/566311797

It's huuuumid - 71% humidity in the house, due to morning thunderstorms, so the AC has gone on for the first time this year. We needed the rain, but feh anyway.

I need to do some garden work this weekend. We have been havesting peas, which didn't do that well this year. It has been dry and hot alternating with dry and really cold. Last year we had a long cool moist spring and happy happy peas. I've eaten some lettuce, mostly from thinning the larger head lettuce. Everything else is doing appropriately but not thriving unusually. So far, my first planting of peans is uneaten (this is very unusual.) The climbing rose and clematis are both in full bloom right now, but the thunderstorm meant a lot of petals off the roses. The iris are mostly gone by, many gone to mush in the rain.

I am still sick, Dillo is coughy and very annoyed (an hour of crying, unsoothable, in the night), Casper is still pushing my buttons in an extraordinary fashion and making me marvel at her focus and will. Last night she asked for an extra cup of milk every 30-90 seconds for nearly 2 hours straight. We said no every single time, and explained out rationale (lots of bed-peeing lately), and withstood torrents of tears, whining, screaming, and demanding. She got up at 7 am and said, "I want some milk now!"

We are now 1 minute late for our lunch date already, but the Dillo just fell asleep half an hour ago, poor noodle. I guess I should call them and say we'll be late.

Mostly to remind myself what got done and didn't, and where I planted things!

Mowed front lawn in the dark - back and forth and back and forth to try to get the clover down. Needs a rake and pick-up and spot re-mow today. Or, you know, one of these days.

Planted marigolds in the pot that is, in theory, calla lilies (we'll see if these develop - there is one sprout).

Planted mesclun lettuce by the parsley, mini lemon marigolds behind it.

Planted two short rows of beans next to the new lettuce rows.

Next: horiz row of beans behind peas, leaving room for tomatoes.
Need to put carrots in that big pot, and where else? Maybe short vert row next to mesclun (also, old beet seeds from last year?)

I should take a picture of my beautiful iris.