Funny how cats work. I settle down on the bed to watch an episode, ready to cuddle and brush and mippies? Nap! When the episode is over, I turn out the lights and settle down to sleep ... mippies? Mewl, nudge and knead me for attention! Ziva needed her cuddle cave, she'd barely settled in it, when Mewthos investigated and, as Mewthos wriggled into the cave, Ziva wriggled out of it! Mew-Mew needed lots of loving, and then he went off to twirly! He twirlied industriously for ages! It is so endearing, the way he holds my jersey in his mouth, kneading it, walking hither and tither across the whole bed ... and I still don't know WHY he does that! Eventually they all settled down and I was allowed to drop off to sleep ...
I woke up with Mewthos standing on my head, again! It gives him more height, when he's looking out the window ... never mind the hairs he pulls out of my scalp when he slips ... Oh, Mewly!
On the whole, though, they've all adjusted quite well to my working, now. They let me go without any trouble, I don't have to worry about them trying to get out with me, and as long as Mewthos gets his morning treat, he's happy, too! They've recently started to request milk again, every morning. When I make my morning coffee, they come zooming out of nowhere wanting milkies! Not Janey, though. Ziva started it, Mini loves it and Mewthos will join now and then ... but if he does, his head blocks a lot of space! Mini and Ziva come short - so, once again, I have two plates for milkies.
On the way to work - after I stopped shaking my head seeing three cars side-by-side in front of me, on a solid white line - I heard on the radio that now tomatoes are overpriced! Apparently there's a shortage - considering what's going on in the farming world, that's not really a surprise! Yet, the linked article states that they've been overpriced for a while and prices will stabilise soon.
But this isn't the first time, stores have put up prices beyond legal limits. Around June, July last year, several stores were reported for increasing their prices on basic goods beyond the ridiculous - trying to 'recover' their losses during the lock-down. Then, a couple of weeks ago, Garlic and Ginger prices shot up!
At any rate, it would seem that producing my own vegetables, as much as possible, will actually have a positive effect on my monthly budget!
Under normal conditions, that is not really the case. Especially, as I haven't really had even a full meal from anything grown in my garden, yet. And when you add the cost of soil, fertilizer and equipment ... plus, of course, the massive amount of work involved - growing veggies for your own plate, purely to save money, isn't cost effective. Given that I actually enjoy the work, makes a difference, but if I can actually grow worthwhile quantities - even if I only grow enough for my own plate - that's now no longer just a 'nice' but moving into 'essential'.
Some produce has always been expensive, like red and yellow peppers. Green peppers are just about affordable, but not exactly cheap. Spring Onions, Celery, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts have all become too expensive for me. Well, I buy Celery occasionally, when the bunch is thick and strong. But fresh peas have been off the market for years!
Well, if that isn't motivation, I don't know what is! Not that I really need much motivation to do something I enjoy so much, anyway!
Okay, first things first, I've finished posting all the photos I took of my gardening on Monday, plus the yellow plums next step last night. I think it would be a good idea to photograph the seeds next to or on millimeter paper, so one can tell the actual size from the photo.
I think my biggest challenge, with vegetables, is going to be getting a place ready for them in the garden! I've just had a look at my spreadsheet, and the Brussels Sprouts can always go into pots. One per pot. It's an option ...
Today we're getting a lot of rain, at home as well, I hope. That's going to power up the weeds again! And I'm not even able to keep up! Plus, with it getting dark so much earlier now, I no longer have that hour every evening to work in the garden. Ai, ai!
Well, I seem to be winning against the weeds in the succulent bed. I've had a close look last night, and there is no carpet of green ... oh, it needs weeding again, but it doesn't look quite as bad as before.
But first, I need to re-clear the flower bed. I already started in one corner, but I had a look at the rest of the bed last night ... it's getting rather crowded, and not with flowers! I also need to re-do the border around the back lawn ... and by the time I've finished that, I can probably start again with the pavement outside the kitchen. Round and round we go ...
At least with the rain this week, I hope to be able to finally plant the two Avocado trees outgrowing their water bottles in the laundry! Only, I still haven't decided exactly WHERE I want them. On the one hand, I could plant one where I've just cleared the grass in the front partition and the other in the compost partition ... but that's quite a lot of walking to water them all.
I've done such a lot of research on Brussels Sprouts, I'm fairly confident I'll have something to harvest this year. I thought I should make Celery my next deep-research project ... but ... yikes! No! Apparently Celery is quite challenging, even for experienced veggie growers and the amount of fertilizing it needs? I still have no clue about that! So ...
Back at home, Smeagol is waiting, so I give him a treat again. This time Mini catches me, so she gets a small share ...
We had just under 5 mm rainfall. That's all. No more. BUT the ground is wet, so it must have rained late afternoon. I don't have to water anything, so I can use the time to weed. Hey, guess what? The Alyssum are already sprouting! After just 2 days! Cool!
I get my tools, sit down, bend forward to start weeding ... and shwups! Mewthos is on my back! He's settling down, making himself comfy on my back, like he's the king of the girls! I try to oblige him, but eventually I have to move. He's not impressed and resists the fact that I'm sitting up ... but, of course ... down he jumps!
Mini sees me digging holes and comes to help! She was around when Mewthos was on my back, now she approaches me and puts a paw on my leg for attention. She's the most silent of my mippies - just puts her paw out to touch me, when she wants me.
I was able to get a lot of roots out, those thorns growing everywhere. They are worst along the bed. It's almost no grass in front of the bed, just weeds. The bed itself was the same, remember? Well, I'm quite happy about the amount I was able to get out in the short time I had tonight. I carried on until it was too dark to see.
I'm also re-thinking the location for the Spekboom. If I plant them too close to the roses, I will have to keep them quite stunted, so they don't overshadow the roses or take over the rose beds. And they can't grow too close to the wall, because then I can't prune them at the back - which, because there's a wall, they are likely to need. Although, on the other hand, Rose's Spekboom were close to the wall, and that wasn't a problem? Our gardener had not major difficulty pruning them, when needed ... or ... ?
On the whole, I'm growing too many trees for this garden. It's a big garden, yes - but not an orchard! Better think again ...
Tee hee hee, Janey just slipped and landed in the almost-empty bath! Giggle! She's obviously not impressed with landing in the wet! I'm laughing behind her back, here, because she wouldn't like to be laughed at. She won't be able to join in ... that's not in a cat's nature.
Anyway, tonight was the first time in ages that I took a bath predominantly to warm up! It's been quite cold today, and I wish I hadn't changed my mind this morning, and taken a long sleeve top, after all! I put one on, as soon as I was home!
Hot flushes are less frequent on cold days. That's one bonus.
Oh, and a second Litchi Tree seems to be developing leaves! Awesome, eh?
Well ... time to settle back on the bed, upload the photos to my gardening blog and call it a day ...
