It took a while for Spring to get here, but when Spring finally came, man, Spring came hard.*
It’s been in the high 70s and low 80s for the last couple of days; today is a more mellow 67, but still well within the purview of a New England spring. With the sudden burst of warm weather, and the forecast suggesting that while we’re going to dip back into some chilly weather in the days ahead, the danger of hard frost is past, we decided to start planting.
Kira had been wanting to get some fruit-bearing trees to more clearly delineate the boundary between our property and the neighbors — our thought is that at one point, one of our two homes was landlord-occupied, and the other was rental property, hence the lack of boundary between our yards, but that no longer being the case, we want to establish a clear boundary line without going through the trouble and expense of building a fence, so instead we’ve bought a few apple and sweet cherry saplings to do the job:**
We’ve also finally supplanted our little windowsill herb garden into our standing planter, and sown seeds to get our peppers started (hence the two barren-looking troughs):
Oh, and the planter was a great purchase at Aldi’s, very afforadable if a bit on the plain/pragmatic side, so of course, I opted to paint it:
Not pictured (because I didn’t document them at the time, and it’s currently wet outside nd I’m not venturing out in my stocking feet, ha): the three berry bushes (blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry) that were also Aldi impulse purchases, and the two climbing rosebushes Kira and Bear came home with yesterday, as well.
I’m not complaining — I love the idea of fruit-bearing gardens and sustainable living, even on a small scale — but I do wonder which of us tending this garden is going to ultimately fall to…?
Other notable things in my life at the moment:
- 29 days of the standard school year left. Well, class days, not calendar days, but those are what counts, yes? I’ve put in for ESY work this year, which I’m excited for, honestly, as it gives me just enough external structure to grant my neurodivergent ass some structure without feeling stifling.
- Finished the Murderbot Diary novellas, more or less just in time for the TV series, which I’m hype about. I’m taking a break before I start the Murderbot novels to read some other stuff (I’d like to at least read one of the Psych novels (yes, I bought them — did you think I was joking?) before jumping into The Locked Tomb series)
- I’m taking a class called Disability in Media, which is very interesting, but I’m lead to believe that I might be the only neurodivergent person in the class…? Which is an interesting perspective. I’m also one of only three Student Services staff in the class, which is doubly interesting. This past Tuesday we watched 2024’s Ezra, which I really enjoyed.
- The Big Stressful Work Event that consumed my micro-team’s time for the last several weeks happened on Thursday, and ohhh my God, the adrenal letdown was severe, ha ha. My coordinator took me and my deskmate out to lunch afterwards to celebrate/thank us, which was quite sweet.
- I am waiting to hear which one will be on display, but I will be exhibiting at Essex Art in their Salon Show again in July. The two possible pieces are called Six of Swords and #NoFilter II. Whichever piece gets in (potentially (but unlikely) both) will be on sale for $75, with 50% proceeds going back to Essex Art Center.
- Today’s backyard bird report, according to my Merlin:
Happy Spring. Glad it’s finally here.
Take care of yourselves, and each other.
*Typing this line immediately put me in mind of When the War Came, by The Decemberists:
**I’m very certain the neighbors, who have kids, will likely plunder the fruit trees when they bear fruit. Let them. There will be more fruit. That’s the beauty of planting the trees.
All Your Crooked Heart 