It was a hazy morning, with the kind of sky that promises a storm. I decided to accomplish a few short goals that I could abandon quickly and seek shelter when the raindrops arrived.

First, I dragged the rain barrels close to the hose and rinsed them inside and out. Trust me. It makes sense. The barrels had been storing water that drained off a crumbling rooftop, a garage roof with disintegrating shingles. The resulting residue was thin enough to get through the screen and thick enough to stick to the sides of the rain barrels. I hope that the new garage and its new roof will drain more cleanly into my clean(er) rain barrels.

Second, I smashed a batch of shells (seafood, mussels if you must know) and spread them on the soil that will become a raspberry patch once again. There’s both chemistry and environmental science in that decision. Again, trust me.

Third, I decided to work with the papasan planter in the front yard. We’d noticed it tipping, leaning to the right, and it needed help to get upright again. Nobody leans to the right for long in Daisy’s household. Trust me. 

It looked like this from the sidewalk.

Close up, it looked even worse.

I wrestled, pulled, pushed, and eventually slid the top off its base. Then I reached for the camera – and I laughed out loud. Any neighbors lucky enough to witness the event surely think…trust me, I probably don’t want to know.

It’s all about that base. Whoa. 

I tipped and balanced the planter part until it seemed stable, and then added a cinder block to help keep it in place. The base went out to the curb for Excess Garbage Day. Convenient timing, wasn’t it?

Here’s the result. I must say, I won the wrestling match – this round, anyway.

Done – for now.

The rain barrels are not set up yet, and I’m not stressing about it. This steady, ongoing rain is absolutely the right thing for my garden plot right now. It’ll soak the ground and soak it some more so that the soil will be moist and ready when I go to plant.

My seedlings are more than ready to make the move. They’re falling all over each other on the shelves outside the door. Tonight is only the second night I haven’t covered them with plastic; temperatures are finally warming up.

Chuck made a suggestion today that I might take seriously. I’ve been shoveling and carting soil left over from the garage project, aiming to fill the raised beds and then plant. He suggested I fill one or two sections and then plant those areas before I continue shoveling and carting. That has potential. I have two sections that are nearly ready if I follow his rationale. I need to work through a few possible objections first.

What if I misjudge the wheelbarrow and end up running over a precious tomato seedling or burying it? What if…oh, well, what if I somehow screw it up?

I’ll think about this approach. It just might work.