Fibre and Lace

Today is sunny and hot.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a small mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/21/26 -- I put topsoil in the four large pots that sit on the ground along the north side of the picnic table.  

I also put the indoor flats of tree sprouts and squash sprouts outside to get some sun and air.

It is so hot outside as to limit my activity.  In mid-March.  This annoys me.

Today is mostly sunny and mild.  :D

The stump grinder guy has come and gone.  He did an excellent job.  The stump in front of the garden shed is gone and the hole mostly filled, though I'll add some top soil to smooth it out more.  The east path is nearly smooth, might need a bit of raking.  I'm particularly impressed that a ring of daffodils around the plump stump is still there!  I had expected to lose those, so the precision is noteworthy.  The parking lot is also nearly smooth.  He got right up to the edge of the sidewalk and rock wall, although he advised there are some buried rocks and concrete that we didn't know about.  I may need to rake some areas, and certainly need to see about removing the last stubs from the sidewalk to recreate that defensive zone.  My partner Doug plans to drive over the parking lot to press it down some before ordering a load of fresh gravel to top it.  Progress!

I fed the birds.  I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.  Cardinals are singing.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I put about half a bag of topsoil into the hole in front of the garden shed to smooth it out.  That may need more later after it settles, but it'll do for now.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I filled a flat of 10 pots with potting soil and in each pot I planted 5 seeds of short landrace marigolds.  These are similar to Shithouse Marigolds but shorter.  If I can get them growing well, I can save money buying nursery marigolds.  I covered them with a plastic tub to serve as a greenhouse.  I still need to label them though.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I labeled the marigolds.

I checked the east path.  It doesn't really need anything but grass seed.  We'll need to buy a big bag of that.  Recommended time for spring sowing is late March to mid-April.

I checked the parking lot.  I picked up a few pieces of junk that were churned up, but it's also pretty good.  I do need to work on clearing more of the sidewalk, but a lot of that will just be brushing dirt off it.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 3/19/26 -- I started working on the sidewalk again.  Much of what covers it is just loose dirt that needs to be scraped off.  Some is still packed dirt and roots.

Today is cloudy and frigid, spitting snow and howling wind. :/  It stormed last night.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a small mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, plus several cardinals.

I put out water for the birds.