Early morning garden drama and free soil

But first, pictures and weather report. The weather is gorgeous again, perfectly clear with haze on the horizons. The air reminds me of being at the beach, warm if you're in the sun but the ambient temp is kind of cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was walking Rocky and as we got under the tree it sounded like someone was running something that was buzzing, I looked up and realized the liquidambar was full of flower clusters the bees were just mobbing. Clusters were all over the ground too so it's self cleaning extras but let me tell you, bee populations are definitely up, the news even said so.

The mighty feline hunter stalks a mourning dove. He did try to run at it but of course, the dove got away. I keep him on a leash outside for a reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The epiphyllum is blooming, there's another bud on a branch but didn't get a good shot of it due to Rocky and lighting. Then I noticed a chance seedling in a crack. Nature finds a way no matter what the circumstances are.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Trying to show the size of the lettuce, they'll be ready for harvest in a few weeks for sure. The sweet peas are just out of hand and can't separate the snow peas at this point. Will just have to let them mingle and the snow peas will yellow out and die back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I was planning on having a nice lazy Sunday, the usual routine but around 8:30 or 9 am there was a loud banging on our door. Me only having my sleep shirt on ran to the door because Jon was in the shower. It was Layla. She was in a panic because of where we put Dolores' window box. I wasn't even dressed yet and only had my nightshirt on. She asked where Dolores lived and I lied and said I knew she was in the other building but didn't know what apartment. I wasn't going to have her get in a bigger fight with her. 

I wasn't paying attention when Dolores was moving things around so apparently this is 'unfair' to Layla as she was there first and her attitude was that we practically killed her tomato that is barely hanging on. She had two logs that were supporting the branches that Dolores moved out of the way. I am saying Layla was panicking and she was. She literally was acting like we tossed her plants aside to make room for the new planter. She was loud enough that the upstairs neighbor Michelle came down to see what was going on. I apologized but Layla was just beside herself. I told her to calm down and would fix the problem. Explained that there wasn't much room in the sun and her plant didn't die, all that jazz. She acted like we had completely destroyed her plants and had encroached on her space when it wasn't really hers. I could have complained to her about her just plopping them there but never did.

So I moved it as close to my bed as possible after trying to assess other places for it. I told Layla that we hoped to move some of the logs to make more room and she dismissed it as if that wouldn't solve the immediate problem. I moved the pot rack where it was before to see if there would be room for the window box in front of the logs but it would likely still be too close to Layla's precious tomatoes. Can't put it next to my raised bed because I wouldn't be able to get to that side, so for now that's the best we can do in the situation. I tried to support the tomato branches again with the logs Layla is using and had already told her that it's a miracle that the tomato has survived in such a small pot and it should have been cut back last year. She only knows that those are hers and no one is supposed to touch them. Except by explicit permission as in telling me I could pick the tomatoes when they get ripe. Which, are now gone because she picked them green to use.

Sigh.

I don't remember tossing a whole tomato in that bucket but whatever. Also  yesterday the neighbor tennants (bottom left building in the picture) were rearranging the various plants and pots along that wall and had just taken all the dead and dry potting soil in the pots and dumped it out in the planter where that white car is parked. I asked if I could use that soil and the lady in the end unit said yes, 'if you have your own container I was just going to mash it down'.

Visions of what happens when you do that sort of thing with perlite heavy potting mix drifted through my head. I told her I would take it. I looked around for a suitable container, almost had consigned myself to using a trash bag and then remembered I had an empty cat litter container. Perfect! Well almost perfect. Not show is about three pots worth of soil that I dumped in the south bed, one was actually mostly peat moss so that's just fine. So I have potting soil to mix in for a start. It's very dry and likely depleted of any nutrients but it'll be better once it gets watered in. That bucket has no drainage so I'll have to put it in the orange bucket with my supplies to water it down.

'Chuck' was out taking advantage of the sun, he even did some push ups which meant there was another lizard nearby and he was doing a territorial display. I've seen fence lizards do the same thing so this is a good sign there is a thriving population in the garden. 

So drama is done and the rest of the day should go smoothly hopefully. I have no idea how we'll ever move the logs if Layla is that territorial about her pots being there. I think due to her reaction, that project is stalled out for now.  

Deep breath and move on with the day.