Blueberry Tents

My neighbor has 2 dozen blueberry bushes in his front yard. He used to have one big net to throw over the whole patch, but now that the Drosophila fly has arrived (in 2010), he covers each bush indivdually to prevent the fly from laying its eggs in the berries of other bushes. In other words, he quarantines each bush separate from all the others.

We are all quarantining ourselves nowadays. Some of us actually enjoy this quiet relief from the busy, workaday world.

Whether or not our bodies are quarantined, it is important to quarantine our minds from the pests that cause worry, anxiety, anger, impatience, and frustration. What pesters your mind?

First of all, identify the pest. What contributes to your particular "pester"? The news? The neighbors? Thoughts of the future? Not knowing what is going to happen? Not knowing, not knowing, not knowing?

In as much as you are able, quarantine yourself from the pests. Turn off the news. Take some quiet time.

It's pretty darn quiet under those blueberry tents. No buzzing of pesky, tiny Drosophila flies.

My Tulips are Blooming

The tulips i forced in pots and brought indoors are starting to bloom. So outdoors they go, because they will last longer in the refrigerator weather out there.

The bulbs, which have been hiding out in the gloom of the garage for 4 months, are out in the open air. I think that's a good sign for me, who has been quarantined at home for less than 2 weeks.

Today i was out in a neighbor's woods, cutting down saplings with a friend. We stayed at least 6 feet apart from each other's saws. We are clearing the understory to allow more light and air.

That's what we all need: more light and more air.

The Snowplow Does Some Transplanting for Me

A big pile of driveway dirt and gravel sits at the end of the snowplow's run.  Two coral bells lie loose in the pile. That snowplow! It did some gardening for me this winter and transplanted those heuchera in a driveway terminal moraine* of sand and rocks.

Hmmm. I wonder where those heuchera are supposed to be. I guess they are supposed to be where they are. My gardener's mind just had different plans for these plants.

See how easily stress creeps in? I want something different than what is.

Do i want to rake the moraine back onto the driveway? No.
Do i want to transplant the heuchera? No. But yes, of course, i will.

Every "no" is stressful.

Do i want to be quarantined at home?

What a great opportunity to be out in the garden every day.


*A terminal moraine is the pile of of rocks bulldozed by a glacier at the furthest reach of the ice. A moraine is revealed as the glacier melts back.