Breathing Through Changes and Welcoming Spring

There have been many times that I have been frustrated with fellow bloggers who seem to just drop off planet earth. I wonder why it's so difficult not to just post something, anything for their followers to stay connected. Well I am assuming that I have a follower or two that feels the same about the fact that my last post was December 28th, even if those followers are family.

Hello, I am still alive.........yes........I just pinched myself and it hurts. I retired in October and I have come to the conclusion that I rather like it. Although it took some adjustments to reach that conclusion. MeMa is still working two and a half days so it leaves me with rather a lot of time on my own. My recent and much detested checkup has shown that my bladder cancer has returned, not the thing you want to hear your doctor say. To say the least I was crushed and could see the same in MeMa's expression as she stood next to the doctor while he navigated the camera through my nether regions and quietly explained what they were looking at. Three more tumors and a suspicious area that will be biopsied when they remove the tumors on March 28th. I have to admit that I became quite depressed over the next week, but I am quite convinced that I am in the best possible hands. Life has been very good to me and I have no intentions of leaving it now, so I quickly got off the pity wagon and faced the day. After all, spring has sprung and there are jobs to be done. I am right where I have always wanted to be, retired and working in the garden.

This old gardener has a stock of projects to busy himself and an heir or two for their lifetime.

First on the agenda I catalogued the contents of the pantry and freezers so when I do the weekly shopping I am not over purchasing. One of my new loves is cooking. I have always enjoyed eating, but now find that most of the enjoyment of food is the creation and hearing my wife saying she really likes what has been set before her. Forty two years she has planned, shopped for and prepared every meal set before her family. Fortunately for myself over all those years MeMa has amassed a very large number of recipes. Unlike his wife who can gather items from the pantry and prepare a delicious meal without a recipe, this old gardener can cook but only with a recipe to follow to the letter.

drawers full of recipes

on the top shelf there are two rows of recipe books, one row in front of the other.

The latest project in the garden is almost finished, it required a couple of  trips to the masonry shop for cement blocks. What used to be the kitchen garden is now be three raised beds for MeMa's dahlias. Each bed has a graveled two foot wide walkway so she will be able to keep her feet clean while she picks flowers

I use tomato cages to keep each plant in control and each cage is tagged with a numbered brass tag which corresponds with a page in my record book. Then in the fall I give away any that do not perform well and plant a new one in its place.

Since the 50's the property behind ours has been nursery, which takes up a five block parcel of land. The block directly behind our house has always been a utility area closed to the customers so it has always been very quiet. Economics has brought about change, the property has been sold and houses are to be built on four of the five blocks of land leaving the last for the retail portion of the nursery.
There has always been that worry in some small dark little niche of our brains, but it's something that we would scoff at and ignore.

Our house is 100 years old this year, we are the second owners having purchased it in 1976. We have had terrible, good and great neighbors on either side of us so might as well stick around and see what the future holds at the back fence. With the coming of spring I have already started dressing up the window boxes and filling pots.

Spring is bursting in the garden, mostly on time but with our unseasonably warm winter everything is bumped up a bit. The ancient star magnolia is the first to bloom early. Usually it follows the spring bulbs but this year its snow white blossoms are ahead of the bulbs.

Winter

It is deffinatly winter here, the garden is in shut down mode. I have been busy winterizing everything starting with the greenhouse.

Most of the orchids have been moved into the house in order to make room for the cacti, palms and other not so hardy plants. The bubble wrap insulation is up and the heater is running at about 50 degrees.

Both of the pond filters have been cleaned and the screens are in place to catch most of the leaves.

I have installed fencing around the Bannana trees and backfilled it with leaves and redwood debris, soon I will cut the trunks of each down to the top of the fence.

I cleaned and re-hung the bird feeders.

I have dug,washed and layed to dry the canna roots for next spring

We have had record rainfall this month, along with high winds that are bringing down many large trees with catastirofic results. The ground becomes so saturated with no break in the rain to obsorbe any of it, that combined with the high winds the trees don't stand a chance. As I type this the wind is pounding against the giant Redwood at the back of the house, "stand firm oh mighty tree."

Let It Rain

This water storage tank sat in the corner of the driveway for far too long. Before that it sat in my sisters yard, one of two that sat in her yard for several years. Being the generous little sister that she is, one of them followed me home. The idea was I was going to drive it into the nursery behind our property and have some of the employees help lift and drop it over our fence and then have them come round and help drag it into the location you now see it. It is quite heavy with its thick steel base, the cage surrounding it is light aluminum and the plastic tank is feather light compared to the rest of it. Well, I got tired of waiting for help so being the resourceful fellow that I can be on the rare occasion, I got some tools out and dismantled the damn thing. I admit it is not the most attractive thing but at least it is in the utility yard and not out in plain sight in one of the gardens.

For just under fifteen dollars I purchased 25 feet of corrugated hose and an attachment for the downspout.

I then attached it to the rain gutter and used zip ties to attach it to the fence line running behind the greenhouse.

All the while rain clouds threatened to dump the expected record rain fall.

The whole set-up took about 45 minutes and just as I was gathering up my tools the rain started to fall.
At 10:00 pm I braved the rain to check on the water level. Completely full and running off the top of the tank. 300 gallons in seven hours......good old Oregon rain.

I have a small electric pump that I will pump the stored rain water into the greenhouse where I have a 55 gallon tank that I use to water my orchids and seed trays.

Rain water can make for some happy orchids

A Check On The Project List

Since my retirement I have started and not finished several projects, I have lists of big projects and lists of small projects. Now I need to sit down with both lists and decide an order of importance and then work my way through the lot. Of course there are all the interruptions......Since I retired several people I worked with announced their retirement so the first two days I returned to the office in order to attend retirement parties and then Wednesday I had to attend my first "retiree's" luncheon then another retirement party for my ex boss who actually retired on the same day as I but had a late party yesterday evening. Then today we had an early supper out with friends and then returned to Menagerie Manor to watch the game (Portland Trail Blazers) and sample some of the many fine scotches that I received as gifts. So you can see how difficult it has been to get any one project done.
One small project completed was sorting the boxes of seed packets that I have collected and received from other gardeners. I  love marigold's and have several varieties that I save the seed from. Not only are they easy to grow,have tantalizing fragrance, their colors are bright and cheery. They look great in any kind of planting, mass planting or singly, in borders or pots and they produce plenty of seed for the next growing season. MeMa and I were at a local shop when a beautiful pot of French marigolds caught my attention. I knew it was late in the season but there were plenty of flowers that I could save for the seed so it followed me home.


It was the only one and was missing the tag so I call it "Burnt Orange"

 

"Hey Doc, How Is Retirement?"

"So how is retirement?" I have been asked this question so many times since that event that I have lost track....not that I have been keeping track. Quite frankly I have been so busy that it still feels like one big long weekend and before I know it I will be going back to the office. Except there was that office party and all the congrats. 



Office party with staff

 



After 37 years in the business the district Manager had plenty of stories to tell all who were gathered and since I trained him many years ago I had a few to tell of my own, I also trained his late mother before he started working.

 

From left: Granddaughter Taeya, MeMa holding Granddaughter Lucy, retired boss Jim and Rail Maintenance Manager Jean



I received this engraved clock along with a handsome gift card



That cake says it all, does it not?

Among other duties I was the Transportation Department Cartographer and the logo on the bottom right was on every map I created. Yes, that is Vivian the Volvo who carried me safely to and from every project. Happy retirement Vivian!

 



Then that next Saturday my lovely wife planned a wonderful retirement party at the Rail Heritage Museum with catered dinner and adult beverages included. It was a lovely evening with friends, coworkers and family.

Don't remember what I said but it got a big laugh out of the Executive Manager of Rail Transportation and long long time friend Denis Van Dyke

He presented me with a shadow box he built and put together with some of pins and awards that I received over the years including the last brass belt buckle that I designed for the National Rail Rodeo.
It was a wonderful evening that was made possible by my lovely wife, from the incredible venue to the food and drink. I think the 60+ in attendance had a fun night out as well.

These four grew up together and still draw giggles and laughter when they get together.
From left to right: Our youngest son Ian, our eldest son Nathan and their sisters in every ounce of trouble they caused us in their growing up, Tori and Lora

I know this old man and the "Little Terrorists" had a blast. The museum volunteers were wonderful and allowed us to have a photo taken on board the old 700