A Moveable Garden

Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)

• Weather

We had about 9/10 inch of rain this week, almost all of it on Monday. Temperatures ranged from 66.9°F (twice) to 45.5°F for highs, averaging 55.6°F, and from 30.4°F to 37.4°F for lows, averaging 34.8°F.

We had our first (light) frost overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. It’s surprising to me that we had bumblebees — both common eastern (Bombus impatiens) and tricoloured species (Bombus ternarius) — and common drone flies (Eristalis tenax) flying around and feeding on the asters when it was 45°F on Thursday, after the frost that morning; I had thought 50°F was the magic number for bumblebee activity, but apparently they’re active at even cooler temperatures, especially when it’s sunny, which Thursday was.

I did a little online research (including this from Indiana Public Radio) and it seems that their flight mobility and distance diminishes both above and below their optimal temperature range of 77°F to 81°F*; when the temperature is 50°F or below they can fly only a hundred yards or so, and “smaller bees struggle more than larger bees at lower temperatures.” I wonder if bumblebee species and acclimatisation changes these ranges. (* also my optimal temperature range)

• Beginnings/Firsts

As mentioned just above, we had our first frost, a light one, overnight Wed. into Thursday. It zapped the coleus, hostas, and and kirengeshoma (yellow wax bells) foliage, took a toll on the Mexican sunflowers, nasturtiums, and morning glory vines, and the annual Vermillionaire® Large Firecracker Plant (Cuphea) looks a bit faded, but otherwise the garden withstood it well. Zinnias have new buds, buddleia is still blooming, the asters are never fazed, and the cosmos, phlox, geraniums, cardinal flower, blue lobelia, and others continue on. Perennial mums have just begun flowering.

frost damage

• Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post

• Wandering 

Walked at least an hour and often more every day either in town (or Boston), around the lake, or on trails. On one of the days I walked the farthest, it was sunny starting out, then lightly raining in the middle, then sunny and warm again, and by the time I got home, spitting rain.

in town

Boston on Friday

around the lake

The Fells gardens and trails (Newbury)

• Curiosity & Discoveries

We attended the “Curious by Nature” program on Thurs. evening, offered on Zoom by Maine Audubon biweekly. This session’s wild thing was the Canada goose, and one thing I learned is that while they don’t all migrate seasonally, they do all (99.99%) migrate some distance north when they molt in summer, to take advantage of greener, fresher grass and other vegetation that’s just emerging when they need it (molting is very taxing for birds).

The full moon on Thursday night was bright! We were outside looking for the comet, which we couldn’t see because it was low on the western horizon which is blocked by trees for us, but I did capture the moon being bisected! (by a branch)

• Creating

I am working on a digital collage or some other digital presentation of a very niche interest of mine. More to come.

• Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house & yard) 

Body/Mind: Worked out 3 times (3 hours) this week. Walked more than 10,000 steps on five days, including two days over 14,000 steps.

Cars: My husband added air to the vehicles’ tires after mine complained on Friday of low tire pressure.

• Gardening/Yard 

Besides the first frost on Wed-Thurs and noticing insects flying around in 40°F temps, not much happening in the garden for me. Fedco sent a notice today to say that my garlic and tulip bulbs are being shipped this week, hallelujah, so they will be planted soon. The scarlet runner beans are still not ready (still green), so the vegetable garden fence has to remain in place longer to protect them from deer.

the garden this week (see also Wild Things section above)

• Nesting 

Cleaning/Maintenance: I did clothes laundry on Wed., I think. On Tuesday I cleaned the shower and sink in the downstairs guest bath. The robotic vacuum did its thing in the primary bedroom and bath one day. I forgot to mention last week that I watered the houseplants on Sunday.

Supplies: I placed an order with Land’s End (free shipping deal and additional 60% off items) on Thurs. for a sweater for me and PJ bottoms for each of us (ours are becoming threadbare even with repairs). I also ordered a pair of Darn Tough socks that day, with free shipping.

Food: Party leftovers (dips, veggies, chips, plus cheese) on Monday, canned soups and grilled cheese (using some of the bread our neighbours gave us last week) on Tues., a cacio e pepe on Wed. with shrimp, farmstand summer squash and spinach, and our garlic; we had it again on Thurs. with artichoke hearts added to it. No dinner Friday (lunch out that day), dinner at a local restaurant on the patio on Sat. (fish & chips for me, shepherd’s pie for my husband), and leftovers, raw veggies, and homemade guacamole on Sunday.

We had lunch on Friday in Boston at Ma Maison, outside in lovely weather. I had the breaded cod again, with its delicious lemon-caper-butter sauce and perfectly steamed broccoli, julienned carrots, and a Brussels sprout; my husband had duck leg confit with a mushroom gravy and Brussels sprouts and potato. And we split a chocolate mousse dessert. I had the l’ete sans fin cocktail again (the best: watermelon vodka; elderflower liquor; splash of grapefruit juice; shaken on ice, served strained into a martini glass with a lime wedge) and my husband had white wine.

• Sleeping & Dreaming

I slept just over 9 hours on two nights this week. Seasonal transitions generally take a toll on me. My average night’s sleep was almost 8 hours (ranging from 6 hours 53 mins to 9 hours 8 mins), with an average sleep score of 86 (ranging from 76 to 93). I got 13 hours 18 mins of REM sleep and 8 hours 16 mins of deep. Saturday night into Sunday morning I felt like I had dozens of vivid dreams.

• Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching  

Reading

BOOKS: I read what’s apparently the last of Elin Hilderbrand’s Nantucket books, Swan Song (2024) and a very fitting ending on all counts. I enjoyed the parties — the details about the cocktails, the foods, the clothes, the decor, and the music for each — and I particularly liked the sections centered on a now-separated and less gossipy Blond Sharon, whom I’ve never cared for much before.

OTHER: I read Viruses Are A Big Deal, an essay by Sharon Astyk, a month or so ago and think it’s important for all of us to understand how viruses work and the long-term damage they can cause: “Where global scientific research is taking us is to the understanding that a LOT of chronic health issues we believe are simply random or related to aging, are actually due to viral persistence. That is, you get sick, you get better, but you don’t clear all the virus out of your system. And then you get sick forever.”

• Connections &  Community 

Local/Community Support: We had breakfast outside at a semi-local café and dinner outside at a local restaurant on Saturday, and also on Sat. we bought treats from a (different) local café-bakery. We had lunch outside at a local-to-Boston French restaurant on Friday. I wrote and mailed 10 voter postcards on Tuesday.

Relationships: I hosted our permaculture group on Zoom Thursday morning, with five of us attending. I missed Salon because we were in Boston that day. Had a half-hour phone call with my sister on Monday. Got a nice long email from a friend (KKT) on Sunday, and texted/emailed with some other friends during the week. We invited a couple of friends (LM, LD) on Wednesday for drinks next week. Gave a neighbor (BF) some Covid tests they needed on Tuesday. Renewed a friend’s (CHJ) Xmas magazine gift on Tuesday. My husband and a friend (AS) drove their little English cars around for a couple of hours on Sunday.

Donations: I made a donation on Saturday to The ALS Association through a walk-fundraiser a college friend (LRC) posted on Facebook.

• Endings 

I don’t think I harvested anything this week, though there are still parsley, kale, and some tomatoes available.

• All This Useless Beauty

I love these honeybees at this rose (@ The Fells – probably their honeybees)

I like the way this came out, sort of framed, like a window, and then I made it artsy. (@ the lake)

the colours, textures, layers (@ The Fells)