Ai! I was about to start typing, and remembered just then that I had taken wads of photos today. I might have to post them in Picasa or photobucket. Oh my. Well, next time I get up I'll look for the camera and the cable I need. I would be nice if Blogspot let us keep photo libraries online. If not uploaded files, then at least owner-created indexes of the photos on our hard drives with small thumbnails.

Hmmm. Garden coming along! Haven't seen ryegrass sprouting, but remain hopeful. Watering going well. I am going to use Round-up on the weeds I think [ugh!]. Or maybe the steamer. Shouldn't that do it? I hope so. I will apply it as close to the crown as possible, and also to the soil where many weed seeds lie. Gee, if you had Bermuda grass or St. Augustine you could write seasonal messages in the lawn with steam. With Festuca you could etch permanent designs and fill them with gravel once the grass rots and can be removed. I like the idea of rivers of green glass or a narrow, winding stream if you have an incline. I might try this.

I cannot wait to see how the grass looks. Would I regret seeding Bermuda grass? Could I keep it out of the tree cages? If I must have lawn I guess it should be St. Aug. I love the stuff and it's tough as nails and fills back in after injury, but it's much more controllable than Bermuda. I think it's easier to notice its first forays out of its own zone because its stolons are chunky. Bermuda grass can have a few footholds in the soil before you realize it's there. And then, if you procrastinate...

Okay, here is a thought experiment. What ONE plant would survive the longest and spread the most in a home garden with total neglect. Bermuda grass would be high on the list, I think, if you exclude true cacti and trees. If we include trees I might wager Washingtonia filifera (sp?). When thinking of your own yard, assume everything is perfectly well established.

It's awful. Tomorrow might be Jero's last day. I cannot stand it.

Man, I lost my cellie which is fine, I don't miss it at all except for the GPS and the camera. Realized I should sell my truck and the Chevy and get a lime green convertible Saab. I love it when things just fall into place like that. I guess an iPhone touch would do the trick? Or would it. Anyway I am done with cellphones. If the dogs get out, call me at home. They wouldn't be treated any differently by their rescuers depending on whether I were reachable or not; [Ed. Order new tags with your address on them.]

That was quite a train of thought. I do believe it left the station without us. It began because I am lamenting the absence of photos for today's diatribe.

Onto the garden...during a pissy little discussion with Rob about whether my sailboat's mainsail was ripped or not, a powerful gust toppled one of the queen palms. Not sure if I should mention here that I do not like that plant much at all--not for any reason I can think of--and give my excuse for owning five of them. Or should I simply attempt to return them? The latter.

Well, anyway, one of them came a cropper and knocked my basin of mature Stapelia off the card table. Oh sheesh. The budding one was unearthed and lay panting, imploring, on the concrete. I tenderly re-planted her and her ilk, steadied the palm, and generally rearranged things so it wouldn't happen again. As Amos Tversky said, "Such are life."

I think I have divided all the succulents now, which takes away a sense of urgency that had been building and becoming sort of a tirade. Everything I have is maximally divided and planted to grow on and into saleability by December. A lot depends on temperatures. I wonder if I'll need artificial light and to grow indoors. Maybe a greenhouse would be helpful to warm things up and keep them growing in winter. I wonder if there's time to build one before Jero leaves. I won't tell him today. We are going to focus on ceramics and tile today. We'll make a mold of a pot I found and maybe pour the first realization. Depends on my getting my tax matters addressed by noon, I think. Must upload dogs for Connie and must...check with Ross...do bank statements for ...something else...involves printing..."Very, very, very, very important piece of paper" (Bubble, in an early AbFab ep.).

We planted several trees, I think I said, and Jero might have finished the drip irrigation. What a trouble free garden I will have. Just trees, each with a wooden cage to keep the dogs away, some mulch, and the potted plants inside the tree cages. Then my nursery activities up near the house. I do think I should keep the pool and grow aquatics in it. If that doesn't rule out swimming, I might.

Oh, I give up.