by Pa Rock
Digger of Dirt
Sunday, May 1st, 2022. May Day. A day traditionally connected with the start of spring, even though the season officially opened on the calendar back in late March. Sometimes we have snow in late March, and even April, but by the start of May all of that is over and we can get on with the earth-turning and other rites of spring.
May Day is also a day set aside to honor the labors of working people throughout much of the world and pay homage to labor unions as they continue their never-ending struggle for worker rights and human rights.
The skies over southern Missouri are crystal clear and blue this May Day. The past two days have been cloudy with threats of rain, but I took advantage of the breezy, cooler conditions and got the yard mowed - with only one brief interruption due to rain. Today the yard is as beautiful as the sky!
I have set out all of the hanging baskets over the past few days and they are acclimating nicely. Today is the day that I will fill and organize all of the outside pots. Awaiting on the back deck are trays of multi-colored begonias, bright yellow marigolds, and a few coleus which do well in the shade and make beautiful specimen plants - real eye-catchers! When I get all of those in pots and placed where they will spend the summer, I will then get busy re-mulching several of the small trees in the yard - including the dogwood which are currently in full bloom.
The lilacs are also blooming, and I encountered several large bees sipping their nectar as I mowed around them. But the bees gave me and the big noisy mower a pass. I have a young holly tree that is around six feet tall that is also blooming, and as I mowed around it I was swarmed by yellow jackets, but, miraculously, they also let me pass unharmed. The secret really is to not show fear.
My son has taken over responsibility for planting the veggies this year - and that is much appreciated. He has the garden spot looking very nice. He also runs the trimmer while I mow. There is no trash on my lawn - ever - not even cigarette butts. One of Nick's friends likes to tell me that the place looks like a park - and that makes all of the effort worthwhile!
Nick also did a lot of work on the pond this winter, adding bentonite and working it into the ground all along the edge of the water - and it has paid off. The pond has grown noticeably over the winter, and now has plentiful plant life, bull frogs, and several young catfish that are already nice-sized. The guineas have also discovered the pond and make multiple trips there each day for drinks and gossip.
The animals at The Roost are all fine and enjoying the spring. Rosie and Riley rush outside ever time the doors are open. The old yellow tom cat, whom I have yet to dignify with a name, hunts all night and then comes dragging home at daylight, has a nice can of breakfast, and then sleeps in the straw in the barn all day - until dusk, when I see him heading back out on the nightly prowl.
The cat likes to walk in front of me and then suddenly drop onto the ground and roll around - as though he is intentionally trying to cause the old farmer to fall. I may declare him to be a firehouse cat and name him "Stop, Drop and Roll!"
The guinea population has remained steady at three since last July when the fourth one disappeared. Two of the three survivors are male, and one has emerged as the Alpha. He chases the other around the farm at full-throttle for hours-on-end trying to keep him away from the guinea hen. The Alpha has now run the other male out of the coop forcing him to spend his nights elsewhere - in the barn, I suspect.
The guinea hen has a nest in the straw in the barn with about a dozen eggs, but she is not sitting on it. When she does sit on her nest to add an egg, the Alpha roosts on a railing nearby and keeps an eye on her. The other day I saw the happy couple out working the yard, and I sneaked into the barn to check on the nest - and found the ostracized male sitting on the rail keeping an eye on the nest. I'm not sure what that was all about!
On May Day, 2022, may workers begin rediscovering the benefits of organizing, and may we all form a closer bond with Mother Earth. Get outside and enjoy the day!
1 comment:
Rocky, I have read the most recent 3 posts this evening, from May 3rd's post to backwards to this post about how you spnet the first day of May. It is getting warmer here as well, but on some days, the weather goes back to that like a month ago or even colder. That's so typical of the spring weather. Perhaps it is similar there, too.
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