Managed to get some yard work done before the rain got going this morning. I started moving a pile of clay to prepare a bed where we're going to plant a fig tree. Unfortunately, said pile of clay is only there because that's where I was dumping the clay that came out of the big hole in the ground. So in essence, this morning was all work I had made for myself. But what can you do, when I started dumping the clay there five months ago, it was just wasted space. I didn't think it would present itself as the perfect spot for a fig tree.
We had a little rain last night, enough to loosen up the clay but not enough to saturate it and make it really heavy. So the work was a little easier; in an hour I managed to move four wheelbarrows full. By the end of the hour, well let's just say that if sweat is an indicator of a good workout, then I had the best workout of my life. I looked like I had gone swimming in my clothes.
Rather than making another pile of clay that I'll just have to move again, I dumped the four wheelbarrows on the front lawn. In years past when Lina and Thirteen were young doggies, they used to dig for voles. They never caught one but they sure loved digging. They dug one hole so deep that Thirteen was all the way underground except for her butt and tail sticking out! I wish I had a picture of that. Anyway, the holes are mostly filled in now, but there are still shallow depressions here and there. Which shallow depressions I'm filling in now. It's awful soil to put on your front lawn, but we don't have any actual grass so I don't think it matters.
The only interesting thing that happened was finding a snake in the pile of clay. I guess it was nesting in there. I thought at first that I had chopped it with the shovel, but I watched it and it didn't seem hurt. It also didn't look dangerous: it was small, uniform color, and had a narrow head. I scooped it up with the shovel and tossed it into some brush back up in the yard.
In other gardening news, the hydrangeas arrived today! I unwrapped them, gave them some water and set them in the shade. Today was perfect weather for introducing mail order plants to the yard: overcast and gently raining. Saturday we'll have time to plant them, so they won't sit around too long.
Speaking of mail order plants, I found a source for bulbs that I'm really excited about: Terra Ceia Farms. Their prices are fantastic, especially the "bulbs by the bushel" specials -- 400 daffodils for $75! I found rave reviews of them on an online gardening forum. And best of all, they're from North Carolina, so I have confidence that their bulbs will grow in my yard. A lot of bulb nurseries are in New England which gives me some concern that their bulbs, daffodils especially, are grown for cold climates and wouldn't do well here. I'm going to order a bushel of daffodils, some white and blue muscari, some alliums, and maybe a half-bushel of daylilies. I wish I had found out about this company before I got those daffodils from Home Depot.
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