Looks like yesterday was the last freakishly warm day for awhile. I had to work on several projects and go to the DMV and do training at the radio station, but I still managed to get in about an hour in the garden.
I got started on digging up the horrible clay by the sunny side of the house which is going to be our cutting garden. It doesn't look like I got much done because that clay is so heavy and hard to dig. I have to chop it up with a mattock first, and then use the shovel to lift it out. But I managed to remove 3 wheelbarrows full in the hour, so I feel pretty good about it.
The hardest part is digging up the clay over the old septic tank. It's only about 6 inches under ground, so you can't dig as you normally would, with your foot against the shovel. It's more like scraping the shovel along the concrete surface. It's kind of hard to explain but the motion uses more arm strength, you can't shift as much of the work to the body. I have puny arms so this is hard for me. Although now that I think about it, breaking up the septic tank with a sledgehammer is going to be much harder than removing the clay from above it, so I should enjoy this while it lasts. But I haven't gotten to the sledgehammer part yet.
I finished digging just in time to eat lunch and head out. And I have to say, the meal right after doing heavy yardwork is the most satisfying meal ever. I love to work and work until I feel shaky (takes about 1.5 - 2 hours with a job like digging clay), then get out of my sweaty clothes, drink a big glass of water and eat right away. You can practically feel the energy from the food going through your body. My favorite post-yardwork snack is cheese and crackers because it's easy to make. I like those Finn Crisp crackers: some starch for immediate energy, but it's nice whole grain fibery starch.
DJ training was fun as usual, especially since Whig Hill was one of the trainees! Training is always better if I know someone there, because they feel comfortable talking to me and asking questions, which gets the other trainees talking too. The only time I don't like training is when they all stand there staring at me, won't ask questions or say anything, and I have to talk at them for two hours. But last night was great. We only had a few equipment problems -- no needles on the turntables, and the "cue" function went horribly, horribly wrong -- but otherwise everything was OK. I think the worst training session I ever did, in terms of equipment, was the time that the CD players wouldn't autostart, cue didn't work, the turntables didn't work, and the mic was broken. There was almost nothing left to do that time!
Today we were going to try out the new truck by hauling junk to the dump, but the rain made that impossible. So we went to the farmer's market to buy firewood. It was pouring by the time we got there, but luckily there weren't many people there and the firewood guy let us pull the car all the way in under the roof. That way the wood didn't get wet while we were loading it.
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