The freakish weather continues, and today I noticed that we have two clumps of daffodils in bloom! It's good news for the ones that are already blooming: if we get another cold snap we can pick them and bring them inside. I just hope the rest can hold off until the end of winter. If winter ever starts!
Had to do some work this morning, and while I try not to talk about work if I can avoid it, I have to mention this new project that's sort of a career high for me: a website that sells pirate t-shirts! Aar, mateys! I hope I'll get some swag out of this.
Thirteen reached another ramp-related breakthrough today. For awhile now she's been going up the ramp on her own, without me having to steer or shoo her towards it. But today she not only went up the ramp, she went in through the dog door without us having to open the door for her. This is going to sound really stupid, but in the 9+ years we've been living here, she never before figured out how to get in that dog door. She could go out, but not in. I guess it's because the top step is steep, and then there's a lip of 6 inches or so on the dog door, so between the two it was just too high for her. The ramp eliminates that steep step so all she has to do is step over the bottom of the dog door. I was worried even that would be too much for her bad leg now, but she managed it pretty well. Hooray for Thirteen! I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.
While Thirteen was discovering the ease and convenience of the dog door, I did some yard work: weeded a 2-foot border around the raised vegetable beds and started laying down landscape fabric & piling mulch on top. The goal is a clean work area around the beds that won't get weedy or need to be mowed. Last year keeping the lawn around the raised beds neat was a problem. And when it was overgrown and weedy around the beds, I was less likely to work out there. Which led to general neglect, which led to a smaller harvest than the year before. I hope that the mulched border will make it easier to do the day-to-day maintenance this coming year.
While I was out there I noticed that of the seeds I planted two weeks ago, the beets and arugula are sprouting. Nothing yet from the spinach and chard seeds. Also that lone self-seeded cilantro is still kicking. I thought that one cold night last week would have frozen it, but it's a survivor.
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