That's what I did today. Got up at noon, made and drank the coffee, and mostly skipped the reading and writing, and worked the yard.
No pics, sorry. Soon.
First, I went around and picked up everything that was in the wrong place and put it in at least a better place, if not the right place. This involved a lot of sorting of things like small pieces of concrete, limestone rocks, pieces of broken terracotta, hose valves in a variety of conditions, including poor; pieces of things I had to think about as to whether they were trash (some were, alas), and then consign them to the trash bin or maybe to a more nearby bucket where such small fails I have deposited for later collection.
Also, bark chips. I save them. I reuse them, year after year, until I can't find them anymore. Casey occasionally contributes by excavating them from sites that are not currently protected.
And containers, lots of that. Buckets, bins, pots down to the miniscule. All of this I gathered and sorted and put under the carport, in careful sectors. You have to be a pretty poor container before I relegate you to the trash bin.
This took quite awhile, but it made it much easier to think about things. I recommend this sort of work, if you are easily overwhelmed. First, clear the table, sort, stack. See what you've got. Even just doing that will get me inspired to use my materials to work on stuff.
It helped me see what I had as far as mulch went, with the the bark. Then I went around and cut down a lot of weeds and put them down as a primary mulch, by my heirloom tomatoes.
It was maybe going to freeze last night, so yesterday I had to go around and stick buckets over all sorts of stuff. The morning glories and the volunteer beans were not granted this courtesy, and they all look fine, so I guess it didn't freeze. But I wasn't going to take chances.
So today at noon, I started out taking all the buckets and terracotta pots and the bins and all that stuff off the plants, all of which were fine, if a bit dewy, and that's when I started sorting. Pull all the old mulch back, mostly bark; put down new green weeds as I cut them, and then the bark back over that again, more heavily. And then a sprinkling of seabird guano pellets, just a bit. That stuff is strong.
It was a good six hour run. I got a lot done.
In the middle of this, my ABQ friend showed up. He's down here for the Mescal roast.
Very good friend, though I don't tend to see him other than when he's down for the Mescal roast.
Good friend partly because he has mastered the art of not being controlling. Really amazing guy. You can just talk to him. He knows how to listen, too.
He doesn't judge, doesn't make comments, is sensitive about cues. He drops in at random, kinda, which usually I hate, but it doesn't matter with him. I can be drunk, or sober, or in dishabille (the latter of which I usually am when at home, because why should I wear support underwear at home when not scheduled for company, which I almost never am? Guys don't have to deal with that shit).
Also, he's into plants and animals a lot, so we have something to talk about. Casey loves him too, though it must be noted that Casey loves everyone, sometimes too much. I pointed out to my ABQ friend that though he said it was okay that Casey jumps on him, generally people start getting irritated by the 30th time.
By about the 15th time, my friend was looking Case in the eye, and quietly saying "Don't even think about it. I know you're thinking about it." Case sat there, adoring, and slightly stunned.
My ABQ friend will be going tomorrow to help the Mescalero Apaches harvest the Mescal (from the Agave neomexicana) for the Mescal Roast festival at the Living Desert State Park this weekend. This is traditionally a coming-of-age ceremony for young women, IIRC, and we do not get to see the private ceremonies thusly. But they put up a whole production there, with roasting the agave hearts, making a traditional Apache dinner and selling tickets, and dancing & stuff.
I think I have some A. neomexicana, they look very much like this, anyway:
But I gather the best part about it is that one has the opportunity to volunteer to help, and thus hang out with the folks running it.
I've never done it. I'm a coward about biking up there at night. It's a bit of a hike, and my bike not quite reliable, and me a bit out of shape these days.
My friend is booked to the works during the festivities, so I don't want to ask him. I figure he would have offered if he felt comfortable with it. I trust him.
Maybe I should just bike up there.
I might just do that. If not this year, maybe next.
This is the first year I've seriously considered it, though.
You can read about it here.