baphijmm.bsky.social
It/Its. Astrophysicist, astronomer, optical engineer, author, genealogist, animator, game designer and developer, not necessarily in that order. Tibetan dragon otherkin and furry trash. Ran for US Congress that one time. PFP by @armaina.com
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And finally, if I get through all that: Work on the retaining wall. Honestly, that'd be top priority, had the deer not wholly destroyed most everything I'd planned to plant down there in front of the house.
Maybe, MAYBE order materials for next part of that project, too. Maybe.
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May note the dogwood shrubs look real sad; pretty sure it's sun exposure, got some shade cloth ordered that should be arriving ~Tuesday.
Deer have started coming back; the Shadow Magic crape myrtle's been chomped down again. Doubling down on deterrents so I don't have to shoot a bitch
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Goals for tomorrow:
Continue bringing up the level in the Courtyard. We're ALMOST at a point where we can start moving down the length in earnest.
Swap some of the soil in the Natchez crape myrtle container; I've over-watered it, and it's super-unhappy about that. Maybe add more drainage holes.
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Rhododendron is lovely, I'd love to try it, but one, deer do eat the flower buds before they bloom, and two, they really can't handle our heat and dryness.
Was thinking about planting a big tree for shade just north of the old shed, but then, what to plant, same problem--and what's it shading?
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Privet and juniper get too big; Italian cypress gets too tall. And I really don't like holly, and it and boxwood need to be trimmed regularly to keep them looking nice anyway. Pyracantha might be an interesting terrain-denial option, but I don't much care for it as a hedge.
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Was thinking lilac since I've got a bunch of runners, but those'll take a while to grow to size and are also deciduous. I dunno.
Wanting to get a kneeling pad, because gravel just finds the creases in my kneecaps and it fucking sucks.
Still pondering specifics of a character design I wanna draw.
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--in that, the new end of the Courtyard lines up with that tree. To keep path where it is, it has to jog out. But, I COULD move it to the east side of the tree. Lots of work though, not sure it's worth it. Additionally, as I'm clearing dead scrub oak, thinking about a hedge along that path.
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Seriously, they turned off ray tracing and everything
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Fact is, all three were GROSSLY over-watered by yours truly, the soil in their containers was sopping wet, so they’ll likely appreciate the new dry soil wicking some of that away for the night.
But we gotta get those plants safe, THEN push to get the Gala planted.
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Plans for tomorrow:
Keep moving dirt until we’re level enough around those three plants that I can add a water-retention ring and actually water them in. This will involve further leveling in the walking areas, and removal of gravel from where I haven’t yet.
If I can, pave + plant bench bump-out.
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This result in mind, I’m not gonna be able to get the Gala apple tree planted tomorrow, not safely anyway. So, gonna keep working on bringing the Fuji side up to level.
Had to cut a stone to better fit in the ring. Also, after that second pic, I did finish leveling the bench bump-out.
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Have an excellent matte painter
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The fool you are, you think I am so simple and singular as to be so bound, emotionally and physically, to this mortal flesh prison? Will you fight, or will you perish like a dog
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Don't want to discourage the birds either, they're more than welcome in my garden--even when / if my plants DO set fruit. But, right now, the plants I want to cover are well past flowering, and the plants of most interest to the hummingbirds don't seem to interest the deer. Hope it'll be fine.
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Congratulations, you've invented foxes
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Oh yeah, and there was that time I saw Dean Kamen (the inventor of the Segway) doing an interview a couple feet away on the National Mall; I don't remember why I was in DC, too many times to count at this point, but.
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Oh no wait, I forgot about that time Sean Schemmel sidled up next to me at a vendor's booth at an anime convention. It was my first con, too.
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It'd be NICE to start "paving" the Courtyard area, in quotes because I'll be using flat fieldstone--a cushion for that bench arrived this evening, perfect fit and lemme tell you it is COMFY--but that's definitely lower priority. Even though I do wanna plant the elfin thyme between the stones.
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So, as I'm sitting here pondering this in real-time:
The apple trees are living things, and that Gala in particular is feeling the crunch, so that's top-priority right now. I HOPE I can get that at least mitigated by end-of-day tomorrow. If so, Sunday will be Retaining Wall Day.
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BUT, the first two items are higher-priority. Retaining wall really needs to be up before the monsoons start in three weeks, and that Gala apple has subsumed all soil in its container with roots. It's okay--leaves are still green and perky--but we're counting down the hours.
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--that is, taking the wood I've cleared out and chipping it up, then mixing that with the substrate for added biological elements and mycological benefit--with the FULL idea of Hügelkultur--that is, loading it up with WHOLE wood as well. Plenty of it, and it'd help fill the deeper side a lot!
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It'd also behoove me to start working on that timber raised bed like I said I'd start next week if I got the apple trees in the ground; all the plants for that bed are here, available, and most are pretty obviously wanting in the ground. Also, thinking about combining my earlier idea of chipping--
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Reason being: The trench is almost completely dug out, and aforementioned staffer's been trying to keep it backfilled with plenty of crusher coming out, so the retaining wall footing's in place. I COULD start laying the first course.
But, that Gala apple REALLY needs to be planted ASAP.
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It's gonna go in southwest of the greenhouse, near another cluster of trees but far enough away from both that and the greenhouse that there shouldn't be any issues for any of 'em. Assuming it survives.
I've backpedaled SLIGHTLY on plans for the weekend; now I'm uncertain.
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I'd hoped he'd be able to get this second Douglas fir in the ground--we pulled up three from the area around the Courtyard, with the first one planted and the third still looking okay, but this one's showing some brown in its needles. Might try to find a way to soak the roots over the weekend.
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It doesn't look like this was in any of the models; all forecasts around here and the indicated areas show mostly clear for tonight. Looks like it's not associated with any pressure systems either. I wonder what happened.
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(My aunt lives in Parma Heights, please don't beat me up Cleveland)
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CLEVE-LAND
SEE OUR RIVER THAT CATCHES ON FIRE
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I blame the country musics
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I don't think we ever removed the seed heads either, but it could've been the species or variety. I was in Cincinnati, which is 6b, only slightly colder than where I am right now--though admittedly, I've not tried many annuals here until this year.
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Yeah, I know a lot about snapdragons; my mom used to plant them all the time, but I don't think we got any seed out of 'em. (Plenty from impatiens as I recall, but.) Didn't know their seeds could over-winter, since obviously the plants can't.
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My friend, I'm pretty sure what you want is
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Dammit, Firefox ate the photo again. Lemme try from my phone.
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These guys are goofballs. It's really the angle; any other position and their eyes are round yellow donuts.
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I am so sorry. I've lost a few pets over the years; I know it never gets any easier.
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Hey, excellent! I don't remember, it's been a couple years since we talked about 'em: self-seeding, I presume?