2020-05-21 log

Have I mentioned it has been raining? That it hasn’t really stopped? That another pounding torrential wave of it just started falling and woke up the guineas, who are now yelling from the coop?

It is Thursday night and it started raining Monday in the wee hours.

Water is standing at least 5 inches deep in some places, and is creeping up on where my Chamaelirium luteum planted last fall are currently blooming.

I have several low areas like this that pond for a day or so after we’ve had tons of rain for days. I’m not entirely sure what to do with them, given that they dry out and can become quite parched once we get to the part of the year where we won’t see rain for weeks at a time. These areas are far from convenient water sources, and I don’t like (and don’t really have the attention/energy capacity) to commit to regularly watering something long-term.

(It’s kind of sink or swim for most plants here at Snailshell Thicket. I try to remember to water newly planted things regularly, but I have too many other things to do than stand around watering things. Also I need to use cached rainwater for watering non-food, and sometimes I have to ration that carefully.)

Unsightly “temporary” fence for discouraging guinea fowl from running directly into the road. I guess I need to get on that…

One good thing about the completely sodden ground with rain like this is that it creates a brief window in which the most tenacious of roots and rhizomes can be effortlessly plucked from the earth. The sensation of an 8-inch long dock root sliding out of the ground is so satisfying.

Rumex crispus root harvested this evening. Perhaps another dock species is in there, too?

I need to figure out the best thing to do with these roots. I am almost out of Everclear and I think there might have been a COVID-19-related run on that to use as a sanitizer, so a tincture probably won’t work. Probably slicing and drying is the best bet. I really need to order some of the herb/flower meshes for my dehydrator.

The leaves of Lonicera caerulea (honeyberry) bead water in an interesting way

After work this evening, I…

  • did quite a bit of this lovely, buttery weeding during a long, only-slightly-drizzly break in the rain
  • chopped the tops off the stand of wild solidago to see if that’ll keep it from becoming quite so unruly by the end of the season. Experiments!
  • did some light pruning of some branches I can actually reach now that they are sagging with the weight of water
  • gathered/relocated some rocks surfaced by the laying of the fiber last week
  • enjoyed this display (below) from multiple angles, multiple times.
Lilium ‘Merlot’

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