Did about 3 hours of work at Edgewater today.

Did a LOT of cleanup of the forsythia. You can now clearly see two rows of bushes. The deadwood and errant branches completely filled the truck. Can’t wait to see how it looks when it blooms.

Cleaned up the stump sawdust and put the clean portion under the swing set. Raked out as many pebbles as I could from the back lawn.

Put fertilizer on both the front and back lawns.

This morning, I pruned the 6 little hydrangeas in the back at Dixon and the big daisies from Mark’s old house.

As part of cleaning out his storage units in preparation for the move, Ron has tossed what sounds like hundreds of cassette tapes that he made from LPs.

I can’t imagine the hours that he spent on this through the years.

That got me to thinking how I’ve spent my time.

I’ve been in the mode of considering time a commodity for quite a while. As such, I’ve tried not to waste it.

Like everyone else, I have spent lot of time on survival-related things, like work, commuting, studying to get my degree and to keep up my skills, cooking, washing clothes, housecleaning, sleeping.

Some time had to do directly with Peter: driving him to activities, school functions and meetings, doctor visits, clothes shopping.

Some of it was fun, like going to movies and concerts, vacations, sight-seeing, visiting friends.

More recently, a solid chunk of my time has gone to maintaining the properties on Dixon and Edgewater: painting, minor carpentry but most particularly, yardwork and putting in and tending to lawns and gardens.

I give Peter full credit for becoming the person he is. We raise ourselves as much as if not more than our parents did and my assistance in that area has been average.

I made sure that he had opportunities, like attending Manter Hall and owning a computer, but his successes are entirely his own.

Even excluding the important business of helping another human being reach self-sufficiency and except for the fact that Ron is more traveled, I still feel that my time was better spent.

For one thing, except for work, where it’s inevitable, I didn’t waste long periods of time with self-centered assholes, into which category fall just about all of his priors.

I bought and sold property. I haven’t done as well as many, but at least I have an asset in the house on Edgewater, and it’s not financially underwater.

I’ve spent time taking care of pets.

I have a few friends. Not many, but they are the kind of people with whom one can be no-holds-barred honest, and that’s worth a great deal to me. It makes me happy to do things for and with them.

I’ve had a handful of peak experiences: the Newport Jazz Festival, vacationing on Vancouver Island and at a ski resort in Durango, Colorado, and living in Seal Beach and Laguna Beach, California.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time with the grands, for which I’m very grateful. I’ve had a chance to talk with them, play with them and watch them as they grow and change.

Mostly, though, my time has been best spent on the gardens. That’s something I can definitely point to over the last 10 years that has made a difference, not only to me but to the people around the properties.

Jen’s babies were born early this morning, Mac Stewart and Devyn Skye.

I pruned the three hydrangeas in the front. It struck me as pretty stupid that I cleaned up someone else’s yesterday but hadn’t done ours.

It was a nasty job because I’ve not done a real clean-up in a while, if ever. There was a bushel or more of dead wood and leaves. I also pruned any winter-kill on the ends of the branches and horizontal strays.

It was a great day to be outside – shirtsleeves weather. Good workout, too.

My friends Candy and John will be moving in less than two weeks. I don’t think anyone is real happy about it.

Besides missing them terribly, it dawned on me that I’ll also miss her family, to whom I’ve become very friendly: her two sisters, her brother-in-law, her children and grandchildren. I used to enjoy seeing them relaxing on her deck, and I’d come over to say hello, hospitality always being extended.

Candy’s been distributing gifts throughout the neighborhood, things she doesn’t want to move or store: semi-full bottles of liquor, a case of beer, and for Ron and me because we’re not drinkers, two lamps, lobster pot buoys, a bureau and a couple of swivel chairs.

She said last night that it’s rare to find a neighborhood where you could drop in to someone’s house in your pajamas, day or night. I think it’s just hitting her what she’ll miss when she’s no longer here, but we’re going to miss her even more. She’s been the ‘glue’ that’s held a lot of us together, if only for the once-a-year St. Patrick’s Day parties.

I’m just really sorry that she felt it necessary to leave.

Pace is stepping up a little now.

Spent most of the morning working with Jim Robertson at Highfield. Pruned 6 hydrangeas which had been planted 3 years ago but haven’t been touched since. Jim did 6 as well and edged along the beds. He’s a terrific work mate.

Wandered inside to see the quilt exhibit: magnificent. Ron would like to make a quilt with some of his tee shirts.

At the transfer station, picked up a nice discarded tub with handles, perfect for the potato garden. Disinfected it and planted six potato pieces, which have been hardening for a day in the kitchen window sill.

It appears that the transfer station is on the migratory path for some very friendly flamingos!

Also planted the tomato and petunia seeds in the cold frame.

On the way back from Highfield, I “discovered” Service Road in Falmouth, which has some beautiful properties.

Had a good PT session with Andy Enea. He’s set me up for 3 sessions a week between now and the trip, to try to get my legs conditioned.

Fluffles got his first application of Advantage for the year.

It felt like winning the lottery when I landed that consulting gig with NOAA last year. I kept a running total of hours and earnings, figuring out exactly when I’d “break even” with the inequity of a certain someone’s mean-spirited will.

I buy lottery tickets from time to time, hoping to break even with some other, smaller benchmark, like Ron’s moving expenses, for example.

That hasn’t happened either, but I still feel extremely lucky: I won, big time, last November 26. And it wasn’t about money.

Fertilized the lawn with Jonathan Green Step 1, turned the compost, dead-headed the violas.

While rearranging some cooking utensils the other day, I found just about everything needed to make sushi: a mat, paddles, wasabi powder, nori, rice.

I picked up some rice vinegar (after trying it today, I may use it for salads but didn’t care for it in sushi rice) and decided to use the steamer as a rice cooker for the first time.

I didn’t have many traditional fillings on hand so made do with carrots, sauteed mushrooms (I prefer the taste to raw) and cooked cod from last night.

The rice came out perfectly, at least, to my taste. One big advantage of cooking it in the steamer: it slid right out, no waste.

The result was quite satisfactory. Edible, in fact. Certainly far superior to the pre-packaged kind.

I have a fabulous sushi book that was probably a gift from Peter, so if I can find a source for the fillings, especially unagi, and if Ron likes my preparation, we may be eating home-made sushi more than store-bought.

You can disinfect town compost by putting it in heavy plastic bags and leaving it in the sun for several days. As long as it reaches 130 degrees or so, any mold, fungus or weeds will be killed off. Adding a shovelfull of soil will restore the “good” bacteria.

You can definitely grow potatoes from the store-bought kind so long as they sprout. Don’t need to buy seed potatoes from a garden center.

Compost should be damp enough to feel like a wrung-out sponge.

A slurry made of newspaper and water, spread around the roots of plants, will defeat cutworms.