Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy

I got some free potting soil, so I refreshed some of my indoor plants, and put some pots on the balcony to get them ready for some tiny veggies or herbs. I tried planning a couple radishes, and a couple yellow peppers, so hopefully they sprout. There is plenty of rain forecast for this week. I still need to get out to my garden and plant some things. They didn’t turn the water on a few days ago, because of freezing nights.

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On Saturday I dropped my crippled bike off at Dutch Cycle. Even though I got there at about 2 minutes past closing time at 4PM, they were nice and let me in the door. The missing wheel can apparently be repaired for about $35 (used), and I’m hoping they throw in a speedometer magnet with that too. I can possibly get it on Tuesday, but I bet it will turn into Saturday or Wednesday if I’m lucky.

Saturday evening I dragged two friends out, to Bushwakker’s, and I had potato skins. I cut off a bite, and when it touched my lip, it burned it. Then I was in that awkward situation I hate, where you know if you finish putting the food into your mouth you’re going to burn it, but if you spit it out, you’re going to look rude. I went with the pull the food out of my mouth with my fingers technique.

Sometime shortly before or after that I was bugged for swirling my water glass around the top of the table whilst making a “wooo” sound. So I proceeded to prove that I was still sober by stacking a salt shaker on top of two glasses, then a pepper shaker on top of the salt, then a menu, and then tenting two coasters on top of it all. I threatened to balance a full water glass on top of the menu, to cries of objection. I wouldn’t have really done it (because I couldn’t have).

See a sample of some of my seeds? I should sow some on Sunday.

Red, green, and hot peppers, an orange seed (not going to plant that one), and some wimpy sunflower seeds that probably won’t work, and a couple of pea seeds that I doubt will sprout too. I also have several packets including radishes, lettuce, spinach, leeks, green climbing beans (which have been in my family for about a hundred years I’ve been told), cucumbers, carrots, and potatoes. I saved some squash seeds, but I fear they won’t work because some of them were moldy (I must not have dried them very well).

If the weather holds out, I may do a little planting this weekend. I’ve been neglecting photographs for a while, but I’ve been away on Sundays, so have a pretty good excuse. I went to see my garden plot in the community garden on Grant Rd. and it looks big enough to grow quite a bit. I was advised to not plant potatoes just yet, lest they get frozen off in a June cold snap.

With the growing season creeping up, I’m thinking a new camera may be in order to take some photos outdoors. A handy list is steering me toward another Canon Powershot. This time it will have Image Stabilization, but I’m also considering a camera where I can attach better lenses, including ones suited to extreme close ups that make for fantastic computer backgrounds.

I got a call on Saturday, my garden plot is assigned, so I should head over and plant something. I have some potatoes from the store that went to seed, so those will probably end up in the ground this week.

Here’s an old photo from August 2006. Yes, those are hail stones.

Taken in a restaurant by the title name, in Winnipeg.

The “weed” that will haunt many a gardener this year. Remember, if you catch them young, and unsprayed, you can eat their delectable little green leaves in salad. Their yellow heads can be carefully picked for wine making.

I don’t suppose it’s come up for gardeners too much yet, but Monsanto has flexed its corporate might a great step too far with farmers the last decade (or longer). Percy took them on, on more than one occasion, and came away smelling like a rose. His latest victory is an important one. $660 isn’t as important as the win.

The seeds of the earth (and those manufactured by humans) should never be subject to patents.

The spring thaw is underway in Regina. The streets are mostly clear where there isn’t much shade. I don’t have any new photos from the past week, but here’s one from autumn a few years back.

- This tall thing took 2nd place in a contest of about 70 people around Canada. I think it was 70 anyway… maybe next year it will be 700.

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Last night I watched “Scream” [5/10] for the first time ever. Having seen “Scary Movie” before, I had a hard time taking it seriously. I lose more movie watching opportunities by seeing the spoofs before the actually films. That happened with Hamlet, as I grew up watching Wayne and Schuster, and as a result had Hamlet completely spoiled by the Shakespearian Baseball game skit. When he holds up the skull and contemplates death, I saw a catchers mask in his hand. And when Barrymore got stabbed, I thought a breast implant was supposed to pop out like in the spoof.

SmalltownSK has some fantastic photos of rural Saskatchewan on their flickr stream. It reminds me of traveling for work at my old job. The grass in this photo makes me think of mowing. And also pulling grass from around strawberries in the garden.

There’s a nifty smiley face here, and the other photos are cool too.

And imagine if you were this tree. Would you be warm, or cold?

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The east got hammered with snow, while it’s melting in Saskatchewan today. Half a METER is huge.

Let’s hope the Mediterranean doesn’t get hammered with a wave any century soon.