Outside

Brix's First Day in the Garden

Today was an adventure in the garden - Brix joined me as I tried to do some planting and weeding. Spouse headed up north (as we say here in Minnesota) to meet a friend for fishing and beer brewing, so it's just me and the puppy for the weekend.

This morning, I went to the garden store to buy annuals for my front yard pots and stopped in at work to re-pot my pepper plants. (Yes, my light set-up is in the warehouse at work on the dead computer shelf.) Brix was in his crate the entire morning, so I figured I would bring him outside with me while I worked.

Because he has had only 3.5 weeks of training, I knew Brix had to be on a leash in the half-unfenced garden. So, I hooked him to a long lead and hoped for the best. And what, you may ask, is "the best" for a 7-month old puppy? It includes digging a hole in the rhubarb bed, discovering that gravel sprays in interesting directions when vigorously pawed at, and continually lying down on the growing coneflowers and rudbekia. Plus, there are treats in the garden: He likes to munch on lettuce, snap pea foliage and spinach (see picture at right). So, after only an hour and a half in the garden (and about 45 minutes of actual work), I decided to head inside with the dog. I'll have to give it another go tomorrow morning while he's in the crate.

But even if I didn't have so much fun, it's obvious Brix thought it was a great afternoon.

A good weekend

No pictures today. :-(

Since I've started this blog, I have been carrying around our camera along with the cable that connects it to the computer. However, a few days ago, I think spouse decided to be helpful. He put away some recharged batteries in the carrying case, and I he saw the cable and decided to put it back in the drawer in the basement, where it was stored pre-blog. So, I will have some good pictures on Wednesday.

Saturday was a bit overcast, which was just as well because we had 1:00 pm matinee tickets to see Hamlet at the Guthrie. Hamlet is the last show before they move to the new building. I am very sad to see the old place go - a great venue, and a waste of a ground-breaking modernist building, if you ask me. However, it will be nice to have a new bathroom set-up, which always leaves some people still in line when intermission is over. The play was excellent. Santino Fontana, who plays Hamlet, did an outstanding job. I just looked - he's only 23 - unbelievable. I especially appreciated the way that the character of Hamlet was portrayed - as a young man who becomes unravelled at the death of his father and the marriage of his mother to his father's brother. I've seen a few productions in which Hamlet pretends to be crazy (there is a lot of textual evidence for this), but I found it much more effective to have the character actually come apart before our eyes. I think it was the most "human" Hamlet I have seen. Additionally, the reading of the lines was done expertly. I also liked the way that Rosencranz and Guildenstern were portrayed. Usually these are very one-dimensional characters, but Joe Dowling (director) has them play the parts as being manipulated by the King to do the state's business, somewhat against their will. Very well done.

Anyway - there were some garden chores that got done this weekend, too. Before the play, I managed to re-pot the tomatoes and peppers. Once this was done, I discovered I needed more lights, as the trays are getting too big for the area. So, Sunday I headed to the hardware store, got what I needed, and set up another 4 foot light. After doing that, I went to Cal's Nursery and got some composted manure for the unplanted beds. However, once I got home and ate a late lunch, I lost my desire to dig up beds, so spend a beautiful afternoon reading on the deck.

I have lots of pictures, but they will have to wait until Wednesday.