We started the day with a couple of hundred bulbs to plant and no bone meal, so off we went in the mumps-mobile (quarantine on wheels) on the great bone meal hunt. On our way we stopped off in a few church parking lots, hoping to gather some data for Betsy’s ad hoc survey of Republican deceit, but contrary to expectations no leafleting was happening outside the churches.

The local big boxes, Farm & Fleet and Menards, had packed up the gardening stuff and moved the pink plastic Barby crap into the aisles in preparation for Xmas. (I hope everyone will join me early this year in my campaign to secularize Xmas). So off we went to Jung’s nursery, where not only was there plenty of bone meal but also a half price sale on bulbs. We bought quite a few bulbs.

At home I raked the leaves off the beds (again), piled them in the gravel driveway, and burned them. I cut down the dead hollyhock stalks and tossed them on the fire. Beth printed out the spring pictures of the beds so we knew where there was room for more bulbs and then we planted. And we planted. And we planted. At the end of the day we still had a few hundred bulbs left to plant, which made me very grateful for the half price sale at Jung’s. I’d hate to actually make progress.

I love how smoky I smell right now. There’s something about burning leaves.