The wind woke me in the middle of the night, strong and steady enough that I could hear it move across the land and sweep over the house. It also blew open the outside door to the bedroom wing. The temperature drop and the popsicles attached my ankles probably also contributed to my waking up.
I started at the other end of the back slope reclamation project this morning, the end that the largest crape myrtle will anchor. In the manner of the transcontinental railroad I hope to have the warning track meet roughly in the middle. Today’s task was to lay the foundation for the box around the crape myrtle, for erosion control, soil management, water conservation and ultimately fire control. The difficulty is achieving a level box on a steep decline, either by digging into the upper bank or building up support on the lower bank. The level made the choice of building up the lower bank inevitable. My thought of a three foot square box does not seem to extend the lawn much further into the upper bank.
Part two was settling in the border board on the lawn edge of the flagstone leading to the gazebo. The board is substantially warped by the sun. I dug out along the perimeter of the board to settle it further into the ground and discover a vast infestation of Bermuda grass. Bermuda grass seems to thrive under the flagstones at both ends and send out its runners from the edge. I will try my program of digging it out as best I can and poisoning whatever remains. Two large stones will hold the border board flush with the flagstones until two inches of topsoil can fill in that space.
The lighter green agave with the white stripe won the honors. It fit well in a circular terra cotta pot that fills the space where the raphiolepis once lived.
Bob and Faye hosted the Wine Club dinner in their home tonight. The 2008 Lyman Barbera was a sensation, perhaps the best wine group has produced and still rich and smooth after ten years. Cathy McLelland joined us for dinner. She is a volunteer with the Amador County Search and Rescue Team, and will join the recovery efforts in Butte County early tomorrow morning. On the way home the snowflake indicator in my car activated, the temperature having dropped below forty degrees.
A Year at the Snake 