Little bits

[magid]

I picked up a bit of paper that had blown to my front steps (the steps being at an angle to the sidewalk means we get lots of detritus blown into the shrubs on either side), intending to chuck it in my paper recycling. I took a closer look, and realized it's a hand-written note on graph paper, sealed with a shiny bunny sticker, and addressed to someone in Cambridge. Perhaps I should deliver it? I'm not sure, however, whether Mr. [name withheld], alias "Esteban de la Sex Face", would want this note.

I biked the Minuteman Trail on Memorial Day, stupidly waiting for the possibility of being rained on to have passed, which meant riding in the midday sun and humidity. It was a slog a lot of the way (I don't do well in the humidity), but I made it, my first >25 mile ride of the year. Reward: bike shorts, my first ever. (Plus there was a bike shirt on sale too... I haven't decided whether I'll require myself to pass some other milestone before wearing it on a ride).

Noticed on the ride: two horses, three bluejays, a pair of cardinals, two lemonade stands run by kids, and a green and red parrot (being carried on someone's wrist). I was startled by that last, and automatically said "pretty bird" in that strange voice I seem to use exclusively for Claude and Edgar.

Two friends got married, and I got to celebrate. Yay! Plus, the kiddush cup from my parents' wedding was used, which was pleasing.

Porch progress: two sungold cherry tomato plants.

Season notes: irises and lilies of the valley are out.

I really need to get out of the house earlier in the morning; even half an hour's difference is noticeable both in heat/humidity and amounts of shade on my walk. Still, so far this year, I've only missed one day of walking to work (it was raining).

Possibility for my porch next year: growing citrus trees, in containers. That would be so cool, having a couple of actual fruit trees on my porch! I'd have to figure out where to fit them in the kitchen during the winter, though. And whether I could manhandle (personhandle?) the containers when shifting locations.

This might be a first: no food qua food in this post!

Comments

[gingicat]

Speaking of flowers, do you ever walk past the house on Cambridge Street, fairly close to Harvard (other side of the laundromat et al from you), that has a front yard *full* of flowers? I've been meaning to go by and photograph the flowers climbing their front portico; gorgeous big purple clumps of flowers on vines.

[magid.livejournal.com]

The wisteria they have growing is gorgeous; I think the flowers are waning, but I'll try to remember to really look this afternoon. I love the front doors on the wisteria'd house, btw, among my favorite front doors in town.

Actually, when you mentioned front yards filled with flowers, I thought first of the triple deckers a bit farther along, opposite the high school, where there's nothing but flowers and a narrow path up to the front door. It's a brilliant display of color.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

If you don't deliver the note, I hope you will share its undoubtedly juicy contents with your loyal readers :)

For moving large potted plants, you could probably make (or bribe someone to make them) small wooden platforms with wheels. Getting them over thresholds might be a bit challenging, but for something that only needs doing rarely, probably not an insurmountable challenge.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I dunno, opening someone else's mail.... Well, maybe. Though part of me thinks I should deliver it.

I've seen wheeled things like you describe. The tricky part is that the porch isn't only a threshhold, but a step down as well, so wheels are a bit less useful for that bit. And yes, not a huge deal for a rarely-done thing.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

If you respect the mail enough not to open it, then it would make sense to respect it enough to deliver it. At least that's what I think and what I think I'd do.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Oh, a step. Hmm. Really BIG wheels!! (Or a temporary ramp.)

[(Anonymous)]

For what reasons are you considering not delivering the note?

I've been thinking of lilies of the valley in recent weeks; good to know it is their season.

It's great that you've been able not to miss a day of walking to work since that rainstorm day! No slippery slope there.

I like the idea of growing citrus trees in containers on your porch. It's the beginning of your porch-woods! Very cool. That site sells etrog trees!

Would the trees need to fit in the kitchen over the winter, or would there be enough sun in another location that has more room? The small wooden platform with wheels (a skateboard?) might not work with a step-down, but a two-wheel hand-truck could.

You could also go with non-citrus fruit trees that can overwinter outside.

I enjoyed realizing that the bulk of the items in this entry demonstrate your connection to the rhythms of the natural world.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I don't know whether the note was intended to be delivered, or had been tossed before it got to the intended recipient, or was tossed unread *by* the recipient... I suppose I should deliver it. *must check city maps to find address*

I know people in OR who've been raising etrog trees from seed, and are now, years and years later, almost at the point of getting fruit. Somehow, raising my own etrogim almost feels like cheating. Though it would save a lot of money in the long run!

The only room with enough light in the winter is the kitchen, unfortunately. I already cram in all the herbs I overwinter.

The problem with any kind of fruit trees is that it's unclear whether they can overwinter outside when in a container. So unless I planted something in the back yard, I'd likely have to bring it in anyway, but some of the more northern sorts of fruit (apples, for instance), need a winter cycle.

One of the things I like about the Jewish calendar is knowing the cycles of the moon, feeling more in tune with the ebb and flow of the year. A sun-year is accurate for timing, but noticing the changing angle of the sun is rather more difficult.

[(Anonymous)]

I had considered that the author might have decided against delivering the note and then lost it, in which case someone delivering the note in order to be helpful could innocently be causing trouble. Too bad there's not, I'm assuming, a return address. I hadn't imagined that it had already reached the recipient and then been either purposely tossed or accidentally lost.

I don't know about cheating, but the idea of using an etrog not from Israel somehow feels not kosher for ritual purposes, like it's not *really* an etrog.

In my parallel life in which I am an agriculturalist in Israel, I have an etrog tree.