Garden Notes March 22--March 31 1975 --- Planted Onion Sets & Radishes in Rose Bed

That Bird Really Gets Around

From my perspective, the years covered in the Bollmans’ notebook were not so long ago as to be considered the Distant Past or even the Olden Days. However, I will concede that is has been awhile. I am tempted to say life was simpler then, but I will resist and leave that phrase for someone who may need it. Mary and Otto led a simple life because they chose a simple and frugal path. Their days were centered around their house and all things pertaining thereto.  Damn legal background made me say that. Back to the real world:  They loved their Home and Garden and I do not mean their magazine subscription.

I am also tempted to say that they did not multi-task, that they were the embodiment of (yet another of) my Dad’s sayings “one thing at a time and that done well” or Don Fahey’s mantra “Let’s do one thing at a time, shall we?  We don’t want to get confused”.  For starters, nobody multi-tasked. Most of us juggled multiple tasks, especially the workforce and parents, whether working outside the home or not. We simply had not yet  invented a word for it.  Still and all – there is a good old south St. Louis saying for you – I stand by my statement that they attacked one task, finished it, moved to another, and if the first task needed tweaking they returned later and tweaked; or they split tasks 50/50. 

And yet…there are not many pages where Mary does not write: “I did this & that”… or  “I cleaned, etc.”.  Was she a secret multi-tasker?  We will never know.  What we do know is that she planted her onion sets & radishes in the rose bed – that Zany!

Garden Notes – March 22, 1975 –March 31, 1975
Planted Onion Sets & Radishes in Rose Bed

Saturday, March 22, 1975 - Temp 45 - 63

Sunny and Pleasant all day. Otto cleaned strawberries & a lot of weeds & I did too and finished for the Spring spading. Planted onion sets & Radishes in Rose Bed. Inspected the wall. We liked it, newly tuckpointed.  Johanna came over to say hello. No heat today.

Sunday, March 23, 1975 - Temp 47 - 76

No heat today. Lovely day. This evening it’s raining. Thank God we had it nice to go to church and back.  Heard a good sermon. Watered flowers and wrote a letter to Phil for her birthday. Had a tornado watch till 7 PM

Monday, March 24, 1975 - Temp 34 - 56

Windy all day. We got out and spaded and cut or trimmed Black Raspberries & cleared trash. Couldn’t plant seed as it was too breezy. Called Nationwide for roof.

Tuesday, March 25, 1975 - Temp 22 - 34

Mostly cloudy but breezy. Seemed very cold. Stayed inside and did this & that. Even baked some cookies. Had snow flurries. Roofer still coming down; they called

Wednesday, March 26, 1975 - Temp 20 - 46

Sunny mostly. Went shopping and got onion plants & sets & food. Otto planted the onion plants PM. I cut a few Black raspberries. The wind penetrated.

Thursday, March 27, 1975 - Temp 35 – 45

Rained all day. Decorated cookies & fixed bacon. Baked a turkey and bread. Went to see Mrs. Hardy. Took cookies and onions. Mr. Hardy came over to tell us our roofing was blowing off. No leaks so far at 6:30.

Friday, March 28, 1975 - Temp 38 - 47--- Good Friday

Rained through fog AM and rained most of day. Stayed home all day & did cleaning, etc.

Saturday, March 29, 1975 - Temp 30 - 36

Went shopping 9 AM between bread rising --- nice day.

Sunday, March 30, 1975 - Temp 24 – 44 --- Easter

Sunny all day. We spent the nice quiet Sunday at home. Had meatloaf dinner.

Monday, March 31, 1975 - Temp 31 - 64

Beautiful sunny day. Washed AM. After dinner worked outside. Planted Dutch onions & trimmed Blk. Raspberries a bit.

So it’s time for me to hit the hay early, due to exhaustion and body aches too numerous to mention.  This is the last time I read ahead in the notebook.  A couple nights ago I skipped to harvest time 1975 and came away feeling like  a real slacker. Bottom line, I have now planted 4 rows of snow peas, a few leaf lettuce, scallion and dwarf Pak Choy seeds, transplanted the volunteer lettuces, found and transplanted a volunteer sorrell(?), started marigold and moonflower seeds, pruned and re-potted the philodendron that wintered over in the basement, cut, pulled and cut the forest of dead morning-glory vines from the wishing well, pulled off dead honeysuckle vines from the flag pole, cut out the honeysuckle around the vine; it overpowered my hyacinth bean vines last year so it  must be destroyed. For my encore I seriously trimmed back the honeysuckle growing on the back fence.

Is it time yet to go to Carondelet Park, fill empty kitty litter buckets with free compost and lug them back to Tara?  Wait, am I getting a little disoriented?

  Be careful what you read.

Whoa....Where'd he go?