Compost, Including Compost

Grow, Baby, Grow!
A few days ago, I asked Byron to dig up the little spot where I proposed to transplant my zinnia seedlings, which were doing very well, and would soon need more space. Byron hauled in a few bucketfuls of good rich earth to mix with the plot, and added some fertilizer. He agreed that late afternoon, after the heat of the day had peaked, would be best for transplanting, and returned at four.

The plot was nicely raked and looked perfect, until I poked my little spade into the earth and it hit hardness about one inch in. Byron had merely spread the new soil over the hard-as-concrete earth. I explained that we needed to excavate at least six inches down before we could transplant anything, so we got to work. It was hot going, and I rubbed a big painful blister in the center of my palm, but eventually, we had a proper seed bed, raked and ready. We carefully set out the zinnias and watered the plot gently, and stuck a few leftovers in the circle around the newly planted laurel sapling. Here it is this morning:

Don't you love my makeshift fence? So far, no doggies have crossed the line,

I am happy to say that all but one have survived thus far, despite a very heavy rain overnight two nights ago. Byron has begun preparing the main garden, earning his own blisters, and I hope to have zucchini in the ground before the weekend ends.

Rotting in Heaven
No longer do I throw out the yummy peelings and fruit rinds with the trash. Now we have a compost heap in a back corner of the garden next to the house. Mixed with good rich loam, my eggshells and coffee grounds are evolving into fabulous nutrients for next year's garden. This year, I have a sack of 15-15-15 to do the honors

Alex Trebek is Back in my Life!
Maria José took me to a resale shop in Dolores, a small town between Diriamba and Jinotepe, to look for another television. We found an older Panasonic, the heavy sort with a bulging backside, but working well, with its remote control. We flagged down a taxi, and then a tuk tuk in Diriamba to get the thing home. The cable guys returned the next day and hooked me up. One problem: the news channels I had ordered did not seem to be available, so I made a fourth trip to the Claro offices and asked them to resolve the issue. They did, and now I have BBC news, and a couple of Miami network stations. After nearly a year without television, I was thrilled to sit and enjoy Jeopardy again. Also Graham Norton, bless 'im! And news,news, news. Most of it awful.

Sofa Blues
Yesterday, MJ and I went to Masatepe -- Furnituretown, Nicaragua. I doubted I'd find a sofa in my price range, but it was worth looking. And I like riding the bus with her. It looked pretty dismal until we gave up and went to find a place to have lunch. There, on the porch of a store, was a long, wooden sofa that was deep enough to be a bed, and it was only $260. The cushions are blue, and I plan to dye them black, but here is a photo au naturel.

The sofa sits opposite my Peruvian wall hanging, with which blue mos' def does not go.

Notice my new TV? Pretty high tech stuff!

(P.S.  31 May
The dye did not work very well. The royal blue is now navy blue. Must reupholster!)