Should Probably Wait to Post....

[lydamorehouse]

I should probably wait to post an update, as Mason and I will be driving down to Hastings in about two hours to get his (our?) COVID-19 test. Quick update on how we are all doing for those who do not want all the details beyond the critical: no symptoms, though some curious speculation (under the cut.)  

So... as we now know from that New York Times article and elsewhere, rashes seem to be in some way connected to the novel coronavirus. Exhibit A, of course, being Mason's weird toe situation.  WELL. Shawn has actually been complaining of an extremely painful, itchy rash on her back for about a month and a half.  Apparently, torso and back rashes can ALSO be a sign of having had the infection.

Meanwhile, my sense of smell... has returned. This part is contrary to everything we're reading about, but hear me out.  My sense of smell used to be phenomenal. My friend Barb and I were the first people to sense a gas leak at my work at the Immigration History Research Center back in the early 2000s (a leak, I might add, that ended up also being a carbon monoxide leak, but that's a whole other story for another day.)  Gradually, as I have aged, my sense of smell has decreased to the point that I am now the one who has to say, "I can't tell; does this smell bad to you?"

Yet, over the last few weeks, my sense of smell has returned DRAMATICALLY. Like, and this is kind of weird, but so I was digging in the garden yesterday trying to see if I could transplant notoriously finicky peony and I unearthed a giant peony root and, suddenly, when a piece broke off not only was I able to smell it, but my brain said to me, "Lyda, you could EAT this and it would be TASTY." I didn't, for the record. However, the smell and corresponding sensation was so strong that I ended up researching "Can I eat peony root?" and discovered not only, yes, you can, but also that SPECIFICALLY peony root is used in Chinese medicine (and others) as an anti-inflammatory and for immune system boosting, and part of me thought: weird, those are exactly the things you need if you get COVID-19.  

But, also, in general I am now able to smell like I used to. I love scented soaps, but now a few of them are WAY too strong smelling and I can smell the lingering scent for a lot longer. It's WEIRD.

So, file that under curiouser and curiouser.

As mentioned above, under the cut, I spent a good portion of the weekend in my garden transplanting stuff that's just in the wrong place or not flourishing. When we first moved into this house we had a lovely stand of pink peonies along the garage wall.  When we unadvisedly planted hops to cover the fence, they took over that garden and, I can now tell you, actually entangled their rhizomes with those of the peony and slowly strangled the peonies. They've been looking poorer and poorer as the years have gone by, so I finally got out my shovel and unearthed them. I took a picture on my phone of the size of one of the peony roots, but I haven't posted it anywhere that I can quickly grab it for you. It was the size of my fist and twice as long. And I could pull the hops roots out through spots that they'd invaded, the little bastards. (The whole hops fiasco is one I will probably regret my whole life. Pro tip: hops are insane growers and will take over anywhere.)

Peony are notoriously difficult to propagate, so we'll see if they actually survive my efforts to find them better spots. Of course, NOW I read that I probably should have done this in the fall. Though I guess my only consequence of having moved them in the spring is that they will fail to bloom this year (and, that's fine. All I really care about is if they will survive and thrive EVENTUALLY.)

I am happy to see that the Virginia Bluebell that I moved a couple of years ago from its terrible spot is actually doing quite well:


Image: blue bell with nearly mature blooms

I still have another blue bell in the "bad" spot that I'd like to also transplant. For some weird reason, when I first planted these I put them beside a trellis that I had climbing roses on. OF COURSE the roses took off and crowded out the blue bells, but because the bells come up so early in the spring I noticed a couple of years ago that they were still struggling, but alive. So, I grabbed a clump of them and moved them to the shade/spring garden. There's another clump still hanging on, though, and I should find a good place for those, too. 

In other news, I'm not sure how my roses are doing. They have been struggling, too (that spot, it turns out, is very shaded by the neighboring house). I see a few shoots coming back, but I have my doubts. I may have to replace them, finally, too.

I do hope the peony survive in their new spots. I've had some luck moving a few of them to a spot beside the house and into another garden not far from their original spot, so, fingers crossed. It would be neat if they got bushy and full because, not only do I love them, but the ants that they attract would be equally beneficial for the bloodroot.

Which blooms SO EARLY that it is already now to seed:


Image: bloodroot--flowers already gone.

I am also excited by the fact that the clover and self-heal seeds that Mason and I scattered in the front under the maple is starting to sprout. I should, in fact, water them a little here before we take off for Hastings.

Well, speaking of that, I should rattle my son's cage and see if he's getting up and getting dressed. He's been super vigilant about self-isolating within the house. We've even been doing All The Things, like making sure that we disinfect all the doorknobs and other things he might touch in the upstairs bathroom.  As I say in the cut, I'm really becoming fairly convinced we have all HAD this already, but it pays to be extra cautious with this thing. After all, apparently, you can be reinfected. 

CONSTANT VIGILANCE.

But, enough of that. Tell me how does YOUR garden grow?

Comments

[brin_bellway]

Before I talk about gardening, two last things:

1. The leading hypothesis is that all current ""reinfections"" are actually just people who were in an eye of the storm and then hit the other eye wall. (I say "current" because for some coronaviruses the immunity only lasts for a few months, and obviously it hasn't been long enough yet to know if this is one of those.)

2. That being said, it seems to be good to minimise virus exposure *even if you're already infected*: you don't want your own viruses receiving reinforcements.

---

Our broccolis are coming up very nicely under their grow-lights. *Some* tomatoes have come up, but much less so: on the next fortnightly Errand Day I'll stop by the garden centre attached to the grocery store and see if they have any decent supplemental tomato plants.

I think we are also planting zucchini, but I haven't been involved in that and am not sure if we've done it yet. (I *am* involved in eating them, though. :) )

[lydamorehouse]

I only wish Mason didn't have to lock himself in a set of rooms for the next five days. We're, frankly, not intending to go ANYWHERE or talk to anyone else for two weeks, at LEAST.

Which is also a bumemr? I'd wanted to have potstickers tonight for dinner but we are out of cabbage.

I would love to grow broccoli. I love it so.

[offcntr]

Irises are blooming vigorously out front, the two peonies are up, one showing buds, the azaleas have bloomed, though the rhododendron hasn't yet.

Bought snap pea and pole bean seeds, should probably plant them soon, and look into tomato starts (though that may be optimistic. Still pretty chilly overnights).

Clearing deadnettle from the small raised bed, I discovered that the thyme plant I'd put in last spring was flourishing, and in fact had to be trimmed back to untangle from the weeds. So yesterday dinner was chicken legs and thighs roasted with thyme, baked dressing with thyme subbing for half of the sage, and chicken/thyme gravy. (And canned sweet corn.)

I am a Thyme Lord.

[lydamorehouse]

Hahahaha.

The chicken sounds amazing, though.

I haven't even put any seeds in the ground for vegetables yet, since Shawn told me that there is FROST expected this week! grrr.

[offcntr]

For the chicken: salt and pepper the parts, then toss with olive oil. Mix flour, thyme and grated parmesan cheese in a tupperware, and add and toss chicken parts, a couple at a time. Spray a sheet pan with pan spray, arrange chicken parts and bake 45-60 minutes at 350° F.

The oil helps the coating stick, then brown nicely in the oven. Vary seasonings to taste (garlic or onion powder are lovely, as is Cavender's Greek Seasoning, which we first heard about on Kevin and Ursula Eat Cheap.)

We're above frost, though still in the high 30s overnight, so no tomatoes yet, but peas and beans should be safe to plant. Rhubarb is up and looks harvestable, and the cauliflowers we planted in fall that never flowered are gonna be harvested to see if the leaves are edible. I'm thinking braise them like kale.

[lydamorehouse]

Thanks for the recipe! May need it at some point. I discovered our thyme overwintered, too!

[pameladean]

I've successfully moved peonies in worse shape than yours seem to be. They will sulk for a year or two, but they do bloom in time.

It would be so weird but so very good if you were all almost over the entire COVID19 thing. I wish you all luck and health.

P.

[lydamorehouse]

My peonies are currently very much sulking. I like that description of them, in fact, and it seems profoundly accurate.

I will cross fingers that we have all had this thing at some point. (Oh, and I will report this tomorrow, but the nurses at the test station think we will only have to wait 3 to 5 days for the results. So that's better then the 10, I'd initially heard.)

[pameladean]

I picked that word about peonies up from a gardening book -- I am no longer sure which one -- and everybody I use it to who has ever raised peonies feels just as you do. It is a perfect peony descriptor.

I am really happy to hear that you won't have to wait ten days for the test results. That seemed both really tense and stressful for you all personally, and a less than great indicator of how things are going with the testing in general.

P.

[dreamshark]

Not a gardener, but as always fascinated by anything COVID-related. According to my google fu, COVID patients who lose their sense of smell usually regain it in 2 to 4 weeks. For some it takes longer. It is really beginning to sound like your entire household may have had very mild or asymptomatic COVID 4-8 weeks ago and are now experiencing some of the stranger after effects.

The fact that you did not actually LOSE your sense of smell 6 weeks ago, but have "regained" it anyway is beyond weird. But this is a very very weird virus.

Just for the record, exactly when did Mason come back from that robot conference? You should be keeping careful notes for posterity, just in case you all get antibody tests as part of some study and the researchers have questions.

And of course I'm delighted to hear that nobody is getting sicker and at least one of you is getting better than well.

[lydamorehouse]

I mean, as far as my sense of smell goes, it's possible that I did lose it, but, because it had deteriorated so much, I didn't notice? I don't know. It's probably nothing, but there is SOMETHING going on with my sense of smell.

I will note this somewhere else, too, but I just Googled Mason's robotic tournament: March 4-7. Right about that same time, though closer to Saint Patrick's day, Shawn heard that someone she'd spent three hours in a meeting with was someone who had been in contact with someone who had been confirmed to have tested positive, and we all self-quarantined immediately for two weeks, even though we were "one removed" from an actual case. None of us, not even the person in question developed any symptoms at that time.

So, there are several incidents, far enough back, that really do support your hypothesis.

And, yes, fingers crossed that we're not only not getting sicker, but hopefully did our BEST not to spread this too much further. I remember the Saint Patrick's Day connection because I decided not to go to a friend's small party (which was technically still okay at the time) because I wasn't feeling great and then the next day we got the news that someone Shawn had spent time with was one-removed.

Fascinating stuff, if it wasn't also scary and devastating.

[dreamshark]

Both of those things are quite a long time ago, but Shawn's work connection is kind of within a plausible window. St Patrick's Day was 7 weeks ago. If she had been exposed and had a longer incubation period she might have contracted the virus sometime in the last half of March. If you picked it up in early April (from either her or Mason) and it slightly affected your sense of smell then, now is about the time your sense of smell should be returning. That's an awfully attenuated list of small probabilities, but... both the smell thing and the COVID toes are pretty oddball symptoms that are almost diagnostic of mild COVID infection. I had heard of the COVID toes symptom, but not heard that it could show up in the aftermath of an infection rather than at the beginning. But there's so much we don't know yet.

In any case, all of these manifestations are associated with mild cases that do no permanent damage. And I hope you get to keep your newly reactivated sense of smell!

[lydamorehouse]

Yeah, we all all just one big petri dish.

Obviously, I will continue to hope for my own sake, that we have all had it in some extraordinarily mild fashion.

[dreamshark]

Wait a second - didn't Shawn have to go to the doctor for some strange symptom during the past month? Or did that all get resolved over phone and video? Because if she was in a medical establishment, that seems like the obvious locus of infection.

[lydamorehouse]

Yes, we had to go a bunch of times. We were actually in the Emergency Room at United Hospital the same time that Mason was in Duluth (7th of March) for six hours. Then, we had to go back to Urgent Care when she had blood in her urine... and I don't remember when that was, but they were already making me wait in the car at that point.

[rachelmanija]

How strange about your sense of smell. You know, if peony root is in fact edible and you craved it, I think you should eat some! Your body seems to be telling you something.

You know all about my garden. ;) It's growing really well, mostly - some plants are struggling in the heat, but others are visibly bigger by the day.

[lydamorehouse]

Your garden stories are my life, so keep posting them!

And, yeah, I saved the root?? So, I may be googling "recipes involving peony root...." at some point! :-)

[rachelmanija]

I just put up an update!