Should Probably Wait to Post....
May. 4th, 2020 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseI 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?
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?