Vaccinated I am!

 

Yay! I am fully vaccinated and I'm glad. Not that I feel like I/we can let our mutual guards down; there are variants, unknowns and stupid behaviors out there! But I do feel much better knowing that I will probably not get as sick or die and I can actually begin to see family and friends who are also on the vaccination train. And not a moment to soon.

And speaking of feeling better, thank you for asking. While my second dose experience wasn't as bad as some, I didn't feel like my typical chipper self. Many friends had reported semi-debilitating second shot side effects from Moderna including (but not limited to) 36 hours of general awfulness to lying in bed drooling for ten hours. I suffered a mild headache, some body aches and chills and spent the day in bed doing crossword puzzles and reading our most recent New Yorker from cover to cover. (*1) Not bad and certainly worth the end result: protection against a truly nasty virus!

And here's a bonus picture:

This is a detail shot of the Rhododendron lurking under that bedspread in my last blog posting. The central section is rewarding my vigilance with lovely pinky-purple flowers and the rest will probably come out today, as it's warm and sunny. On with the spring!
 

(*1) So at one point, when I had ventured outside to check on the horses and allow Robin the Good a brief respite from attending to me, I debated walking to the mailbox to retrieve the previous day's mail. We do have a very long driveway but I was game. I got to our peach tree and realized that if I were to proceed further, I would most likely not make it back. I saw me in a pathetic, crumpled, damp heap, awaiting discovery by a passing Good Samaritan. I retreated to bed!

Good Fences and Neighbors- Again!

I was so excited to get this project underway that I plum forgot to take pictures or document it until too late! But see all that nice new fencing? Five whole panels (at 8 feet a panel that's an additional 40 feet of coverage!) that weren't there yesterday morning...
Last week, I announced to Bob that I was considering hiring our good friend Joe to assist me in erecting more fencing. Bob eagerly seconded my idea as he has been super busy with metalwork orders and he knew how anxious I was to get this fence section completed. It is right next to my famous Lilac and Shrub Departments... new additions as of the last couple of years, and in need of a bit of privacy. I felt exposed and self-conscious while gardening down there; sometimes I'm covered from head to toe in mud (or worse!) and wearing my gardening clothes- short hand for my weirdest and most expendable outfits... ripped, torn, and filthy. So I was sparing our neighbors (very nice people) from the cringe worthy spectacle of the soiled, cursing crazy lady lurching around and stumbling over half unearthed tree stumps and poison ivy brambles.*

Even my daffodils look happier now that they are a bit more protected!
So Joe cheerfully agreed to meet me for for a day of digging, nailing, hauling and hoisting fun. He arrived at 9:00 and we lugged drill, extension cords, shovels, crow bars, electric chain saw, fence sections and saw horses into place only to realize there was a bit more "clearing" that needed doing before we set up any fence. It took us a good hour to chop, saw and haul trees, wild rose bushes, barberry and scrubby choke cherry growth away. And then we were ready to start the actual joy of post hole digging. Our soil is reliably rocky...
At some point early in our efforts, we required a ladder so that Joe- despite being heroically taller than myself- could pound the posts in. (In a moment of engineering brilliance, he thought to sharpen the ends of the posts so that they would drive in more easily) I went to Bob's studio and requested a ladder and Bob helpfully asked "how many sections we had gotten up". Hahaha! He was surprised- and concerned- when I said, "None!" I think he thought we'd never get on with the job.
But we did! By coffee time (typically about 3:00 or 3:30) we were well on our way and had completed the job by 5:00. It looks great! Even our neighbor next door suggested that we needn't have put the "good side" of the fence towards them; I'm sure they're glad to be spared my weird hijinks and wardrobe crimes AND they get the "good side" of the fence! Deal! Good neighbors!

*Additionally, we no longer have to stare at their dozen or so parked cars and snow mobiles.