In Focus

I love it when a prolonged power outage forces me to tackle projects I’ve been putting off.

Saturday was interesting. I woke up to a power outage, which was more like a brownout. I looked up information on my phone about when the power company expected to restore the electricity, and they initially estimated it would be back on after 6 p.m.

Thankfully, the weather was pleasant, so I took the opportunity to clean and repair the cat’s kennel. The cats supervised the entire process. They were notably displeased with a neighbor’s cat that came to visit.

I hope the grass starts growing now; I’m tired of tiny muddy paw prints all over my floor and bathroom. Unfortunately, part of the kennel won’t grow grass, so I might need to get some pavers or, when I have the funds, pour some concrete. The concrete will be easier to clean in the long run.

After that project, I turned my attention to my garden beds. It was a perfect Halloween scene with dead sunflowers and tangled vines everywhere. However, I needed to clean it up to make room for new plants.

The cleanup took several hours, involving raking, pulling dead stalks, and dealing with weeds. I ran out of energy before I could sprinkle my wildflower seeds in my flower bed, the Chaos Garden.

The Chaos Garden has no specific design—just random seeds scattered around, along with several returning yearly from sunflowers that reseed themselves to other plants like hollyhocks, blue flax, tulips, and lilies. It grows as it pleases, and I’ve embraced that chaos. Oh well, I plan to get it planted this weekend.

I have so many plants started this year that I had to set up a large banquet table and stack my smaller one on top to accommodate all the growing plants—lots of veggies, herbs, flowers, melons, and more.

I’m excited to see some echinacea finally growing, and I’m still waiting and hoping for the lavender. The seeds were stored in the fridge for a while, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

At this point, I’ll need to expand the borders of my garden, and I’m on the lookout for some cattle panels to create a squash tunnel. I’m on a mission with all the melons and pumpkins I’m growing.

Fortunately, by the time I ran out of energy, the power had returned which was much sooner than anticipated.

At least I got another project crossed off my growing list!