Kara and I worked hard to get our greens started today.

We used Organic Mechanics Seed Starting mix, the egg cartons we always save, and planted a bunch of greens:

Lettuce
Winter Density
Marvaille des Quatres Saisons
Green Oak Leaf
Susan’s Red Bib
Burpee Organic Green Leaf

Arugula

Spinach

Apart from the Arugula, which has a germination time of 5-7 days, everything else is 7-14 days. That’s when we find out whether this system will work:

Total cost:
El cheepo Home Depot Green House: $25.00
I bought it basically for the prefab plastic cover. Our little cat would tear up the plants otherwise.
Two grow lights and four t12bulbs: $60.00
Seeds: $20.00

Plant starts range in price. At a 1.00 a piece, once we get 100 plant starts, we’ll break even. I’m hoping I can get the greens into the ground next to rows of direct seed to judge the two against each other.

I also want them out in time to start all of the basil and tomato plants.

Re-reading one of my favorite series from childhood with my son. I love it more than he does and, just as my daughter can’t help but laugh at my willingness to use Little House on the Prairie as a source of wisdom, he goes along with it, maybe just to have me read to him before bed. Anyway, as young Taran speaks to Dallben at the beginning of the series, he notes the following:

In some cases we learn more by looking for the answer to the question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself. This is one of those cases. I could tell you why, but at the moment it would only be more confusing. If you grow up with any kind of sense — which you sometimes make me doubt — you will very likely reach your own conclusions. They will probably be wrong. However, since they will be yours, you will feel a little more satisfied with them.”

Lloyd Alexander, The Book of Three (New York: Square Fish, 2006), 9.

We saw Louis CK in Philly and he raised a similar point, saying something like, “you should listen to people who are older. They know more stuff. They may be wrong but at least in being wrong they are basing it on more knowledge.” (I know I’m butchering a really fine bit).

What I’m thinking about tonight is how we come to feel the edges of our own ignorance, how we come to sense our own blind spots. For better or worse, I don’t see the world in black and white terms any longer (life was much easier when I did), but I still think about things, or debate stuff, or talk about ideas while teaching, knowing that there’s a real possibility that I’ve left out something important. This isn’t false humility — cue shitty Boston accent, “the true measure of education is an awareness of your own ignorance” — but this realization I’ve had over the past few months. When presented with a choice, I’m much better at seeing all manner of options, but I’m not sure that my decisions are really improving. What is getting better is my ability to, as Dallben suggests, feel a little more satisfied with them.

—
Anyway, back to gardening. I viciously pruned the rose bushes in the front yard after seeing this article in the Guardian. I pulled weeds out of the front and side and put down chicken wire to keep the cats off of the ground now that the soil isn’t frozen.

You can barely see them but there’s two cardinals living in the back garden. Look in the bush:

Note: it’s hard to keep things level and flush on a hundred year-old wall.

Pictures here:

Love these guys. Plan on posting public recommendation soon.

Favorite picture:

Here’s the new exterior, with a sleepy, sick Colin:

Winter’s here. The garlic continues to grow.

Just in case you’ve forgotten how cruddy things were…

Hard to tell, but I think we’re okay in terms of how late we are.

Got some chemical free garlic and some organic garlic from the co-op.

Here’s the bed, with crushed leaves as mulch on top:

This is the new siding for the mudroom…