Yesterday I did my first clothes line drying of the season, and since we had company over for dinner, of course I forgot to go check it before dark. At about 10pm I took out my new (from xmas) rechargeable Coleman lantern and set it on the ground next to my basket and I removed, shook, and folded the sheets and towels. Worked great--much easier than groping in the dark or trying to use a flashlight while I work. Can't hold it and fold at the same time. I think this will become a habit--I used to go out and get laundry at dark even if it wasn't quite dry and would have to put it in the dryer. Now, as long as I don't leave it out so long that it picks up nighttime dew, I'm set.

I'm pacing myself today. I've cleared out the debris from last year's cannas in a corner bed in the front, and I'm spreading the soaker hoses today. That bed is where one of the front soakers ends, with a nice coil through the bed so the cannas look great all summer. I need to get a couple of extra regular hoses for running irrigation this year (soaker hoses are great in gardens, but that doesn't mean a soaker has to run clear from the faucet. It can start at the edge of the bed, with a regular hose connecting to that point.)

I need to learn to fix the weed whacker I have, but if I wait to use it until I get it fixed I'll be up to my eyeballs in tall weeds. I guess I'm going to be a two-whacker family, and I'll get the book a friend told me about regarding the repairs of these tools. I have plans to put another workspace for this kind of project in the garage--I have an extra exterior door that is propped up out there. I'm going to run a horizontal 2x4 on the wall and fasten the door hinges on this door to that 2x4, and it will be at a height that when I need an extra counter space I can lift it out and up from the bottom, hinges at the top back edge, and slide my metal saw horses under it to hold it up. It might not be elegant, but it will do in a pinch, and if I get tired of it, I take it off the wall again. This is kind of the opposite of Susan's Murphy bed, because it fastens at the top edge. My Murphy door. :)

I have my hay for mulching, and I'll go out in a little while and get the wood mulch and some compost. I'll at least get some of this seasonal garden under way and watered by evening.

SRS