While being called for jury duty has nothing to do with gardening, it does call for a little planning ahead since everything will be a bit more hectic around the house. We are settling into one of the hottest weeks of the summer, following a pretty rain-free few weeks. So this weekend, I spent some time being sure everything was ready to be a little less attended to, and even possibly somewhat ignored, depending on how the jury duty went.
Things on my check list included:
- Being sure my pots where all watered and the plants in them dead-headed.
- Check the vegetable plants for ripe vegetables and fruit. Make note of what might need picking in the next couple of days.
- Noticed rhubarb was sprouting seed pods, so got those cut off. Also checked to be sure nothing else was in dire need of dead-heading
- Be sure in ground sprinkler was set to run.
- Watered the first year shrubs in the garden
- I recently did a thorough watering of the larger trees and shrubs, so I felt comfortable not soaking them this weekend.
This felt a bit like getting ready for vacation. The garden always needs to be prepped before you head out of town. Otherwise, you never know what you’ll come back too. Even with that prepping, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate and “things happen”. Just part of the fun. What is part of your garden vacation planning?
As I wait at the judicial center, I am very impressed with the jury pool waiting area. While sitting and waiting to be potentially called for a case, we can look out over the county government complex’s drainage area that doubles as a well-planned wetlands area. I’ve been able to watch Barn Swallows flying gracefully about, as well as a Great Blue Heron hunting for food, a Great Egret fly right past the window, a pair of Mute Swans (unfortunately no babies right now) and Red-Winged Blackbirds sitting in the cattails. If I had binoculars, I might be able to see more, but that might require some unnecessary explaining as to why I had binoculars at the courthouse 🙂
The binoculars would not be as hard to explain as the camera with the zoom lens.
No cameras allowed in the building and they’re checking. Hard enough to get in with your cell phone. That’s pretty restricted too, so certainly not taking any photos while I’m there. There was an outdoor observation area, but it was on the other side of the lake, too far to go to in the time we had for lunch.