A gritty day all around...

I've seen pictures of the Dust Bowl and today wasn't quite so dire. Still...

the wind today, which was a simple amplifaction of the powerful wind of yesterday, was notable.

For instance, after opening the windows upstairs for the first time in nearly eight months, I was forced to promptly reclose them because surfaces were covered in dirt...

Then, I noticed that the small tomato plants that I'd hoped to put in the ground had disappeared; the plastic tray, blown apart, and the seedlings simply gone...

the bench, the Adirondack chair, the swing, the rocker, all tipped over...

the gate to the vineyard, swung wide and moving...

the buckets holding place for coming Iris plants, those I caught rolling across the front lawn...

I spied a half-dozen geese grounded, wandering the back lawn...

and finally, the air at the horizon and halfway up to heaven, well, it resembled the Los Angeles basin any day of any summer. It was thick air. Brown air. Dirt air.

Maybe it wasn't the Dust Bowl here today. But it was something. Maybe, it was the Dust Saucer.

Garden class inspired him...

The men in my life are fond of saying: "Go big, or go home." Usually, the phrase is tied to horsepower or firepower or the size of the bonfire out back. The thinking goes, I presume, that more is better. But more can also mean more work, as in more general care. Oftentimes general care, or upkeep, falls into my column of the chore list.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, hubby and I have been taking gardening classes from Diane Selly of Earthworks Gardens. I've enjoyed the lessons thinking they would help me take better care of the plants we already have. Hubby, meanwhile, had other ideas, such as waiting until I was away for a day to build a new perennial garden. He didn't have a plan. His only driving theme: Go big, or go home! This is the south side of the house, along the kitchen, where he told me it was very difficult to mow the grass, which were mostly weeds anyway. (Folks, I've mowed here often. It wasn't that tough!)

The love birds, meanwhile, loved the idea of playing in the dirt. All the better for finding worms. When the plot was cleared, and I got over my shock at the chore that is planning a flower garden, I did what any smart woman does. I cried for help. Fortunately, Diane came to our rescue and out to St. Peter, and Earthworks Gardens, we went. Diane sketched us a plan, then walked us around the field to show us some options. When we made our choices, we dug them out. (No potted perennials here!)

We chose Baptisia for the back, Penstemon for the center, and Iris, Daylilies and Tanacetum for the front, and one perennial Oregano plant. Diane also gave us Flowering Almond and we moved in some wild grass from elsewhere on the property. Then we chopped everything down, as Diane instructed. The upside down buckets are holding the place where the Iris will go. We filled the surrounding area with shredded tree mulch.

It doesn't look like much now, but I'm expecting by late July, the garden will look gorgeous. It better. It took the entire weekend. And for the record, the next time hubby says to me "Go big, or go home," I intend to tell him to go home.

After all, I still have 650 grapevines that need my attention.