seems like everyone had already worked their plot except for me. thankfully i have enough perennials already growing that for a casual observer it didn't look too neglected. i went there to do some weeding, some organizing, and make room for the two bags of raised bed soil. i didn't realize how hot it was going to be even though it was still the morning (temperature in the upper 60's).
there were some changes in the garden. maureen, the talkative older lady who's always trying to steal some of my nigellas, had upgraded her plot to one that was in front of the garden, taking over karen's plot, who had to give it up to take care of her ailing husband. she gifted me a tiny thai basil, i might gave her some spare nigella seedlings after all. my former neighbor EJ who still kept their plot (the one adjacent to mine) even after they moved to huron village finally gave it up, and a woman named molly now has the plot.
i returned home by 11am. i moved out all my houseplants, actually should've done it yesterday once the weather turned warm. i then returned the community garden, driving the car so i could unload the soil in the back. i used the garden trolley to wheel the soil, along with 3 milk crates i found last year. i used the milk crates to elevate 3 grow bags, keeping them off the ground and away from snails and slugs. my father video chatted me while i was there, and i talked with him in the car before driving to belmont.
i got to belmont a bit before noontime. first thing i did was to clear the driveway so i could move out my motorcycle. i put in the battery (which had been trickle charging indoors all winter long) and reassembled everything. it took a few tries before the engine roared to life after being in hibernation since mid-january. it was such an unusually warm winter with hardly any snow that i honestly could've kept my motorcycle out all this time. something new i did was to inflate the tires with our new air compressor. i pumped the front tire to 28 psi and 36 psi for the back tire. i was kind of surprised that the tires were a bit flat, it's one of those things i hardly ever bother to inspect, but properly inflated tires make for a better ride.
after moving the cars back onto the driveway, it was time to work in the backyard. i had to be back in cambridge by 3pm, so i couldn't do too much. i first watered all the plants before making a solution of fungicide spray for the grapevine: 1.2 tbsp (18ml) of immunox liquid + 0.75 tbsp (2.25 tsp) of captan powder + 1/2 gallon of rain water. i basically coated every inch of grapes. i'll spray again in 10-14 days, repeating until after they've finished blooming.
i finally left by 1:30pm, coming back tomorrow to do some more garden work. next stop was the mt.auburn star market, to pick up some boneless chicken thighs and mangoes on sale. i went to the cafe to refrigerate the chicken. my sister happened to come in at the same time.
i got back home by 2pm. i had to park a few blocks away as we have street cleaning tomorrow and all the spots on the safe side of the street were already filled.
i had an hour to kill before renee's 80th birthday party at 3pm next door. i used the bathroom and took a shower, changing out of my sweaty clothes from working in the gardens all day. at exactly 3pm i went next door. i brought a hyacinth bean as a present. it was just a gathering of neighbors, chatting, drinking, snacking. franz revealed they're spending a week on the island this summer with my upstairs neighbors.
i left by 4pm, returning home to watch the NBA playoff game between the celtics and 76ers. renee said her son was into basketball as well, and he tried to invite himself to watch the game with me on the instance of renee. that point me in an awkward position and i told them i wanted to watch the game alone.
celtics were trailing in this game (4). during halftime i went to the kitchen and made myself a ham & cheese & egg & avocado everything bagel sandwich for a very late lunch (5pm). i was so loud with my cheering (and swearing), my next door neighbor margot sent me an e-mail, "i know you're watching the celtics. i am too." so how come i didn't hear her cheering? celtics made a run in the 4th and captured the lead with just a minutes to go. the game went into overtime, and celtics nearly won, but a james harden 3-pointer in the final seconds sealed the game, just like he did in game 1. disappointed yes, but it was an exciting game, and to know that the only way philly was able to win was by a 3-point miracle made me feel good about the celtic's chances the rest of the series.
the game ended around 6:40pm and i was going to head down to the community garden (for the 3rd time today) to bring out the trash bins (it was my week to volunteer), when i saw renee with joel sitting on the stoop of her house. apparently she got locked out, and her roommate wasn't home, nor the tenants living on the first floor. franz saw they had the window open, so he climbed a trash can and went inside the house to open the back door to the porch. that still meant renee couldn't get inside her house as the stairwell door was still locked. i brought my collapsing ladder to see if i could climb through her opened 2nd story window. i could push in the screen (would result in some crashed plant pots) but i couldn't get around the other side of the window to climb in. renee said her stairwell lock was flimsy anyway, and if something had to be broken, we could try busting down the lock. i checked out the door and noticed the panel was actually loose enough that if you pushed on it, you could see the locked doorknob on the other side. so while i pushed on the panel (without breaking it), joel put his hand through the hole and managed to unlock it. thus renee was finally able to get back inside her house.
i didn't get to the garden until 7pm. i moved out the garden refuse bins, and did a little sweeping, cleaning up the loose dirt that came out of some of the bins. i didn't get back home until 7:30pm.
the other NBA game tonight was between the nuggets and suns. watching it on the couch with the laptop on my stomach, i dozed intermittently. i finally got up to make some dinner around 9pm, reheated the last of my ham broth. i added some thin korean noodles and some hot chili oil to make it more of a meal. suns beat the nuggets, 129-124, series tied 2-2.