enkidu run errand

I cleaned up the witch hazel on Tuesday. The weather forecast called for early summer earlier in the week followed by blustery fall this weekend so we once again got out while we could. The mulch and the flare are looking much better now, and I've been admiring them whenever I walk by.

We started with a walk down the Wissahickon. I was thinking to venture farther upstream, but parking at the trail head was roped off so we kept driving. We passed a man walking the opposite way as us and saw a couple with a dog ahead of us on our way back who must have been behind us and turned around before we did. On our way out we saw another man in a parked truck looking at his phone who hopped out when he saw us.

We also saw trees that bent over and split their bark, a skull with no traces of the rest of the carcass, and a single cluster of mushrooms, one of which I bagged thinking it'd be fun to try propagating at home but which I have left forgotten in the fridge since.

We went to the vet yesterday morning. I called to schedule the appointment for Dany last week and when I saw it'd be warm and sunny out I brought Teemo and the hiking bag with us so we could go trekking afterwards. The visit was to inspect another lump I found on Dany, which turned out to be a scab that the vet plucked off and that Teemo then ate. They had their annual visits scheduled for April but since we were there the vet offered to take care of it all then. The tech took Teemo to the back for blood work and shots and came back wearing as much of his fur as he was. They trimmed his nails while they had him and he put up a fight. He trailed a little blood and ate the rest of the cookies I brought while Dany went for her comparatively uneventful round after crying out loud in the waiting room.

They're usually a little sore and sleepy after the shots so I decided against hiking and took them home. We ate lunch in the backyard then I brought them inside to nap.

While they slept I dug up the peach tree. I got it in my head a few weeks ago that I wanted to move it and have been tossing around if I should or if I'd even find the time or energy. It took about two hours total, which was less than I anticipated, with what I hope was minimal damage to the roots. It's looking better in its new space now, and I think it's better planted than it was before so I'm also hoping the day's stress will pan out long term. I used an old bottling bucket to drip ten gallons of water around the base, and the rain today added a little extra.

I tended the sourdough starter after working on the witch hazel Tuesday. I didn't realize I'd bought whole wheat flour last week, which helped give it a little boost. I read that fresh ground flour can be particularly helpful, which was fortunate for the yeast because I had grains on hand. I've just been eating them like a bowl of cereal and didn't think to grind them. So I did and fed the starter, which has been looking the strongest it has since I started the adventure. I fed it this afternoon and it doubled in about eight hours. I have a backlog of dough waiting to bake once I'm done writing this then I'll feed a little more. I had spare starter earlier so I topped it with water and powdered sugar. I shook it with a solid lid on to dissolve the sugar and aerate the wort then put on an airlock lid to see what happens.

It rained all afternoon so we walked early and I spent the rest of the day reading while the yeast worked and the dogs napped. I almost have enough material for my presentation in March, and almost enough drive to try growing wheat. The effort to grow even a half pound of grain looks like it'd take more energy than the grains themselves could provide, but at 75 grams per feeding that amount would provide three gourmet meals for the yeast, and the experience itself has been its own history lesson to flesh out what I've been reading in these old newspaper clippings.