The weather has been dry enough or outright sunny just as I’ve finished work on several days over the past couple of weeks. So I’ve been able to get outside.

I’ve let a few go to seed, but otherwise, I’ve been able to pull the dandelions before they spread to much. I try to let them flower and stay flowering until the last minute, for the bees. But if they go to seed, they grow everywhere and can ruin the floor, making cracks bigger, etc. Last year, I was either too busy or it was too wet to go outside after work and they bloomed.

It’s a bit warmer for the bees now, but a fortnight ago there was a cold dying bee outside my door. Having watched a tik tok on bee first aid, I put my hand next to my new mate. It didn’t wave, so I knew that it knew that I was friendly. Up it climbed onto my hand. I walked it into the sun and it warmed up from the heat of my hand and the weak sun. After a few minutes it started to move about a bit more and when it seemed strong enough, I took it to a flowering dandelion, where the little thing climbed off.

I’ve got a handful of wildflower seeds on the windowsill that have just about propogated. Is that the right word? They’re in a homemade biodegradable plant pot. It’s a tube of rolled up newspaper with one end squashed flat to close it. (It’s sat in an empty jar of dip, so the water doesn’t spill everywhere.) Apparently, they’re more likely to take once they’ve sprouted, so it can be more successful this way than throwing seed bombs. I’ve got to find somewhere to plant the pot now. It’s been years since I grew anything but with climate change a-coming and biodiversity what it is, I’ve never been happier to see life grow.

I’ve also planted some apple seeds and got the number for a local volunteer group that plants trees around the city. About six or seven have taken. They’re about a foot tall so far. When the saplings are strong enough, I’m going to give the volunteer group a call and see if we can get these saplings in the ground. Would be cool if we got permission to plant them in a park, so people can get the apples.

I’ve also noticed that a bunch of daffodils have turned to seed. I’m going to leave them in the ground for a couple of weeks, then harvest the seeds. I’ve got to figure this but out, but if I plant them at the right time, they’ll become bulbs. These can be planted in autumn and should grow next spring. Fingers crossed I get the timing right.

I’ve never really gardened before. I’m just kind of making it up as I go along. But it’s a fun way to spend the evening when I have the time. It’s keeping me fit, too.

Indoors, I’ve been enjoying a novel in Spanish that was utterly incomprehensible four months ago. I’ve not been reading much since then, but I watched almost all the Star Wars, a couple of other shows, and a few seasons of the Walking Dead, all dubbed in Spanish, as well as listening to a few audiobooks. It’s great to see that lots of listening crosses over to improve my reading.

As you say, it’s the small things.

Did you get to talk to Post Malone or was it a just-crossing-paths kind of thing?