The tornadoes in Western Massachusetts did a lot of damage. We notified the Red Cross that I was ready to travel immediately after the event, but they did not have an opening for me until yesterday. Within an hour I was packed and on my way to Springfield. I expect to be here 2 weeks this time, and I'll most likely be doing the same things as my last outings, working in headquarters on staffing. I don't have info on the size of the operation yet. I do know that there is one large shelter open, and several mobile feeding trucks are out working the community.
I am staying in West Springfield, in a hotel that is in the backyard of where I lived for 3 years. My former efficiency apartment building us now a Friendly's, and that's not all that's changed over here.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Summer Arrives Soon, but first...
We've had a coldish wettish May here in Friendship. I've tried to get some vegetables started for the garden, but they have declined until very recently. I did gte some tomato seeds planted before we left Jekyll, btought them up here, and tended them in at night and out during the day, except for that one noght I forgot to get them in and they froze. Likewise a basil plant I picked up along the way. Only the rosemary survived that night, because rosemary is a perennial.
Around the first of June, the weather started looking better. That is, we had some days in the 60s. Until today. This morning it got up to 80 degrees, and like most parts of the country, a hot day is being capped off with thundershowers this evening. We've missed all the tornado activity here, thank goodness.
Since June 1st, I've planted onions, tomatoes, cabbage and marigolds that I bought, winter and summer squash, pumpkins in the garden. I have pepper seeds and more tomatoes, lettuce and basil starting on the deck. The peppers have been reluctant to appear, but I think they're beginning to peek out.
We've also done a lot of work on the landscape garden next to the addition we put on. We got some hostas from Paul and Maria, monk's hood, bleeding heart, and daisies from a neighbor up here. I bought some ragged petunias from Home Depot on sale, and I think most of those will survive. The hostas and astilbe that we planted last year had to survive being run over by our roofers, but they appear willing to go on. We put landscape fabric down there and added mulch, and have edged it with rocks that were dug up while planting the foundation posts for the deck. Yesterday, I planted nasturtiums and the lase of the onions out off the deck.
Since I planted, rain has been nil, until right now. We're getting a good soaking... hopefully not so much that things wash away!
Around the first of June, the weather started looking better. That is, we had some days in the 60s. Until today. This morning it got up to 80 degrees, and like most parts of the country, a hot day is being capped off with thundershowers this evening. We've missed all the tornado activity here, thank goodness.
Since June 1st, I've planted onions, tomatoes, cabbage and marigolds that I bought, winter and summer squash, pumpkins in the garden. I have pepper seeds and more tomatoes, lettuce and basil starting on the deck. The peppers have been reluctant to appear, but I think they're beginning to peek out.
We've also done a lot of work on the landscape garden next to the addition we put on. We got some hostas from Paul and Maria, monk's hood, bleeding heart, and daisies from a neighbor up here. I bought some ragged petunias from Home Depot on sale, and I think most of those will survive. The hostas and astilbe that we planted last year had to survive being run over by our roofers, but they appear willing to go on. We put landscape fabric down there and added mulch, and have edged it with rocks that were dug up while planting the foundation posts for the deck. Yesterday, I planted nasturtiums and the lase of the onions out off the deck.
Since I planted, rain has been nil, until right now. We're getting a good soaking... hopefully not so much that things wash away!
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