§ Our garlic and allium bulbs are confidently sprouting and all of the neighborhood daffodils have bloomed. Still no sign yet of the asparagus I planted last year.
In previous years, our fig plant has only produced fruit in the autumn. Given the right conditions, it should produce two sets of fruit each growing season: a “breba” crop in the spring in addition to the main crop in the fall.
Last winter, I wrapped the fig plant in heavy burlap with the hope that shielding it from the coldest winds might help it get a jumpstart in the spring. Unwrapping it this week, it does seem like the young branches have gotten though the winter with very little frost-damage. Time will tell whether or not that has an impact on fruit production.
§ I’m glad I decided to take off work Monday and Tuesday for a mini spring break. It was windy and cloudy with temperatures in the mid-40s but I bundled up and still managed to spend some time outside. I found a skunk in my garage on Monday which was surprising, to say the least. On Tuesday, I took a trip down to my favorite tiny grocery store and found out that a nearby 130 year old bike shop had burned down last month.
§ I finally filed my taxes this weekend. It felt like I had really been procrastinating but, judging from last year’s notes, I didn’t file my 2023 taxes until the middle of April so this is progress, I guess?
§ From Jane Psmith’s review of Alexander Langlands’ book Cræft:
[Langlands] warns that “while some machines are clever, the net result of our using them is that we become lazy, stupid, desensitized, and disengaged” — it’s not that a thing made by hand is better as an object than its mass-produced counterpart… it’s that the making changes the maker.
The making changes the maker. This mindset is why I enjoy all of my silly projects like raising quails, building a waddle fence, digging a hügelkultur, and baking clay bricks.
I know what I’ll be reading next time I’m in the mood for nonfiction. In the meantime, I started watching BBC’s historic farm series which the author participated in. It is very British, very nerdy, and very good.
§ The Severance finale was more satisfying and less cliffhanger-y than the first season’s finale. I just hope I don’t have to wait another three years to watch the third season.
The long gap has made me subconsciously judge this entire season more critically than I otherwise would—since it took three times longer than most shows to make, it should be three times better than most shows, right? I realize that isn’t entirely fair but it also isn’t entirely unfair.
§ The Studio is off to a great start. It is a comedy that manages to capture a lot of the manic energy, tension, and anxiety of The Bear while still remaining incredibly funny.
