More Dead Wood

My medical treatment team, in consideration of my preferences, has outlined a program that includes two miles of walking each day and sitting in a firm chair whenever back pain presents itself.  I was skeptical at first but can report that either activity lessens the pain.  This plan is truly affordable health care with no down side.  When slippery snow or ice are present underfoot, we will walk inside of a superstore or in the field house of the local YMCA.

Today's walk found me on the kame terrace that defines our high meadow.  The sharp drop to the valley floor is hidden by trees in the foreground but can be discerned by looking at the green fields at the base of the bed rock ridge at the other side of the valley.  This tree has been dead for several years and I am watching it to see how it finds ground.  Small upper branches have fallen away causing no real problem unless you happen to be standing beneath them when they drop.  Most times it is very windy and often wet when they do fall.  This massive trunk may remain standing longer than I do.  The ground here is steep, and littered with slippery leaves and fallen sticks.   I do my walking and watching from a  distance.

Bringing starting soil into the basement was today's gardening activity.  A custom mix that included the nearly spent remains of a bag of Miracle Gro potting soil and a partial bag of peat moss as well as our compost will spent the winter in the warm basement.  Plants that are for sale must be grown in a soil-less mix but our experience is that the root mass of such plants is reluctant to spread into the garden soil.  By including real soil in the starting mix we hope to lessen that problem.  The pail of usable soil will be most welcome when I feel the need to start plants when the garden is still frozen.
That makes it sound like time spent with seed catalogs and placing orders will once again carry us through winter.