Thank-you to all of the readers who suggested ways I can deal with my joint pain. I have been on light-duty, stretching, taking additional Vitamin C and praying/meditating. I seem to be bouncing back.
I got three more hours time-on-task yesterday because the afternoon rains were a no-show.
The light-duty was to drive T-posts and to secure fruit trees to them. Unfortunately, the most productive rootstocks usually have brittle roots and are notorious for leaning over.
I used 1/2", polyester "pull tape" to tie the trees to the posts and was very happy with the material. The ends frayed rapidly, so I had a piezoelectric igniting, propane torch handy. I gently toasted the ends when I cut a piece from the spool.
It was slow, fiddly work. The good news is that it was not physically challenging.
I also moved some bags of cow poop from the truck to the Hill Orchard and I pruned a Northern Spy apple tree.
Bonus pictures
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| Planted in 2015. |
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| Stupice tomato seeds, planted Sunday afternoon. Picture taken early Wednesday morning |
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| Crackerjack Marigold seeds planted Sunday afternoon |
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| Happy Rich broccoli seeds planted Sunday afternoon |
I was able to increase the soil temperatures by placing four layers of corrugated cardboard underneath the 20W heating mat. If insulation prevents most of the heat from going down, then it will go up.
We have lots of cardboard boxes.
Bonus video footage
Allegedly recorded at a No Kings rally. One minute run-time.
