It WOULD seem logical that at the eve of the first forecast snow, on a day when us last-moment folk are putting covers on the patio chairs and trying to put the roses and Japanese maples to bed—there would be SOME left in town, but nay. Tons (literally) of rock salt, which, pardon me, should not be used anywhere you ever hope anything might grow…and de-icer (which is usually magnesium, a little less harmful) —tons of wood pellets for pellet-burning stoves, but no whisper of mulch. Sooooo…..we rake 2 years of accumulated mulch and leaves up around the roses, trust the surrounding bed of sedum (which stays green under snow) to keep the Japanese maple safe, and pull the geraniums and snip them back to winter in the garage. They looked very nice alongside the house. We hope to reconstitute them from dry-root next spring, when we hope to put up the greenhouse on the patio/old driveway and get a jump on spring.
My lower back has had it. The sciatica in the hip has totally quit hurting and given me just a nasty lower back ache. I may ask Jane to give the upper back another crunch in the hope that will ease the strain.
We’ve opened the taps and drained the outside faucet lines. Those are shut down and I’ve got to ask Jane where she put the little brass taps. Those have to go in a special place (a kitchen drawer) so at least one of us remembers where we put them for next spring.
As it’s past the witching hour here in England and my eyes are hot cannon balls, forgive me for keeping this very short.
Sorry to hear about your back pain. I can sympathise, I use a suspension table to relieve my lower back when it kicks in with a “notice me! notice me!” Bad backs seem to be prevalent in the keyboard-bashing community. Now if I could just get the hang of typing on the tablet I bought last week, all might yet be well.
I hope you have a hassle-free winter (are winters harsh in Spokane?) and don’t lose your brass taps!
Welcome in!
Definitely an occupational hazard—not so much as for those folk working assembly line or warehouses, but it’s fierce!
winters in Spokane (oh, dear, I think Seishi-fur has gotten under my left shift key) are unpredictable—usually not below -10F, usually melt by St. Paddy’s Day in March, but may onset as early as Thanksgiving. I look for increasing winter over the next week…but we will see.
Leaves or bark dust would be better, but if they get a bit of rain on them the wood pellets with immediately break apart into coarse, albeit wet, sawdust. That might not be terrible in a pinch.
What I use for hoses, though I try to put them up earlier when they’re still warm (failed this year 🙁 ), is the over-under coiling, then screw the male/female ends together. And I have stretched them out on the slightly sloping lawn to drain.
my stay in Spain marred by a very sore lower back – then I realised I had not checked my car seat after the car service – lo and behold, when I pulled the lever it shot back up at least 2 inches! 3 days in wrong position … very bad result. it hurt when working – mind you I don’t have a good chair there, nor my wedge cushion – it hurt in bed – and I thought that bed the best ever …. ibuprofen had no effect … anyway, after a further 3 days driving with seat in correct position, and back to my office wedge cushion , lower desk, bigger screen, back is quite happy, thank you. little things can really upset one’s poor body … hope you can find the key to yours quickly CJ 🙁
Does lying flat on the floor with your knees pulled up to your chest help? I’m told the key to a strong back is strong abs. Hope yours calms down. Can you take Aleve? Sometimes naproxen helps when ibuprofen doesn’t. How about an Icy-Hot patch? Or ye olde bathtub full of hot water? (remembering to libate appropriately to the Russian muses!)
keeping your hamstrings nicely stretched is also very important. after years of sore lower back -lines and exhibitions agony from my late 20’s – I started yoga, and my teacher also did wonderful thai/yoga massages. after 2 years of being bent into pretzel shapes, prodded in all my sore places and soothed wonderfully, the back no longer hurt me. I no longer have her near me, but I still do 20 minutes practice and so far the back – apart from that recent problem – has been no trouble … yes, and one of the things I do is pull my knees up to my chest, then let them go so my feet rest on the ground, meanwhile breathing in and out with the movement … also salute to the sun and cats and down dogs brilliant for hamstrings. having been told it was age and deteriorating spine, turned out it was mostly over-tight muscles! sucking your navel in with those tummy muscles is also very helpful for lower back ….
Love yoga! The down dog pose also works for plantar fasciitis. So many ligaments and muscles in the body are related that when one goes out others soon follow. The scorpion pose in the salute to the sun is good for abdominal muscles and flexes the back too. When I miss a practice session I can really feel it.
DOing a bit better today. Pulling the shoulderblades down and center is another good fix for lower back pain…Aleve also seemed to help.
The cedar mulch IS bark and inner fibers, mostly—we’re logging country and cedar is a common tree; so we get a lot of logging waste to use in gardens. Down in Oklahoma we used cottonseed hulls or pecan hulls. Pecan hulls are great—on Oklahoma’s very alkaline soil.
For the mulch, have you tried a firewood yard, if such exists? They may have piles of it when loading firewood into trailers, trucks, or whatever. On the bad back front – pun intended – have you ever tried accupuncture or pressure? I know you and Jane see a man that straightens your bodies out when needed, just wondered about other alternatives? Then again, you are proactive when something isn’t right, so you probably have tried all sorts (and no, not licorice allsorts, or is that a NZ thing?)
Totally off topic – when did Peacemaker reach 72% – whoopee! Great going, still impatiently waiting for April and Protector, not wishing my life away or anything. Just want to read the next instalment.