mattie g

We have yearly cicadas, as well. The 17-year emergence is a completely different experience. It’s honestly an amazing spectacle of nature, one that can’t do anything but exceed expectations for those in areas where they are known to emerge.

Not with this weather!

Kindly f*ck off with your puerile trolling.

Cucurbits are definitely not as hardy as tomatoes or peppers, which can withstand nights in the 40s. While it might stunt growth during that time, they're able to get their root systems established to get ready for big growth once the average highs get nearer to 80 and nights generally don't get below 50. I generally wait to plant cucumbers and cantaloupes until we're well into May, but tomatoes and peppers go into the ground anywhere between April 20 and May 5, depending on the long-range forecasts.

Got drenched yesterday with the storm and decent rains for a bit afterwards, then another quick deluge today. Don’t really want the cool and damp weather coming up, but won’t complain too much as long as the garden doesn’t get too shocked.

I spatchcock my chickens, as well. Run them at 425 direct in the dome on my BGE for about 45 minutes, then place a pan underneath to finish indirect. Every once in a while, I’ll break down a chicken and cook the pieces, but I’ve found that spatchcock is a phenomenal way to go with birds.

Thanks! It looks a lot messier in the pictures than in real life. Hopefully the trellis will help cover up some of the junk. Like you said, right next to the deck was a perfect spot. I've had a couple sips of coffee out there on the weekends in the past few weeks before the kids wake up, and it's been a wonderful 3 minutes total! I wonder if I'm going to want another in the front once the porch build is done!

Went for a walk at about 9:00 last night and heard some buzzing here and there (and a TON of croaking). I assume it was the cicadas making the former racket, but can't be sure.

Either that person doesn't know how big a golf ball is or s/he has a HUGE hand.

Wife ripped up three nearby 50-year-old azaleas in the back of our house last year and put in a pond in its place. We’ve added more plants and a hummingbird feeder this year, and I bought a water lily and a few water hyacinths over the last week. We also planted some native hyacinths that the neighbors donated that we plan on having climb up a trellis that we’re going to plop in front of the radon fan and the other ugliness back there. Girls and I went down the creek on Sunday and caught a handful of tiny tadpoles. Going to see if we end up with some pet frogs!

I assumed it was a slow-moving, hostile UAV swarm headed for DC.

Jesus...it was pretty nice out there this morning!

There's definitely a cicada sex joke to be made here...

Planted my tomatoes (9) and jalapenos (3) this past weekend. Also threw in some marigolds for good measure. Will probably plant the basil among the tomatoes in about a week or so - they need to harden off first, having been started indoors from seed.

Definitely heard some buzzing last night, but not seeing any mass emergence yet.

It felt like forever. We lost power for 2+ days.

Seems like the wind has really died down.

Tired Hands DDH Double Alien Church (Citra/Galaxy). Yum.

Love hearing about all these second COVID shots! Congrats, everyone!!

Just checked Google Maps - says the Outer Loop is closed in that spot until 5:30 pm.

Sounds awful

Really pretty morning out there. A few breezes, but that's it.

Awesome! I had slight back and neck aches and maybe the slightest headache, but I can't say for sure if they were related to the vaccine. missus g was pretty much laid up for 24 hours, then felt "off" for another 12-18 hours. All so weird...

Kind of how mine went. Virtually no symptoms after shot 1; few symptoms after shot 2 (shoulder pain being most obvious),

@Mrs.J and @WxUSAF... How much solar do you get in the winter? You'd have to get some, even with the low sun angle, right? What percentage of your energy use in the winter comes from solar?