Author: doug

Christmas noise

The garbage collectors used to have to jump off the truck and retrieve each house’s trash individually — lots of running around! So at Christmas time, they made a lot of noise to attract tips. For several years, though, there has been no individual trash pickup. We carry it to a bin on the corner. But, as you can hear, the seasonal noise hasn’t stopped.

Como trasplantar

I had a problem. A little palm plant wouldn’t grow in the sandy soil of our home near the beach, so I moved it to the country as a little accent. A year or two later, that little accent was three meters high, growing inside as well as outside the carport, which I had obviously placed it way too close to.

I cut it down to under a meter high, and here it is a couple months later.

Time to move it again. So, with pick and shovel I worked and worked and worked and … that thing might as well have been set in concrete. So I wondered if my neighbor Jerry might enjoy a little challenge. I have never operated a backhoe, so the chances of me getting the thing out of the ground without also removing the carport as well were slim to none.

Jerry thought it sounded like a fine idea. And so…

The face-off.

Jerry comes in on the left.

And on the right, within an inch of the concrete pad. At this point, the plant is still showing little to no sign of budging. So…

… taking the plant off guard, he comes in from the side. And the plant comes out of the ground.

I spent 40 minutes chipping at the root ball to remove clay, and the thing was still too heavy for me to lift. But with an AAAAARGH!!!! I did anyway, got it in the car, and brought it to Atlántida.

Here it is in its new home, planted in sand but with a wheelbarrow full of compost, and my promise to give it as much water as it could possibly want.

Ya veremos. We will see.