Let's hear it for daylight

[hrj]

You can say what you like against Daylight Savings Time, but yesterday evening, even after gym time and housecleaning time, I still had daylight left to do some gardening. So Monday the berry canes got tied up to the fence and a little weeding got done. Tuesday, more weeding. Mostly I took a survey of what needs to be worked on. The plum tree has finished blooming but it'll be a while before I can tell how well the fruit has set. The cherry tree -- despite still being an adolescent -- is blooming heartily on all three grafts. The blueberries are all mad at me for last year's neglect and half have given up the ghost entirely. The currants are greening out but no sign of flowers yet. The strawberries have been very unhappy and need replenishment. I've already done the Spring weeding on the north and south fences, but half of the east fence still needs to be done. Most of the herbs in the knot garden need to be replaced -- they were getting old and woody anyway. One of the Bourbon roses gave up finally and one is hidden under a carpet of heliotrope. The third has yet to be assessed. The gallica rose keeps coming up from the roots but there isn't much above ground at the moment. There are a couple other slots for roses that can be refilled, which is always cheering. The laurel tree needs some serious pruning at the top to keep the shape nice, but most of the lower level thinning is taken care of.

I got an e-mail yesterday from someone working on a book project involving my great-great-grandmother Margaret Getchell LaForge. I checked him, his previous book, and his publisher out on the web and he seems to be legit, so I forwarded the query on to my mother for her help with research materials and whatnot. Margaret deserves to have books written about her.