Trash Dump, Duct Tape, Daylilies, and Dirt

It is said that South Carolina is too small to be a republic and too large to be an insane asylum...

I've spent the past few days in the Palmetto state, moving furniture. My grandparents recently moved out of their house, and the task of dealing with decades worth of stuff has fallen largely to my parents, with some small assistance from my brother and me. My grandparents have never thrown anything away, so you can imagine the enormity of the task. Suffice it to say that we are all on a first name basis with the guy who presides over the town dump and the ladies who run the thrift store...

There were some things worth saving:
More daylilies for my growing collection! There was a whole long border of mixed daylilies, so I rummaged around in the shed and found a shovel with a cracked handle held together with duct tape (see, I told you they never throw anything out!) and started digging. When I got home, the boss was speechless as I unloaded six garbage bags full of daylilies from my car. "You know you're going to have to divide those next year, right?" she asked.

"Yep. And a good thing too, because this isn't nearly enough for what I want to do." She shook her head and went back inside. I reminded her that it could be worse; at least I'm not pulling transmissions out on the front lawn.

I've lived here in NC for so long, I've forgotten what dirt is like. Not clay--dirt. As in black South Carolina dirt. Dirt so rich and soft that you can just chuck a plant out the screen door and it'll take root. Check out the difference between the clay that I work with in Greensboro and the Lake City dirt!








So this morning, while the temperature was still in double digits, I hacked through that red clay, baked to a brick-like consistency by this awful drought, and found homes for all the daylilies. I'll wait for cooler weather to divide them.

I checked on the baby bluebird when I got home. This is Day 11, and his feathers are clearly visible. He seemed really lethargic today; I don't know if it's the heat, or if something's wrong with him. At any rate, tomorrow is the last day I can check on him because after about two weeks, baby bluebirds shouldn't be disturbed lest they leave the nest before they are mature enough. (Unlike children, once they're out, they're out.) I'll check tomorrow and post one more photo.