Caretaker

     I love my pets and the company they provide me, but this week I would have gladly traded them to someone else. Ada the dog didn't like the thunderstorms in Miami, but she had a lot of opportunities to get used to them. During that time, we acquired her thundershirt, which wraps her tightly and makes her feel safer. We also learned that petting or giving her attention only reinforces her whining and barking. So when howling winds hit on Wednesday night, I knew to wrap her up, turn on a radio for background noise, and ignore her. But ignoring is still pretty miserable when the dog is whining and barking all night long.
     For her side, Phi has been throwing up occasionally. This is not terribly unusual for cats, and the vet said I don't need to bring her in yet. But yesterday she managed to throw up on my bed, dirtying the sheets, pillowcases, electric blanket, and duvet. This is quite impressive, considering that (a) the volume of her stomach can't be more than 1/2 cup and (b) I always make my bed, so she practically had to burrow under the covers to manage to hit all those things at once.
     Maybe this is why people garden - my plants cause relatively little emotional distress or mess. This year I'm growing seedlings. A friend loaned me her grow light and helped me with the setup. As you can see below, the asparagus and green peppers are thriving. Not pictured are the 18 tomato plants, watermelons, and herbs which are perched on my radiators. Raising the soil temperature makes seeds germinate faster. You can buy seedling heating pads for this process, but my radiators are working perfectly. After the plants emerge out of the soil, I transfer the pots to the grow light. Since Maryland has an earlier spring than the Midwest, I expect that these seedlings will go in the ground in early May, and I should be able to sow seeds for lettuce and other cold weather crops this weekend - right after the snow we're getting tomorrow melts.