Wednesday, June 20, 2018: Okra, Hydrangea, Mike S.; goldfish; Marvin

As promised, Mike S. stopped by this morning and looked at the floor at the south door. He did not have a firm answer, but he rapped on the tile just east of the door and it sounded hollow. He suggested taking up the tiles and see what is going on underneath. He said he would try to find time in the next couple of weeks. We have plenty of replacement tiles. He was relieved to find no obvious issues with the foundation. He feared he would find cracks.

A week or so ago, I noticed the tree Hydrangea (Quick Fire, #70 on our map) was listing severely toward the east to the extent that you could not walk along the steps from the back patio to the top pond. I could pull on the trunk to straighten it, but I needed to put something in to hold it. Today, I used another part from the hoist I bought a couple of years ago. We'll see if it lasts. The ants really seem to love this tree/shrub. There is a continual line of them going up and down the trunk.

I noticed this afternoon that I already have a good sized fruit on the first okra plant I put out on May 22. The plant I put outside on June 11 is still doing OK. I have two more plants growing inside that I think I will go ahead and bring outside tomorrow.

The plants in the west raised bed (carrots, beets, dill, basil, kale) all seem to be doing well. It doesn't look as if the rabbits (and we have a large population this year) have found them yet.

I changed one-half of the water in both the fish vases today. I filled both vases up to the brim. I need to ensure the water level will hold while I am gone for three or four weeks. Otherwise, I will have to transfer the fish back out to the pond before I leave town.

Got a call from the Marvin people this morning saying they would be out Friday morning with my replacement shade and a new lock for the south door.