Spam and pipes

There are many things I don’t understand about blogging, let alone web sites. I didn’t realize that the reason I’m getting about one million porno spams a day is that my
e-mail is out there for all these goons to find. So we’re going to change the contact and it will be a little harder for them though I hope not for you.

I discovered to my horror this a.m. that I had not turned off the main water connection in the house. The temps have dropped fiercely. The fountain has water in it; the hoses have water in them all waiting to burst or be destroyed. I am not normally this careless about equipment.
I have been distracted by deadlines. As a writer you get so caught up in the future that sometimes the present is shoved to one side. I’m writing about spring and in my head I’m in a spring mood not a putting the garden to bed mood. Now it’s freezing out and I’ve got to slog around picking up stuff and trying to do something with all the hoses.

I have about four miles of them snaking around the garden. No doubt frozen in place after last night. I was so busy getting plants watered in carefully (at least all the trees, shrubs and evergreens), I forgot about looking after the very bits that make it possible to do this easily. All my hoses are decades old. One I bought in 1968 and it has been perfect: rubber, heavy and unfailing even when left outside all winter.

I’ve also got to blow out all the pipes because I know there’s water in them. I use a little vaccum cleaner with the nozzle attached to the wrong end to try and clear the pipes. It’s not always effective but definitely worth a try.

This morning I was on Mark Cullen’s radio show. Another one of those really generous people in the hortbusiness.

It’s always fun doing it with him and he did a really lovely flog of my book HOW TO MAKE A GARDEN. Great gift for Christmas. You can buy it from me and I’ll sign it and mail it out.