Getting out of the woods (the story of today and it's only three)(a lot of illustrations)

 I woke to several inches of snow. Being a worry wart with an appointment tomorrow for my first vaccination, plus it's trash day, first thing after breakfast I gathered my trash and went after my snow.

I cleared all the way to the street, clear shot for Larry with the trash cans. Of course, that was ten this morning. I've cleared one more time, and it will stop snowing by ten tonight, so I believe I can do it all over again tomorrow and be in line for a shot at two in the afternoon.

Back in the house, I straightened up my table to take a picture for Debbie. The table came from my weaver friend Linda. It has another leaf, opposite side, that is not extended. The other side also has a drawer. The legs are chrome, the top is enamel.

I've asked Linda to write a little of its history; all I know is the table went with her to the U of Rochester for her nursing degree. People have admired the table and even made offers for it. But, when I'm through, it goes back to Linda or her daughter Cara.

The amaryllis is beginning to suffer from leaning, the stalks are so tall. I've turned it every day; it follows the sun, exaggerating its lean. Today I could not stabilize the plant, so I wedged it into the pot Laura and I bought yesterday, and went looking for a stake and a tie.

When I returned, disaster. A sad end to a lovely story. But, it did have a good month. I cleared off the table, to have lots of room to effect the move to the new pot.

The bulb was enormous, to my novice eye. It filled the entire pot; there was almost no dirt. The only soil I have on hand is either the ant infested bag in the shed, or the stuff for orchids, which isn't exactly "dirt". I put it in the bottom, to elevate the bulb to its original height, then filled in around the bulb with the miniscule amount of dirt in the old pot, plus orchid wood chips.

So far so good, I guess. Now to clean the rest of the mess. I sorted all my stones into a bowl and cleaned the table top and the ironstone platter.

Laura put the stones back last time, one at a time. She knew exactly what to do to make a rock garden. I haven't a clue. I anchored the front corners with Russia and England, but the rest is hit and miss.

The next time Laura comes to visit, her first job will be setting the stones to rights. For my part, I've read I should continue with water and fertilizer as long as the leaves grow. I probably also should turn the pot often to attempt to keep the leaves straight.

When the leaves fall over I should cut them off and allow the plant to go dormant, which means putting it on the back of a shelf in a dark closet. When tiny green sprouts poke up, the whole blooming game begins again.