Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here today to talk about something I don’t really understand, as well as some other things. You may remember me from such posts as “Another Weird Day”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
We’ve only gotten a teeny bit of rain every day, which is disappointing, but the guy I live with said “Whatever”.
There have been a number of crises here lately. The guy I live with decided not to focus so much on bulbs any more, and gave away a whole bunch of colchicums to the botanic gardens. He also decided not to use the DSLR cameras and the software that ties up our internet for hours, and plans to sell the cameras or trade them in for something.
The biggest crisis, though, had something to do with things like this:
All I know is that this is a “Western Electric 2500 desk set”. The “handset cord” wore out so it was replaced with one of a different color.
I know the guy I live with would check this thing hanging on the wall, which he said was “a cheap, non-Western-Electric phone” for messages, even though there was rarely a message, and it was often for someone who doesn’t live here.
No one ever called him on that phone after his wife died.
He was notified that “plain old telephone service”, or “POTS” as they called it when he worked for the phone company, was going away. There was a choice between paying extra for a box, and keeping the phone number he’s had for forty years, or having the phone disconnected, which he decided to have done.
That was a big change, and a big deal for him, but he said that, like a lot of other things, it wouldn’t mean anything to anyone else. He met his wife working for the phone company. He would call her from work on that phone number. And now there’s no dial tone on that phone.
Even with all that, the guy I live with has been working in the garden.
He took this picture of the enclosure a couple of mornings ago.
And my Private Lawn is looking pretty good, unlike most lawns around here.
Another good rain would make the grass really green and lush. He said he might buy more buffalo grass seed next spring, even though it’s expensive, to fill in that triangular area at the end of the lawn, where the red bucket is, and maybe some of the path, too, though that will be difficult with both of us walking there all the time.
The guy I live with also said that they’re talking about banning lawn watering after October this year, but buffalo grass doesn’t need to be watered then, because it goes dormant.
The only other thing to talk about is that the rain we had a couple of weeks ago triggered Salvia greggii into flowering.
So the hummingbirds, after being more or less deprived of flowers all summer, now have something to check out.
That’s pretty much all for today.
I’ll leave you with a picture of me, enjoying my morning walk.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Ah, technology moves on and the old handsets are no longer in use! We’ve had rain, lots of rain and more to come tomorrow – with a yellow rain warning of possible flooding. How quickly it can change.
Lots of rain, but not flooding, sounds nice.
The guy I live with said that only 1.3 percent of people along the Front Range (that’s millions of people) still had a landline, and they were motly over 65 (that’s the guy I live with), so landlines were phased out.
He does have two cell phones with separate numbers.
I expect the numbers are similar here with very few people with a landline though we still have a telephone cable coming to the house as we were advised it was better to keep it in case we wished at some stage to upgrade to fibre-optic cable for internet etc as the charge for upgrading would be hugely cheaper than asking for a new installation. At present we use a mobile internet connection which is not the best but serves our needs.
The guy I live with says our internet comes over the phone cable; it was superimposed over the -52VDC of the phone line. Now the phone line only carries internet, and he could upgrade to a higher speed, but doesn’t feel like it.
When our power went out a couple of months ago the upstairs TV wouldn’t work, so the guy I live with switched the table to 5G, and took it upstairs so we could watch “Q.I.” at bedtime.
And, I wish I had been closer as I would have helped relieve you of those colchicums!
Lots of named colchicums. The guy I live with said there was no place for them as he prepares the garden for the apocalypse.
Here, anyway, colchicum leaves emerge in spring. Last winter they emerged about a month after flowering, stayed green all winter, grew to twice normal size.
Probably because of the constant heat and lack of rain there were few flowering-sixed “mother” corms, but lots and lots of “daughter” corms.
They’ll look nice at the botanic gardens.
Uh, this apocalypse the guy you live with speaks of. Is that for specifically colchicums, for gardens in general, or overall, you know, existentially speaking? I just planted colchicums for the first time ever last year and enjoyed their blooms.
The guy I live with thinks the weather isn’t going back to what we thought was “normal”, partly because it hasn’t been that way for some years now. He’s been changing the plants in the enclosure and the “way back” to native dryland plants, like most of the rest of the yard, and the colchicums didn’t fit into the scheme.
He was surprised to find just how many “daughter” corms there were when he dug up the colchicums, despite not watering all summer. So he thinks there’s no issue there.
I have just been browsing photographs from last winter – preparing a talk – and took note that colchicums which are into flower at this moment were not in flower until the end of October last year! Our especially hot weather has had an effect, I imagine. And, I have only yesterday ordered a selection of colchicums from a Dutch bulb company. They are a beautiful addition to the garden.
The guy I live with says there are no colchicums in sight, here. There are still a lot here, despite him giving away a bunch of Colchicum autumnale ‘Album’, ‘Poseidon’, ‘Lysimachus” or something like that, ‘Atrorubens’, ‘Rosy Dawn’, ‘Herbstkugel’, and a few others.
I read the same thing about no lawn watering after October 1. Hopefully trees and shrubs are not included with that.
No dial tone on that number would be a big deal.
The guy I live with said watering of trees and shrubs would be allowed. He doesn’t do the “winter watering” thing and never has, but like if you planted something this year watering until the onset of the winter we probably won’t have would be a good idea.
He says it’s very strange not to have that phone number associated with the house. The landline was free but it’s still strange.
I hesitate, but I have to ask: why the skepticism about “winter watering”?
I agree about summer/autumn watering this year for things like trees. Even big, established trees in my neighborhood are suffering, and it does scare me about our future urban canopy.
The guy I live with finds it very difficult not to be sarcastic about “winter watering”. He sayd the entire flora west of the 100th meridian, east of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, and north of the Mogollon Rim, evolved without the need for water in winter. (Or earthworms, for that matter.)
He worked for the phone company, outside, for fifteen years, and never saw a single example of watering in winter. He’s still never seen anyone do it.
Newly-planted conifers should be watered prior to the onset of dormancy, to allow them to create the cryoprotective sugars necessary for survival in cold weather. First stage is shorter days, second stage is freezing temperatures at night, so watering should be done before that. Roots and needles.
US West (my previous LAN line phone) continues to price themselves out of business. While I don’t pretend to know why the price of a plan phone line must be increased, it’s maddening in a world of increased prices across the board. I wasn’t sure I could get along without a LAN line but 8 months in and I’m pleased with just a cell phone now. One less thing to fuss with.
The guy I live with does prefer cell phones. (Originally called that because when the map of transmission towers was drawn up the areas of trasnmission looked like cells on the map.)
He has two of them, with different phone numbers.
Wee due hope youss’ get more rain Mani an Guy! Wee are getting much needed rain up eer. Grass iss still burned up inn many placess butt THE rain feelss guud. Yore Salvia are so purrty! Bet THE Hummybirdss are furry happy! Oh BellaSita wantss to ‘meow’ to Guy…heer shee iss:
Hi there Guy! I totally relate to what you wrote about NO dial tone. I have a Cordless home phone that I refuse to give up. I have a spcial ringtone on it. When my Man friend calls; it just warms my heart. Funny how we get attached to items or sounds that are so a part of us. I still have hubby Kevin’ss beige (ugly) push button phone. As I’m of Fibe Cable, that phone won’t work. Copper lines brealing down. You understand I am sure. I should donate that ugly beige phone…but it is one of only items of Kevin’s I have….maybe one day…..maybe….
Take guud care Mani an Guy…wee hope you get more rain an guud weather two!
***nose rubss*** BellaDharma an ((hugss)) BellaSita Mum
The guy I live with is still weirded out not having a landline any more. No one ever called him on it, except for wrong numbers. It was free, a benefit of having worked for the phone company. But he still thinks it’s weird.
He planted more plants for hummingbirds just today. More Salvia greggii, in the enclosure.
HURRAH for planting more Salvia! THE Hummybirdss will bee so happy!!
It wuud bee odd not havin a Landline. Wee have THE Fibe Cable with Modem so wee nose our push button fone no longer werkss if power goess out. So wee have THE ‘landline’ cordless fone an now a seppyrate Cell fone…just inn case Mani an Guy 😉
The guy I live with says if our wireless goes out we’ll just have to use semaphore or something.
Mew mew mwe whatefurr werkss Mani an Guy. Mee likess BellaSita’ss Cell fone. It doess so much! An takess grate fotoss! 😉
The guy I live with says cell phones are excellent.