sleep deprived

[mellowtigger]

I didn't get much sleep last night. I listened to loud noise from the usual neighbor house from about 11:30pm to sometime after 3am. The first argument lasted about an hour. The rest was just other loud noise. It wasn't even a party. Just daily life in the #WarzoneInMinneapolis.

Here's the 96-second audio that I finally took from my bedroom window around 12:30am when it seemed to be escalating. There was a woman in the alley hiding by my fence behind the neighbor's garage while the argument took place. Two vehicles finally drove off down the alley. Then she went into their back yard and spoke up. That's her voice at the end.

Yelling resumed at 11am and continued sporadically while I was gardening today. Not specifically a continuation of last night's argument, just being loud and arguing occasionally. I'm exhausted, and I'm not even part of the drama. I learned that somebody is now paralyzed, and somebody has had trouble getting their unemployment check due to bank account problems. I'd be stressed too, I think.

I'm finally reclaiming the best / sunniest garden spot in my lot. What you see here (pictured at right) is mostly celery that's taken over. Celery, mustard, and wild violet.  The violet is supposedly also edible, but I've never tried. They're all rather invasive, it turns out, but I don't mind since I enjoy them and they make pollen for bees.

What I'm planting in their midst, though, is bok choi (which also naturalizes nicely to Minnesota climate), lettuce, cilantro, and 'Georgia Flame' hot peppers. I've grown those peppers for at least a decade. They're the best all-around hot pepper that I've met. They are good when chopped in soups, decent in hot salsa instead of jalapeno, and the seeds are hot enough for my cooking needs (which is spicy). I always collect seeds and replant them. They're great.

I had other plants that I intended to grow. They're destroyed now. I thought at first that it might be squirrels, but I'm starting to suspect local feral cats. Look at them (pictured left). Something just flattened them altogether. Comfy bed for a cat, I'm thinking.

So I have no tomatoes, no spaghetti squash, no carrots (and none survived the winter, as expected), no luffa gourd, no cucumbers.

That's disappointing.

So I guess I should buy some plastic and cover the front yard where those plants would've grown.  Tall grass is taking over there anyway, and I need to destroy it before spreading prairie seeds there.  I still intend to complete the Lawns To Legumes prairie ecosystem for the benefit of the local bees.

Progress.  Slow, slow progress.  Now it's time for another nap, I think.  Sleep deprivation doesn't pair well with age.

Comments

[mtbc]

I wonder if some sacrificial nearby lure for cats to lie on or in would save the flora. Some outdoor equivalent of how I could put a cardboard box on my desk so my cat doesn't sit on the keyboard or whatever instead.

[mellowtigger]

Yes, good idea. My back patio deck is also near an electrical outlet, so I could in theory add a heating blanket for winter survival too. I think it's not until I add food that the city starts accusing that the roaming animals are now "mine". :)

[mllesatine]

How big is your garden?

Jealous when I see how wet the earth in your right picture is. We had a terrible drought last year and it hasn't rained enough in the winter and early spring this year to make up for it (it's well below normal levels) so parts of my garden are unworkable right now. I can't pull the canes I used for my bell peppers last year from the ground because the earth is so dry and packed. Digging and getting rid of the weeds is impossible.

[mellowtigger]

Minnesota has significant rainfall (777 millimeters/year in Minneapolis). We are one of those areas expected to get even more rainfall due to climate change. Already known as "the land of 10,000 lakes... and 10,000,000 mosquitoes". I'm not sure how the ecosystem will respond. We're already prone to large areas of flooding due to flatness from the glacial scraping of ages past.

I grew up in west Texas (83 millimeters/year in Midland), so I'm familiar with the desert life. I like rain better. :) If it wasn't for my terrible allergies, I'd go live in the tropics where plants are always growing.

P.S. You asked about garden size. Hard to say, because I grow edible things everywhere. The entire lot is about 1600 square meters. Thornless raspberry and strawberries have taken over much of the front yard. This little garden area in the original photo is only about 3x10 meters. I have some grapes growing in there too, and I hope to harvest a few this year.

[mllesatine]

Is that your house in the zillow picture? It says 773 sqft so 71 square meters?

It looks so nice and like I imagine a small American town to look like. :) The little walk way next to the street and the little front gardens remind me of the layout of the village I grew up in in Germany.

The drought in Germany has started in 2018 (one with the lowest precipitation since they started measuring in 1881) but I think last year was worse in my region. It didn't rain at all for the whole of July and July is the month with the most rain usually. Ruined the harvest of a lot of farmers. Many cities asked their citizens to water the trees in their streets to alleviate the damage. I also watered the plum and apple tree in my garden, something I never thought I would do. I think it finally sunk in for many people that climate change is going to hit all of us.

[mellowtigger]

Yes, that's my house. The house is only 71 square meters, but the yard is larger. Yes, it's a tiny little house. Most houses in Minneapolis (and the USA in general) are much larger, but there are a few like mine in the area.

I'm sorry to hear about the drought. Climate change will disrupt almost everything. :(

[mllesatine]

71 square meters is more than enough for one person. Something you will be able to keep in shape even when you are 80. The more space the more cleaning I say!

[mellowtigger]

Yes. Since it's just me and the cat, we could be very comfortable in half this size. If my house is ever demolished by another tornado, then I want to rebuild (using the insurance money) as an even smaller "tiny house".