Planting flowers, picking apples

Summer is over, but life at the countryside goes on. September is drawing to a close, too—this is the last weekend of the month. We got lucky with the weather—really lucky, actually. It was warm; for part of the day, I could even run around in shorts. But only for part of the day; it did get colder later on. The sky looked just like summer, and it was sunny. Clouds did cover the whole sky eventually, but that was later; the morning was excellent.

I had a lot to do this time. I decided to wrap up the countryside season. I packed up my computer and all the things I bring out for the summer—tea, the computer, and so on. I’m still thinking about October—just thinking for now. It’s a lot of stuff to haul back: computer, mouse, keyboard, power adapter—a whole heap of things.

Right after I arrived, I got to work on the apples. I continued picking them from the tree. This time, only the ones at the very top were left; I hadn't dared to touch them before. The sky looked so summery, and there were apples hanging high up in the branches—it was a beautiful sight! I hadn't touched them then. This time, I took a stick and knocked them down. Mom helped me gather them all into a bag. We filled a whole bag—just from the very top of the tree. It was quite a lot!

Then came the main event. I had planned to plant bulbs in September, and the time had come. There were 18 plants in total—though, as it turned out, not all of them were actually bulbs. First, I soaked them in water for two hours—in a special solution called Fundazol, which is supposed to help them. Two hours later—around 2:00 PM—I started planting. I put them into a watering can—a big metal one, a 10-liter can. I kept them right in their boxes so I wouldn't mix up which plant was which later on. It took some effort—I’d never done anything like this before. I actually tucked the boxes right into the watering can—or wrapped them in newspaper so they wouldn't spill.

Then came the planting—that was the hardest part. It took a long time—probably another two hours. Digging the holes, placing the plants, prepping the soil in the hole, and covering them up. I got tired; it takes a lot of energy. Of course, I didn't do it all in one go; I took breaks. During one of those breaks—while waiting for the bulbs to soak in the solution inside the watering can—I finished harvesting the mint. I had already cut it, and it was just drying out. I stripped off all the leaves, leaving the bare stems behind, and put the leaves into a bag. I did that in a few batches, too. I ended up with a big bag of mint leaves. I’ll be drinking tea all year long! That was a real success. The apples were a bonus, too!

The weather was lovely. I dug the holes at a leisurely pace, pottering around in the soil and setting the bulbs in place. Mom gave me tips on how much space each plant would need. I have tulips, daylilies, and irises. The weather was excellent—fresh and crisp. It feels strange that the season is ending; it’s my first time at the countryside in September. It feels like an achievement—a positive one. Everything is going really well, especially since the weather still feels like summer—just cooler, and it gets cold faster as the day goes on.

I’ll remember this day: the sky, the sunshine, and me digging in the earth, making holes. It’s great! I really enjoy doing this—it’s such a positive activity. I have several varieties of tulips; this one is 'Pink Stone'. Almost Pink Floyd. And Antarctica. Antarctica is white. I think it’s beautiful. And a bunch of "Pink" ones, too—such a standard color. That’s "Pink Stone." And three "Orange Juice." Plus some other reddish shade.

And then there’s the daylily. These will be big bushes, or so Mom said. I gave them a bit more space. That one is "Border Music"—I really do love music. The bluish "Pacifica." And the moody "Bela Lugosi"—I couldn't resist that last one, even though the sprout looked a bit weak. Three irises: "Blood-something," "Midnight-something," and another one. And the "Blue Magic" iris—also bluish. It was off to the side; I actually mistook it for a tulip and only realized my mistake once I got home.

Later in the evening, I checked the green hoop-house. Two daisies are growing there—that’s a good result! I also tossed in two portulacas to test them out. I’ll need to check on their growth in October.

I gathered some more seeds in the garden—whatever I could find: zinnias, cornflowers, and Briza grass. I wandered around looking for seeds, then rested and just enjoyed the weather—a nice, bright, sunny day. It was cool, but that wasn't a bad thing. At least it was sunny! That’s how I’ll remember this day.