The noozle! Turn the noozle!

[robling_t]

• New Thing Learned for 22 April: Sweet peas are poisonous, at least according to Wiki and two out of nine seed packets. What the other seven were thinking not to mention this, who knows. [Source: seed packets.]
  
  
• New Thing Learned for 23 April: The black hose that's been lying in the front yard has holes in it for sprinkling the plantings, which I did kind of suspect. It's useful for telling when the ordinary hose Y-connected to the same spigot is all the way off. [Source: personal observation.]

As you may guess from the above, I spent yesterday digging up the base of the courtyard fence to plant climbing things: mostly the aforementioned 9 packets of various sweet peas, which I shall have to deadhead more vigorously than I might otherwise since there are some toddlers in the building, and a scattering of morning glories, as well as a strip of mixed sunflowers in the narrow space that the back gate opens into. It remains to be seen whether any of this will actually manage to struggle up through the good old Chicago clay, but at least I tried. The lavender still isn't plugged into the front yard yet, because I sat down after the seed-sowing and realized that my arm was about to fall off, so that will have to wait a few more days, during which the neighborhood cats are free to prowl at will, digging around in the planters we've set out along our back stairs and sitting in the pot of catnip when I don't remember to bring it in at dusk. It's going to be an interesting summer.