Rat Face

Hard overcast, 50Fs all day.

Weather has been stalled by a system swirling of the coast-- winds came from the north and east today. Good time for transplanting, not so good for growing. We need a couple days of solid sunshine to kick these crops up.

The boss was already about the yard when I arrived this morning. He gave me a pay check and a steel water bottle, saying plastic is bad for ya use this. We checked over the greenhouse and he wrote out a big list of things to do over the next two days-- the boss left early, heading for New Orleans to see his daughter graduate from college.

I tidied up a bit in the greenhouse, all the plants going out to the fields these days have left a mess and a lot of open spaces to be filled. Dragged out 6 trays of romaine lettuce (1,800 plants) and four trays of loose leaf lettuce (1000ish plants) for planting. Laid out larger trays, soiled them up and soaked them for tomorrow.

Bah and I have become a solid workforce. We cranked out the lettuce transplanting, finishing a few hours after lunch. Chatted around for a bit--Bah has a big family: wife, two sons and two daughters ages 8-27. No wonder he's in early. Anyway, with the addition of the lettuce-- the lower field is almost completely filled, only a little open space on the far side of the sweet corn. It's time for sun and growing.

In the afternoon I palled around with the foreman. We replaced the broken water guns from yesterday- then started running the irrigation to flush the pipe lines. Everything went fine until we found a clog in one of the middle lines. Pressure built, we stopped and increased the pressure, but no luck, it would not budge. Over winter, mice make a home inside the pipes-- piling up months worth of nuts- making days like today a mess. To set the scene more fully: loose field soil doesn't combine well with pooling water around jammed irrigation pipes- mud gets a foot thick very quickly.

So I stood shin deep in mud holding the clogged pipe end while the foreman stabbed a thick tree branch into the pipe opening to clear the blockage, no luck. We stepped back to assess the situation over a cigarette. We were in good spirits for some reason. The foreman told me about years ago, when he used to handle the irrigation alone. One of the pipe stems (where you attach water guns) was clogged solid. He kicked it, shook it and beat the pipe against the ground. Nothing helped. He took a long pry bar and started jabbing it down the pipe stem- it had some effect, so he kept stabbing away. He thought to himself, huh this clog sure has a funny feel. Peering over the stem, he gave it another jab-- and the clog gave way. The mangled, shredded bits of a mouse blew up out of the pipe, all over his face. We had a laugh and got back to unclogging. I had the foreman use the pipe plug as a makeshift hammer and we bashed the clog out-- no mice this time.

Afterward, I ran about clearing out the water gun nozzles with wire while running the water-- I can attest, they work fine. We cut off the water pump and replaced a few more broken bits using parts salvaged from the junkyard.

Whew, today was pretty easy-- but I don't like the looks of the boss's list for tomorrow: 1.Rocking, 2. More rocking.

Here's hoping for sun, see ya tomorrow.