It's a CLOUDYhouse, Mr. Dirt

I allus wanted a greenhouse. My house is beige. Sort of putty-colored. I'm not allowed to spread dirt on the floors and grow stuff. So I wanted a greenhouse.

I made coldframes in lots of places over lots of time. They just aren't the same. I built a 12' geodesic dome that I was going to cover with plastic, but we moved to Beauval and I left it at my folks' place to rot. I built a mini-greenhouse following the Beltsville plan while we were in Nisku, but it was not even big enough to stand in.

Finally, I decided to keep the dirt out of the house and build a real full-size model of the Beltsville plan. But, problems never cease. Where would I put it? This lot has very little level ground. In fact, the only level ground is probably in the shed floor. When I finally settled on a location that was agreeable to my better half, my project had shrunk from 12' long to 8' long due to the slope of the back hill.

Nevertheless, I set to work. Originally, I figured I could get away with three courses of 2 x 6 treated center-match in the base. Wrong. The slope was just steep enough that I had to increase the base to four courses. The project moved in fits and starts, but now, after about 3 weeks and $200 worth of material, it is done. Well, sort of. Have I ever completely finished a project? Door latches? Hinges on the vent panels?

But, as you can see, it is not a green house. It is a clear house. But not entirely that, either -- sort of a cloudy house. Which is fitting, because when the sun is shining, and I walk inside, my glasses fog up from the moisture. It actually rains (ah, I exaggerate, it drizzles a bit) inside my cloudyhouse.


This afternoon we went to Copley Feed for some seed. I am preferring open-pollinated varieties of everything; Rutgers tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, Calabrese broccoli, stuff like that. We might need to save seed, depending on what our silly Congress regulates next.

When we got back, I seeded a wee bit of Buttercrunch, Black Seeded Simpson, and Romaine lettuce, a row of broccoli and of cabbage, and two rows of onions. I will start soaking the tomatoe seeds and the pepper seeds tonight, for planting tomorrow.

As to other stuff. The Ohio Department of Education says I can reactivate my certificate if I take 12 semester hours, submit to a criminal background check, and pay $200 bucks. I'm planning to go see an academic advisor at UA in the morning. Of course, I have an ulterior motive. Michelle said she would go back to school when I did. Pony up, Miz Horsearound.

Oh, yeah. Since I am a Golden Oldie, I am eligible to audit any course at UA that has room, for free. If I sign up and register, I can use the library and pool and all the other good stuff. Maybe I can audit a few law courses and find out how to file class action suits against politicians.