Yesterday we had sunny and relatively mild weather, so Dave and I spent a lot of time outside. We worked on the garden and I even wore shorts (though it was a bit chilly for that). It felt like the very earliest, teeniest, tiniest hint of spring was in the air.
I moved Olga's dog bed to a sunny spot on the lawn and she lay watching us. Like most dogs, she likes lying in the sun more than anything else except possibly a can of food, and she seemed relieved that her long period of indoor imprisonment was at least temporarily over.
I moved three of the foxgloves -- which seemed to be struggling in their individual pots -- to our patio planter where hopefully they'll settle in. It might look like they're close together but they have quite a bit of root space both to the sides and down, so they should do OK. The pottery shards are to prevent squirrels from digging up the plants.
We also neatened things up a little. I pulled some ivy growing into the lawn and cut down the dead loosestrife, and Dave pruned all the roses (not that you can really tell from this picture). The buddleias still need to be cut back but the mighty Internet, which knows all, says it's too early for that.
It's probably too early to transplant foxgloves too, but c'est la vie.
I also weeded our potted plants and discarded a few that had obviously died. Sometimes primroses, in particular, live through the winter and sometimes they simply vanish. We had several pots that contained nothing but dirt.
But I've buried the lede to this blog post, which is that last night Dave came down with coughing and a fever. He's testing Covid-negative by lateral flow but he's going to take a PCR, and he has just been on the phone to an NHS nurse, who advised him to self-isolate. (How does that work when we live together? Am I supposed to sleep on the couch?)
Meanwhile, I still feel fine and I'm also testing negative, but if Dave does in fact have Covid I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I'm going to work today as planned, since close contacts are no longer required to stay home. (I know that seems crazy but it's the policy.) I'm hoping he just has a cold or something but it seems unlikely. Argh!
51 comments:
Damn
Can't you take a RAT before going to work? Is a lateral flow test the same thing? Fingers crossed for both of you.
Probably the same. I did test negative on the rapid test.
Right?!
Oh, crud! I also hope it’s JUST a cold... or, if Covid, that these are the worst of his symptoms.
Damn...and yes, you should stay in separate rooms and wipe down the bathroom before and after...Sorry.
Very sorry to hear that Dave is coming down with something and hoping that it is not COVID. You might have to do the cooking until he gets better but remember there are takeaways and delivery options! I'm just sayin'.
Fingers crossed that it's a cold, or COVID that won't affect him much because he's vaxxed.
Ugh. Hope that Dave will recover soon from whatever lurgy has hit him. Wishing him well...and that you stay safe, too.
I'm hoping it's not COVID. I'm closely following your gardening tasks and tales. Almost wishing I still lived up north so I could grow all those northern flowers again. Almost. I'm vowing to get better at this mysterious Central Florida gardening.
Just remember there are other viruses around, too. I'm hoping not covid.
Unbelievable that you could be gardening in January. I follow Yorkshire friends on Twitter, and they're having the shrieking winds and snow I remember all too well. Astonishing how such a small distance has such different climates.
Good wishes to Dave to get well soon, and to you to stay well.
Oh my, I have my fingers crossed for Dave. Hopefully it's just a cold.
May the lateral flow test have been correct. The fever part makes me wonder, though. Do what you can and all will be fine. Keep us updated please.
Sending the very best wishes from California to Dave and you that the test comes back negative. Please take care there and keep us posted.
Spring is on its way. Roger has been out gardening these past few days. Looking forward to flowers.
Oh no. Fingers crossed for you both.
Sorry to hear about Dave. Hopefully it's not covid. My dad grew roses and he always said to prune them on Valentine's Day. But I generally prune mine earlier like around the first because our winters have become so short that they have often already started to put out new growth by the 14th.
I hope Dave is negative. Really your goal shouldn't be to prevent yourself from getting Covid if Dave is positive. That would be nearly impossible. Your goal should be to just lessen the viral load you inhale by wearing masks when in communal parts of the house and having Dave isolate as much as possible. There is evidence to show that those who inhale the highest viral loading tend to get the sickest.
We have snow coming again this week so no gardening here.
Hope Dave feels well soon and you stay healthy too!
I hope Dave doesn't have covid but if he does, I hope it's not serious.
Hope you will both be ok whatever it is. Keep on testing for a few more days. I would not know how to properly isolate from my man either, but before vaccines we did have a situation and I ended up in the guest room - but with all the good gadgets!!! - and he had the rest of the house and provided trays of food and we stayed out of each other's way for the 3 days until I got the neg. PCR results. For the sake of not being sick at the same time, which could be really tough, I would try to distance and wear masks if either of you turns out positive.
Also, what Ed wrote.
I hope it's not Covid but if it is, hopefully it won't have serious effects. In addition to masking if you need to be close together, it wouldn't hurt to crack open a couple of windows for a fresh air flow. Hope Dave's PCR test results come back quickly. The not knowing is hard on the nerves! Take care of yourselves.
I can't believe it's garden pruning weather for you. It's mountains of snow time for us! We won't be able to work in the garden for months yet. I like the idea of the pot shards to keep the squirrels out of the plants. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.
Not quite garden weather here yet although there are always things I could do. Hoping that Dave gets over whatever he has quickly and that you don't pick it up. When my daughter and her family were visiting, we all got colds which we were convinced were Omicron. Son-in-law tested negative on a rapid antigen and my daughter and I were negative on a PCR. Apparently, it WAS just a cold, caught from my toddler grandson who got it from daycare.
AAAARG. Here's hoping it's "just" a cold. I hate colds, but these days they are the better alternative.
Ed is exactly right that you should try to reduce the viral load by wearing masks - it can make a big difference in severity of your symptoms if Dave does have covid and you catch it.
I bet it was a joy to be working in the sunny garden! The weather here is cool (relatively speaking) and have spent as much time as possible out in the garden and walking the trails. We applied fertilizer all the trees and fruit-bearing plants. The soil (sand) is moist and rain is in the forecast in a few days, so this is the best time for the fertilizer.
Maybe it's just a cold or something else and not Covid. I didn't run fever when I had Covid, so his fever doesn't necessarily mean that's what it is. Also... my husband never got it from me and we didn't isolate from each other while I was sick. So think positively!
I also hope that Dave has only the common cold and that you stay healthy.
No gardening here in CT as it is all buried under about two feet of snow.
At least today is sunny even if it is only 20 degrees.
Take good care of yourselves.
That is interesting, Ed. Thank you for the education.
Fingers crossed on both counts!
We should do a lot of things but the truth is, if it's Covid, I'm going to get it. There's really no stopping that.
I am embarrassed to say we had peanut butter sandwiches last night!
Both are certainly possible.
I'll let you all know as soon as we know anything!
Gardening in Florida is its own adventure, for sure. It's tricky in Central Florida because it's too cold for the truly tropical stuff but it's too hot for the northern flowers. But you can still grow a lot of things there that you could NEVER grow up north, so let that be your consolation!
Because London is in the far southeastern part of England, it tends to have better weather than the rest of the country. So many storms sweep east- and northward from the Atlantic and miss us down here.
It's always something, right?!
Yeah, the fever gave me pause as well. Dave says he feels better this morning (he just got up as I was typing this!) so maybe that's a good sign.
It's a great feeling to get outside again!
I suppose it was inevitable!
We used to wait until mid-February but last year, like yours, ours were all sprouting by that time. So we decided to hit them earlier!
Yes, I know you're right, but at the same time I have given in to practicality. (Or fatalism, really.) As you said, catching it is almost inevitable so at this point it's just about managing. I'm hoping that Omicron is slightly different in this regard since it seems to be less virulent (though more contagious).
Argh! Snow! I'm hoping we get by with none of that. It doesn't seem impossible at this late date.
I'll let you know!
I wish we HAD a guest room! That would make this much easier to manage!
Of course these things always strike in winter, when cracking a window is a challenge! (Which, in turn, is why viruses spread so readily at this time of year. Chicken or egg?)
We usually prune the roses in mid-February, but as Ellen said above, we've found that they're already sprouting by that time so we're trying it a bit earlier this year.
There's certainly a lot of other "stuff" going around out there, so hopefully this will prove to be just another cold.
Yeah, exactly! Not fun, but at least not dangerous!
I thought about the mask thing but ultimately I just couldn't do it. I wear one all day at work and after eight hours of that I just can't face wearing one at home too. I know it sounds ridiculous but I think in all honesty it wouldn't make much difference, given the degree of exposure Dave and I have to each other in this small flat.
Well, that's good to know! I have heard from other families that some people got it and others didn't. Who knows why these things happen.
Yeah, I heard the Northeast has been hammered with snow! Hopefully it will be melting soon! (Though maybe not if it's 20 degrees.)
Post a Comment