Glamping with the Dothrakis

18 Aug 2013 1 Comment

by katsmama in favorite things


Been reading Game of Thrones, and whatever else is going on, (No spoilers!) I sure admire the way the Dothraki camp. I would love to be able to clap my hands after a rough day on the trail, and have my slaves boil water and fill up my copper tub, and brush the sand and grit out of my long hair. Except the slave part, of course. Slavery is wrong.

Anyway, Game of Thrones is a show I cannot watch at my house, because I don’t want the kids to watch it (no spoilers!) and when they go to bed, so do I, so I can’t stay up late watching the boxed set. I can, however, read it.
For those of you who also can’t watch the show, you have to read it (if you like that sort of thing- like Tolkien, with more sex, and less of that tedious exposition where they’re like “and then they turned left, and Sam Gamgee said “I don’t like the look of that” and then NOTHING HAPPENS!!!! trust me, in Game of Thrones, when someone says, “I don’t like the look of that…” something happens. Like direwolf attacks, and molten gold, and brigands! (No spoilers…)
The Dothraki are a people who are maybe based on the mongols, or the magyars? Horsey people who travel all over and are always on the move, camping. Glamping- glamorous camping, with dancing around the fire, and meat on skewers, and hot baths in copper tubs.

Real coffee, with half and half. It's a start.

Real coffee, with half and half. It’s a start.

So, naturally, when I read Game of Thrones, I thought about how I could apply it to my own life, and I think I need to get more glamor in my camping. (Not with slaves, slavery is wrong) But maybe with better coffee in the morning, and music, and better food.
What’s your thought on Glamping?

Advertisement

Be careful not to step in the big hole

02 Aug 2013 1 Comment

by katsmama in gardening in containers, Uncategorized Tags: , , ,


At the beginning of the summer I was complaining about my lack of asparagus, and blamed it on lack of water. My super smart SIL was like, “you could put in a water feature, and where the water splashed out, that would provide moisture for the asparagus” and I was like, “yeah, I guess that would work, but…wait, I have a water feature!” Okay, the water feature is a horse trough, aka the Hillbilly Goldfish Pond,what would happen if I moved some asparagus plants over to  it?

See, at the end, it's like an infinity-edge pool, except not...

See, at the end, it’s like an infinity-edge pool, except not…

When I first set up the pond, I tamped down the soil to make it level, but over the couple of years of its existence , it has slumped down on the north side, so that is where I dug the hole. I don’t have a fountain, but when I refill it, it trickles over the side on that end. I dug down about 8 inches, added some compost, then transplanted an asparagus plant over from where they don’t get enough water.

A hole in the yard is not exactly the look I am going for, but I have high hopes for next year.

A hole in the yard is not exactly the look I am going for, but I have high hopes for next year.

As it grew, the plan was to add more compost, until the plant and the soil were at ground level. I watered the little baby asparagus the same way I water the containers around the pond- just before I feed the goldfish, I use a cup to dump water on each of the plants- they love the “nutrient rich” water. This worked great for a few weeks, then we went out of town, and I came back to nothing.
There wasn’t a dried up stem, it was just gone. I might blame rabbits, or squirrels, but the other asparagus plants, the ones that don’t get enough water? They are fine. Other than the fact that they don’t get enough water.
So, I put a little fence around the hole in the ground, and I will try again next year. I am convinced that the idea of putting asparagus near a water feature is a good one. Just try not to step in the hole, please.