09 November 2016

Gravillons

Yesterday we hauled about a ton — I'm exaggerating — of gravel, called gravillons, from a building supply store on the other side of the river. It's what I call "river-rock" gravel — small smooth pebbles, not crushed rock or concrete. I actually have no idea how much it weighed. We hauled it home in our little 16-year-old Peugeot.


Why were we hauling gravel? Well, we needed it to cover the dirt floor of our new greenhouse (below). We made two trips to the store, bringing home about a quarter of a cubic meter (250 liters) of the fine gravel in containers that would (1) fit in the car and (2) not be too heavy for us to lift out of the car and carry to the back side of the house when we got home.


Now we have a greenhouse floor that isn't just dirt, which that sticks to our shoes and the dog's paws, and then gets tracked in. Besides, it's better-looking. The greenhouse is attached to the back wall of the house, and we have to walk through it to enter the house through the back door.


Once we had the gravel moved in and spread around, we could start moving plants into the greenhouse. I hope the plants will tolerate cold-but-above-freezing temperatures this winter. This is an experiment. Time will tell.

I got up at 3:30 this morning to watch the U.S. presidential election results on CNN. I don't usually watch CNN, but it's our best source for American news in situations like this — at least on TV. So far, the results have been surprising, to say the least.

25 comments:

  1. Your new greenhouse looks great. I see your chm-sourced elephant plant. Hope you took some ibuprofen after the gravel. ;-)

    Yes, sadly, it looks like it's Donald Le Pen for the win. Or is it Donald Berlusconi?

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    1. Did Berlusconi have the nuclear codes? I guess Le Pen will when she takes over.

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  2. Very smart!
    As for the news, please let it not be true.

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  3. I'm amazed that you are surprised. After Brexit it was clear that it just might happen. People are voting for Trump for the same reason they voted for Brexit -- to give the establishment a kicking.

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    1. It might look like an anti-estabishment movement, but actually it is just the opposite. It's reactionary. When the current president is a black man and the candidate to be the next president is a woman, that's not establishment. In the U.K., the establishment conservatives were in charge when Brexit came. In the U.S., the leader of the so-called anti-establishment "movement" is a white man of a certain age who claims to be a billionaire. How establishment is that? And he's insufferably crude and rude to boot.

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  4. Great looking greenhouse and gravel floor. I still can't believe my country voted for this idiot.

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  5. The Cubs win the world series. Trump takes the White House. Has anybody checked the temperature in Hell this morning?

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    1. A disastrous week here. First our dear long-time cat had to be euthanized, then the election results. I think the first event distressed me more, but the latter will have a more long-term effect.

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    2. Hell is warmer than ever today and the end times are around the corner. I'm going to plant some pansies and try to breath. I wish I lived in a blue state right now.
      Seeing your pebbles is a good start for my unhappy day.

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    3. And my mantra shall be "Don't blame me; I voted for HRC. I feel like I woke up on an alternate universe where up is down, black is white, and a totally reprehensible, unqualified man gets elected President. Ugh.

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  6. I'm speechless! Stayed up untill 12:30 am. Went to bed disgusted but still hopeful!

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    1. Bonjour Cousin,

      Stayed up till 11:00 pm and then, when I woke up at 6:00 am , saw who is the President elect on TV. Not happy !!!

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  7. Oh dear. Dreadful. Pleased you're in France! Nice greenhouse.

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  8. US election results are horrific. It is unbelievable that people voted a selfish, isolationist, racist ballot. I'd call him Donald Berlusconi because of how he treats women, though, sadly, the US plays a much larger role on the world stage than does Italy. Trump is more than a buffoon and a joke, he is quite dangerous.

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  9. The orange one is bad enough but he has a GOP senate & house too....sickening.....and frightening

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  10. I stayed up until the middle of the night here... until Alaska went red, and we knew it was mathematically impossible for Hillary to win. I am just in shock.
    Is that pea gravel? That's what we have on the ground in our little partially-enclosed entryway area.

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    1. It does seem to be what is called pea gravel. I didn't know that term.

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  11. "results" .. in my house- Not that surprising but very depressing.
    I love the stone gravel on the ground, it will be perfect , it certainly looks great !

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  12. Speechless and sad as well. We will need and enjoy your beautiful posts even more now.

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  13. Love what you've done in your greenhouse! Quite upset by the news about the US elections. Wouldn't have believed it possible and couldn't believe my eyes this morning. :(( I think such a great country deserves better. Miss Obama already.

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