May 2021 – Mom's Guide to the Galaxy

Gardening victories are weird

I recently celebrated our spring weather by having eight yards of mulch dumped on our driveway. It’s the same amount I had delivered in the fall, and I mulched many of the same areas again, added a thicker layer in places to help with weed suppression. Fresh mulch also looks really good, as shown below where the old and new mulch display together. I mulched around the herb garden, though I already have weeds poking through there – that’s because my main weed up front is the mint that refuses to stay contained. (This is standard for mint, the roots spread out.) In the back, in addition to the large mulched area with raised beds, I mulched all around the mulberry bush (shown) and the peonies, as well as between the magnolia trees along the back property line and the hibiscus plants (not shown).

Clockwise from the top left: eight yards of mulch; a combination of old mulch and new around garden beds; new mulch around the star-shaped bed with various herbs and the newly mulched rose bush in the background; new mulch all around the mulberry bush.

Distributing eight yards of mulch in two weeks is certainly a gardening victory, but what jumped out while I was working was that I seem to have killed off the burdock that been popping up amongst the peonies since I bought this house. Burdock is one of those plants that produced annoying sticky seed balls that attach to everything. Apparently it has various edible bits, but I don’t think that makes it worth having in my yard, given how annoying it is. The roots tend to go deep, which makes it difficult to remove.

So I was excited at this little gardening victory: the realization while mulching around the peonies that there wasn’t any burdock. Don’t ask about the burdock by the raspberries… that may be next year’s weird little victory. I hope.

Thoughts on The Velocity of Revolution

This was an interesting read for a couple reasons. I had recently reviewed the last two books of Marshall Ryan Maresca’s ambitious urban fantasy/steampunk series, the Maradaine Saga. The Velocity of Revolution is nothing at all like that, except for being equally brilliant. It has a distinctive setting and unique magic that really makes it stand out. There’s an excerpt available on the author’s website if you want to take a peek. This review was originally published in the February 1, 2021 issue of Booklist.

Marshall Ryan Maresca engages in another round of delightful worldbuilding in this standalone fantasy novel, The Velocity of Revolution. Magic is generated from the land: a combination of mushrooms, creating a psychic link between people who consume them, and speed, generated by their vehicles. Ziaparr is a conquered city, paying debts incurred in the previous war and providing resources for the current one. Forced into a strict caste system based on foreign or native descent, the lower castes are rebelling against the foreign impositions and rediscovering their heritage with the now-illegal mushrooms. Nália Enapi, a skilled rider, is on her first mission, learning the connection between mushrooms and her cycle’s speed, when she is captured by civil patrol officer Wenthi Tungét. The government uses mushrooms to connect their minds, setting Wenthi on an infiltration mission with access to Nália’s imprisoned mind allowing him to fit into both the rebellion and a lower caste. Coupled with Nália’s ever-strengthening presence in his mind and revelations of reality for the lower castes, Wenthi is torn between justice and duty.

This innovative setting, coupled with unexpected and delightful twists, make this a must read novel for fantasy readers.

Spring arrives gradually

In autumn, it’s easier to tell when to stop gardening: the first hard frost kills off many of the summer plants, and gardeners scramble to pick the last fruits before the frost damages them. Spring timing is a bit tougher… it warms up, cools down, warms up… essentially the reverse of the fall. Gardeners eagerly check the forecast to see if seedlings can be moved outdoors and late spring planting can start.

Early spring seeds are already in the ground. Peas, radishes, potatoes, and salad greens have already emerged, the lilacs and strawberries have flowered, and volunteer tomatoes are popping up in odd places. But those the pepper seedlings are getting a bit large for their starter pods, and I really want to get the okra and squash seeds started outside. (While squash can be started inside, I generally only start plants insides that are supposed to start before our last frost date.)

The general rule around here for the squash family is to start after Mother’s Day, except Mother’s Day was early this year, and we’ve had frost on the ground almost every morning since then. Until today, that is, and the forecast for the week is looking promising.

The Quest (calendar) continues… part 7

Continuing from part 6, Faris is still at a deserted church, hoping the large spiders were the worst thing she’d have to deal with.

I explored further, finding the door to a crypt and a collection of statues. Recognizing the flame from the book on the altar, I selected that one and set it on the pressure plate below them, which opened the door. I tried to be careful in the cold, dark hallway, but I felt the floor shift under me as I triggered a trap. I drove through the tunnel as an arrow grazed me, several others thwapping through where I had been moments before.

I crept carefully into the next room, then made the mistake of picking up a magical cup. I shoved it in my pack quickly, before it could drain any of my energy. I opened a pair of tombs in the next chamber, hoping for gold, and was attacked by two skeletons. The next room was blissfully free of surprise, a mere hallway with statues.

Finally, at the end of the maze of rooms and corridors, I reached the tombs, apparently of West Haven’s founders. There was more black ooze, like I had seen on the bell, and one of the tombs was slightly open. I paused to drink another healing potion, knowing the route out could be just as dangerous as the route in had been.

That was a fortunate choice. As I turned to leave, the tombs slid open and four black-slime encased figures clambered out. I destroyed two of them easily, but the others got close enough to claw and bite me. It’s awfully strange when a skeleton bites, you can see all the teeth clearly as they latch on. With all of them dead – again – I checked their corpses, finding a beautiful broach. As I was about to leave, I noticed a glowing ring on one of the corpses. I cleaned off the slime and slid it onto my finger for safekeeping.

There were noises coming from the hallway: shuffling feet, clanging weapons, and incoherent groaning. It sounded like more than I could handle on my own, so I booked it out of the crypt, slamming the door behind me, and kept going until I was outside. Having spent the entire night in the church, I booked myself a bed at the inn again to catch up on sleep.

After some rest, I reported back to Rufus on the dangers inside the church. He decided to send in some knights and a cleric, and paid me the agreed-upon amount for the job and the one person I had rescued. He also let me know that Victor Fellmont wanted to meet with me.