A giant possum, hugelkulture, and the Ghost of Babe

Linda Sappenfield — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:03:00 GMT

The Spirit of Babe has haunted my house since last weekend, and I'm fine with that. Given her valuable assistance in my latest DIY effort, the least we can do is play host for a while.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias entered the picture when I resolved to remedy the last traces of the Possum Who Ate Through Our Roof. Structural repair issues were long since completed, but water stains blighted the ceiling of the smallest bedroom, which currently houses my elliptical machine. Every time I exercised, the off-putting yellowy clouds presented themselves for contemplation. Someone needed to make them disappear.

Don Van Natta's Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Zaharias is assigned for an upcoming discussion, and, having acquired supplies for a ceiling re-paint, I'd run out of excuses for not executing that task, too. The Playaway version came to the rescue: once I'd stashed the little audio of Wonder Girl in my pocket and installed the earbuds, Babe and I were set to multitask.

I, however, am not a Wonder Girl, and thanks to artsy architectural features which add extra height, the endeavor proved to be a little scary. Balancing on an upper rung of the ladder with the roll of painter's tape clamped in my teeth and wielding an upraised extended-handle paint roller, I was tempted more than once to climb down and just never look up again. But by then, I'd already gleaned enough details about Babe's determination, grit, and dogged pursuit of her goals to be shamed into finishing the job. Who would want to rank with the class of female she'd have pegged "sissies"?

So now thoughts of Babe greet me on every approach to that room (you know, the one with the pristine ceiling)--and not just because of her Olympic medals, controversial approach to image-making, and astounding athletic versatility.

You might have encountered another (less paranormal) example of just-in-time information delivery this week:   the library's Keyhole Gardens, Wicking Beds, Hugelkultur, and Beyond! program on Tuesday. On that very evening, City of Round Rock Communications Director Will Hampton called to remind us of the new water rates, designed to encourage conservation.

Co-worker Eric, one of the program's presenters, reported that nearly fifty attendees engaged in a lively exploration of gardening practices and technologies for conserving water.   That represents a remarkable attendance figure for a weeknight event, but then water issues loom larger with each passing month.

Finally, my reference colleague Chris reminded me of an instance proving that the library can equip you for nearly any eventuality, including frivolous ones.  You should know that September 19 will be here before you know it--and that our Mango Languages online learning resource offers a course in Pirate!

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A giant possum, hugelkulture, and the Ghost of Babe