i shut down my grow closet today, moved all my plants outside to take advantage of the sunlight and heat. this included my stevias as well hot temperature loving seedings like peppers and eggplants. i was still keeping those indoors thinking i could grow them better under artificial lights, but at some point i have to stop babying them and let them fend for themselves outside. my only concern is it's hot now, but starting tomorrow temperature will drop down to 60's during the daytime and 50's at night. as for the corkscrew pepper seeds i was trying to germinate in the ziploc bag, none of them sprouted. all the seeds turned moldy.

i went to whole foods to return the aquarium temperature timer (shipped to me instead of the EMT conduit connectors i ordered). i still haven't busted out my shorts yet, instead wearing my jeans, which made me super hot as i then cycled to market basket to get some groceries. besides getting 2 12-pack of diet coke, i also got some ground pork and milk. i was way overloaded and spent some time packing my rear bike baskets so i could get everything home. every bump made me afraid the baskets would break apart under the weight of all those items.

i was sweat-soaked when i got back home. i took a quick shower before moving all the groceries to my motorcycle saddlebags then i went to the cafe by 11:30am. i dropped off the supplies before continuing to belmont.

i borrowed the car and went to home depot (HD) to get more EMT conduits for our garden trellis project. i had to clean out the honda first to make sure i had room to fit the material. while i was at HD, i also decided to get some 2x10 8ft pressure treated planks. these will be used to repair the last of our broken raised bed (RB1), but we won't do that until the fall, and in the meantime, the planks will be used as the tabletop for our sawhorse plant stand. i also wanted to get some 2x4 to make a pair of simple DIY sawhorses, but there wasn't any prices on the ones that i saw, and i was too lazy to look them up so decided not to get them for now.

i also got some 5W-30 full synthetic motor oil for our two snowblowers. we've never replaced the oil on our own, the only times was when the machines went our to the mechanic for servicing. given how both of our snowblowers nearly didn't work during this snowy winter, we're trying to be more proactive with our snowblower care. besides changing the oil, we're also going to drain the fuel tank.

i grabbed some orchid potting medium (bark chips) and some stainless steel screws before finally making it to the electrical aisle all the way on the other side of the store. there were EMT conduits of all sizes, from 1/2" to several inches in diameter. i grabbed 8 conduits. it takes 6 to make a single 4x10x6ft trellis, with one for the unfinished trellis in our backyard and one more for the hops trellis.

i then had to push the lumber cart all the way to the other side of the store, since i wasn't going to be able to fit the u-shaped self-checkout line. it was quite a challenge, like driving a semi truck, making sure i didn't hit anyone or knock over any merchandise.

loading everything into the car also took some time. a man saw me and asked if i needed help. he should've understood that no man needs help loading their vehicle at home depot. to say otherwise simply means defeat and a lack of macho energy. i could fit the 8ft planks into the vehicle and still close the hatch, but i wasn't able to do it with the 10ft conduits, which ended up sticking out of the back of the car by 2 feet.

i drove back to belmont carefully, made sure i didn't do any quick stops or accelerations. i also looked back periodically to make sure the bags of orchid bark or the motor oil didn't fall out of the car.

i unloaded everything. before i left, i decided to install the 10ft conduit onto the trellis my father and i started on monday. i used a ladder to hold up the conduit on one end while i clamped the other end. it seemed to be working, but while i was clamping the other end, i accidentally dropped the conduit. i didn't think nothing of it at first, as the other side was still connected. but then after i clamped the second end, the first end came loose. when i went to secure the first end, i noticed the t-connector didn't fuse together anymore. when i dropped the conduit, it must've bent the connectors. i might be able to bend it back with a vise, but in the meantime i just grabbed some new ones.

another thing i remembered i had to do was water the grow room plants. when i went down to check on them, all of them seemed properly hydrated, so i decided to skip watering. most likely by this weekend all the plants will be moved outside anyway. i did however move out all the wintering peppers. not sure how many of them will survive. i thought at least two, but now they all seem dead. put them outside, maybe the heat and sunshine will bring them back to life.

i took the car and returned to cambridge. i brought a package of raised bed soil that we bought more than a month ago, to be used in my own community garden plot. i went home and collected most of the milk crates from the basement and put them in the car. i also added the garden hose trolley i found weeks ago. i don't need the trolley i just need the hose, which we might cut up to make new rain barrow connectors.

i then went to the community garden to drop off the raised bed soil and the milk crates. annemarie was there watering the plants in the common bed. i said hello to her before leaving.

back at the house a second time, i loaded up the car with all the seedlings from my backyard, including all the ones i just moved out this morning. i'll need a few for myself, but i pick and choose some other time. they'll have better care in belmont, more sunlight, free watering. i was so thirsty i grabbed a cold can of seltzer from the fridge and quickly washed it down in front of the house. i then got the equivalent of an ice cream headache except i felt the freezing paralysis in my stomach. it knocked the wind out of me, took me a few seconds to recover.

i drove back to belmont to return the car and unload all the seedlings. i put them on the picnic table, which gets some late afternoon sun, but is otherwise shady. i moved the plants onto mesh carts so they have better drainage and won't drown from watering or the rain. some seedlings i moved onto the raised beds for maximum sun, plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and okra. the rest - mostly climbing plants - will remain on the picnic table for now. the stevias i put in the sunroom, they need more TLC before they can go outside.

back on my motorcycle, i got back home a bit after 3:30pm. i weighed myself, i lost over 4 lbs. just from all the sweating i did today, not to mention i didn't eat anything all day. but being a masochist, i didn't i wanted to revisit market basket. when i went this morning, i was already carrying so much stuff, i didn't have any room for my own things. so i went back via bicycle. i got mostly snacks, fruit popsicles, a few bags of chips. i thought about getting some sushi, but it was already so close to dinner, and i was going to make make and cheese wrap tonight, so decided against it. my mother did ask me to buy a watermelon (on sale $5.99). i carried it in one of my cloth grocery bags, but it was so heavy, it ripped open the bag. i ended up carrying the watermelon in my messenger bag.

i took a shower back at the house. i was going to put the cover on my motorcycle, but the forecast of rain in the early evening had fizzled out, despite some threatening clouds overhead. i drank a lot of cold fluids (ice tea, ice water) and snacked on savory southwestern trail mix and some jalapeno agave corn chips.

it wasn't as hot today as yesterday, though the official temperature in boston did reach 90 degrees. my own weather station said the temperature was just in the upper 80's.

i used up the rest of my day off time just watching youtube videos until it got late enough for dinner. the spurs-thunder game wasn't until 8:30pm, i didn't make dinner until after 8pm. i made two simple ham & cheese wrap: one had japanese kewpie mayo with lettuce, cooked ham, american cheese, some chopped tomatoes, dash of everything bagel seasoning, and a drizzle of sriracha. the other wrap had creamy parmesan dressing instead of mayo, and i added some sweet & spicy pickle chips. the wraps were a real mess to eat, i had to go wash my face and hands after each finishing eat half. i was already full after eating one wrap, but decided to power through and eat the second one. the second one was better, with the pickle chips. afterwards i was so sick of wraps, i don't know if i can eat them again tomorrow night.

OKC won the game, 113-122. it was a must-win for them, very few teams come back from an 0-2 deficit in the conference final. the first quarter was competitive, but the thunder dominated the three remaining quarters. spurs would't go away though, came back a few times, but the most they could do was tie up the game, before OKC went on another run to maintain their lead. spurs was without de'aaron fox for the second time this series, but then they lost dylan harper in the third quarter to some unknown leg injury. nevertheless, without two players, san antonio still kept the game close.