Rush against time and weather

Every fall it's a rush against time and weather. This year has been no different. This week we knew the rain, cold and possible snow were coming. Jamie rushed to finish digging the dahlias before the cold front arrived Friday. The sun set all too quickly and the first-quarter moon peeked out.

Digging the dahlias is more involved that just digging. After attaching tags with the variety name to each clump, Jamie washes all the soil off the tubers before bringing them inside to finish drying. This means cold weather makes all this really nasty to tough out.

Water splashes all over, and he gets just as wet as the tubers he's washing.

His hands get really chapped and rough and turn red from being out in the elements and in water for hours as a time.

To beat the clock, Jamie uses a hands-free headlight and works late into the night when necessary.

With an increasing sense of urgency, we watched the moon trek across the sky and sink into the tree limbs Thursday night. This week's race against the clock meant Thursday night Jamie was out in the yard past midnight eking out every rain-free minute. Thankfully he got all of the major rows dug, washed, and put away.

And even though he really deserved to sleep in the next morning, Jamie was up early and hard at work on all sorts of projects and indoor yard work. I appreciate his efforts and work ethic all the more.