Mud Pie
I made the biggest mud pie I've ever made. I also made a huge
mess in the kitchen in the process.
We had three cactus that I thought really needed to be in one largish
container. I finally got a large flattish pot for them and started
getting it ready for the cactus.
After preparing the soil and sand, I soaked it completely and set the
pot over the sink for the water to drain. That's when I noticed I had
a problem . .it didn't drain. After an hour or so, I still had a pot full
of liquid dirt even though I had carefully put a piece of flowerpot
over the drain holes so they wouldn't get clogged. I felt under the
pot and discovered the problem -- I hadn't popped the drain holes open.
I didn't know what else to do except to try to scoop the dirt out
and pop the holes open . .which I did as best I could. I got out the
biggest bowls we have and filled them both with soppy mud. Then I let
it settle again, scooped again, settle again, scooped again -- you get
the picture.
Finally, I had a pot with a few inches of black water in the bottom of
it which I poured out. After rinsing the pot, I popped out the drain
holes and went in to watch TV. (that was a lot of work and One Life to
Live was coming on.)
I noticed when I went back into the kitchen that I had made quite a
mess scooping mud and moving dripping mud pots around in there. I
noticed later (when I got back from the grocery store) that I was
pretty much covered in mud myself.
Transferring the sopping mud from the bowls to the pot and floating
the cactus in there was an easy task. About another quart of water
drained out of it and it was ready to be moved back to the living room.
Another task accomplished.
It took about 30 minutes to clean up the mud. I even had it on the
cabinet doors. The cacti look very nice in their new home.
The Texas temperatures are rising and we are re-discovering that
our air conditioning is woefully inadequate.
