On Friday, my landlord butchered the fabulous quinces outside my office, turning them into nubs. Why? I don’t know. But he reminded me why I need my own house and my own yard.

Nevertheless, I gardened this weekend. I planted spinach and red poppies and chives and cilantro. I hung a hummingbird feeder on the window in the hopes of watching some hummingbirds while I write (so far no luck). I dug up half of the soil in my garden and turned it over so it would be ready when I plant the rest of my garden next week.

I also continued my battle against the swarm of aphids already taking up residence in the rose bushes. A couple of sources said that aphids don’t like the oil in citrus skins, so I boiled lemon skins in water and put the concoction in a spray bottle. It seemed to work–when I sprayed the lemon water on the roses, the aphids fell right off, and haven’t come back so far. And it smells kind of nice.

Despite the quince debacle, at least some nature is left in my yard. I turned over a bag I’d left out and discovered a reddish salamander underneath. I haven’t seen a salamander since I was a kid, so I was excited and had Kyle take a picture.

Salamanders are a lot more like baby snakes than I remember. They are also kind of slow-witted. He didn’t even try to get away. I put him in back in a moist place.