Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Garden


 What a difference a few weeks make in the garden.


May 22th, 2012

We put up a temporary fence to keep the bunnies out....








May 25th, 2012

We mulched the perimeter to make mowing easier.




June 10th, 2012

Long hose for watering... Very little rain this year so far... Notice the grass is less green....



June 20th, 2012

Put up movable fence to make weeding, and harvesting easier....  the tomatoes grew quite a lot... the yard is drying up....

July 07, 2012

Still watering, but things are doing well.... we bought some tree wood mulch and put it on the raised beds to try to hold in some moisture...  Pumpkins are beginning to go nuts....

July 16, 2012

Things are growing but we are having some bug issues... organic gardening is time consuming and I worry about leaving for vacation... but we shall see.

2 months from planting till now.... :)

Monday, June 4, 2012

Pleasurable Work

Here are a couple more photos of the Chipping Sparrows...



This one is the mama on the nest.












And these are the babies.

This one taken on 6-03-12

Look at that little mug.... so funny...









Well, yesterday the weather was pretty nice and so working in the yard was a definite.... The flag pole was kind of calling my name...  Since we had so much rain, the ground was diggable, workable.  A bit easier?  Oh my, by the time I was finished I could hardly move... But I dug up all the plants- saved some to replant, collected all the bulbs and cleaned up all the weeds and waste.... Then my husband helped me screen out the rock from the soil...

As soon as we finished he said OK now let's go for a run... Are you kidding?  I can hardly move my legs... My hip and buttocks hurt from driving the shovel with my foot... I was out here for 5 hours working.... Then I thought about him... He works hard like that every day and even when he is tired he will accommodate my wishes... So I said OK.  Changed my clothes, put my hair up and we went to the bike path... Ran 3 miles... Now I haven't ran in months... Three miles nearly killed me in my weakened (digging) condition...LOL  But about 20 min afterwards I felt pretty good....

My body really hurt last night... Every time I rolled over, I woke up... Soreness, aches and pains.... Youth is wasted on the young... I always heard that... Now I believe it!

Today I am looking out the window at my flagpole planter and I will have to finish it up... That means getting a load of garden soil to fill it up and then replant the bulbs and flowers.... and then mulch it.

I also need some garden soil for a potato patch.  Just a small one.  The ones we grew last year were so tasty... I love having a garden...

Coming up in the garden now are Pumpkins, Corn and Jalapeno Peppers.  Of course I haven't been out there this morning so there could be more...

Gardening is hard work sometimes... But it brings pleasure and I hope glory to God who created every creature and all things!


Friday, May 25, 2012

Projects

So many projects to do around here.... Inside and out....

Yesterday we worked on the garden.  We laid landscaping fabric around the garden, and put down landscape timbers to frame and hold it down and then two yards of mulch.  What a blessing it is to have a truck!  $16 a yard if you haul it yourself....  Now to finish planting... And figure out how to put my potatoes in this year.  Last year, they were so yummy.

My daughter helped me do the mulching... She was a big help and it went pretty quickly.  I got cleaned up and ready for a meeting which never happened... So my husband got another load of mulch and said I could do my front flower beds with it... I didn't want to... I was tired.  I told my daughter, under my breath, "I don't want to do it today" and she said, "Then let's not"  but I said, "We have to".  Not because he would get upset but because he is such a hard worker and if I wanted something done and he was tired he would do it!  We make a good team because he pushes me and I make him relax a bit.  I am so fortunate and blessed to have such a good man- and handsome and strong too!  So we need another load to finish up the job... But it looks pretty good so far.


My son and husband cut a piece of granite for a desk top... That was quite a job... It looks nice but isn't quite done yet... Just needs some finish work.

And they cut the granite for the top of the buffet.


The deck is getting refinished... We are trying to find something that will last longer than a year or two... So we are going with a product called Restore.  We will see how that goes.

The Sun Room is getting a new floor.  We bought tile before Christmas and then waited.... My hubby thought maybe we should do Nature Stone but we couldn't get get anyone to call us back... Guess they don't need the business or something, so we will go ahead with the tile. The windows in there need washing. That is something I can get done this weekend.  A big job but not too hard.

Last night I picked Spinach, Romaine and Buttercrunch lettuces from the garden... So good.  My corn, beans, cabbage and butternut squash is coming up... No sign of carrots yet... They seem to take a long time to sprout.  But everything looks like it is growing well. Strawberries are beginning to ripen... And it is nearly time to cover the blue berries with bird netting... I love having a garden with fresh and organic things to eat.

It would be nice to find some kind of fencing (that looks attractive) for around the garden. We had some orange safety stuff so my husband put that up to keep the bunny out.  It does work- it just doesn't look pretty and makes it more difficult to weed and or harvest. .. So I need to figure something else out, but in the meantime, it will do.

Today we are going to finish the mulching and then make some chocolate covered pretzels for a Graduation Party.  That should be fun- Making them and the party!  Somethings on the to do list are more fun than others.  Well, here we go~time to get started with my day.




Tuesday, May 22, 2012

In my Backyard


So yesterday, we were checking the garden and the burning bush next to the garden had some kind of crud on it- some thing attacking it and attracting the ants... So I asked my husband to just cut it out.  And he did.  As he cut away at it with a chain saw... A bird flew out... Oh no... See, every year a robin would nest in there but this year she did not... I checked earlier in the month.  And so we thought the property was vacant.

I stopped my husband and sure enough the next cut would take out the branch with the nest... The nest, which was now exposed to the elements, contained 3 little blue eggs and one larger brown egg.  I have heard that some birds will lay eggs in other birds nests and then the adoptive parent will care for the egg, and feed the baby which when it hatches may kill the others.  Very interesting... So what to do... I took the larger egg out of the nest and then placed the nest in the adjacent lilac bush.  Then sat up on my deck and watched the two sparrows fly back and forth looking for their nest and the clutch of eggs.  Sadly and to no avail I watched and after awhile I had to leave to go to my sons Baseball Banquet.  I felt bad about the little broken family that had been thrown into turmoil through no fault of their own.

After the banquet, it rained and it came down pretty hard... The sound of the rain was music to my ears.  The ground was getting a good soaking and that it would be good for my garden. My kids were together and my daughter was helping my son study for a Biology test.  More Music.


This morning when I got up, I started some laundry.  There was a bunny in the backyard near the garden... I  think that he was the one nibbling on my lettuce the other day... I have no evidence of that, but that is my assumption.  We put up a bit of fencing and since then the lettuce has been untouched....

I got a cup of coffee and went to check on the garden... Would anything have sprouted... Was the rain too hard... Did things wash out... And so, hopeful, I went outside.  Everything looked fine and as I walked along one bed... I thought of the  nest... Those three little blue eggs exposed to the weather last night... No longer viable, lifeless shells, and I walked over to take a peak... But I couldn't see the eggs because Mama was sitting on them in the nest.... AMAZING!  She found them and she took ownership of them even though I had moved them to a different place and space....  Wow... Picture me smiling...  It made me think how  God must look down from his throne and smile while we go about doing his business.   Living life, trying to please Him, the one who made all things... When times are good or even when life get crazy and things go awry---  we shouldn't give up.  :)

So I made a wide berth around her and checked on the rest of the garden... And everything looked fine... The radishes and turnips sprouted... Wow... Lots of life around here...  Picture me still smiling!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Excitement



Today there is a lot of excitement as the boys are packing and getting ready for their mini-terms...  It's funny but they are driving me crazy.... I will relish the quiet and enjoy my vacation from running kids to and from their activities!




My son shaved and now he looks like a really tall 12 year old... LOL  at least to me... Compared to the bearded man he was yesterday.


More exciting news is that the count down for E's return is 12 days!  C-R-A-Z-Y!!  We are all so looking forward to her arrival.  Today I should  check on that Super Secret Project.... Hope it is coming along!!

                                                                                                             
I went to my Secret Sister Luncheon which was wonderful.... There were about 12 of us there.... We revealed who we "had" and then picked SS for next year... It's a fun program.  Such a fun way to show the love of Christ with our church ladies!  I picked up a hanging basket for my SS  at the greenhouse and ended up getting a couple for myself they were so gorgeous!  I know that every time I see mine I will be reminded to pray for Betty and Renee too.  Renee had me and gave me a stepping stone for my garden, but I don't think I want anyone stepping on it... LOL ....  I am so looking forward to the butterflies, birds and hummingbirds and flowers.  I just love looking at driving down the road and looking at everyone's yards, what is blooming and the all the colors and I am sooo glad winter is over!

Now it's raining...  it is supposed to warm up a bit tomorrow and over the next week, so hopefully then I won't have to cover all my plants, in the garden and yard anymore.... and I can plant the rest... I figured I better hold off for a week since the temps were expected to be so low... It is a pain to cover everything at night but it will pay off with beautiful and tasty results.... I hope!

I am feeling very thankful today!

This is the day the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24