Back to Business

Sorry for the lack or recent posts. We had some tough times in the last couple months and the garden and yard have been low on the priority list. Hopefully things will continue to lighten up and I can resume what I like most, gardening and cooking the stuff that comes out of it.

All of the peppers and tomatoes are now starting to ripen and be ready for harveting. The squash was not polinated very well this year so it was minimal at best. The lettuce lasted up until late July and we got a bunch of great salads and meals from it. All the herbs are ready for drying and the old Sage plant has come back nicely.

Dan Slotman of Slotman Nursery gave me some ornamental grass plants that I will put under the front cedar tree behind the Bishops weed. Nice and bushy like Spider plants with tall wispy fronds when it blooms so it should be perfect there.

The photos show some of the harvest and stuff we made from it. Lisa also contributed a scratch made homemade cherry pie for the dinner. One of her best!

Thanks for looking and I'll be more frequent on the blog as time frees up.

HOT!

WOW! THE HEAT IS ON FOLKS. GOING ON THE THIRD WEEK WITH NO RAIN. EXCEPT FOR SOME CALLED FOR SHOWERS TOMORROW, NO MORE IN SIGHT EITHER. i HAVE ELECTED NOT TO WATER THE ENTIRE LAWN AS I DID LAST YEAR WHICH RESULTED IN A RATHER LARGE WATER BILL. I AM WATERING THE FRONT AND STREET VIEW AND THE GARDENS AND THAT WILL BE IT. WATERING THE LAWN EVERY TWO DAYS AND THE FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES TWICE DAILY. I HAVE ALREADY HARVESTED NUMEROUS SALADS FOR OUR TABLE FROM THE ROMAINE AND A BUNCH OF BANANA PEPPERS WHICH I PLACED IN BRINE. PEAS HAVE ALREADY COME OUT AND LIBERTY AND LISA WERE EATING THEM RIGHT OFF THE VINES AND THEY ARE EXCELLENT!

THE PHOTOS OF THE BABIES WILL ATTEST TO THE "DOG DAYS" OF SUMMER WHICH ARE UPON US. WE FILLED THE POOL FOR THEM, BUT IT HAS BECOME THE LOCAL WATERING HOLE FOR ALL THE WILDLIFE SO IT IS WHAT IT IS. ENJOY THE HEAT, BUT STAY COOL!

Garden is in and Tigers are blooming!

WELL, A LOT IS GOING ON NOW THAT THE TEMPS ARE UP AND SOIL IS WARM COULD USE SOME MORE SUN, BUT THNGS ARE DOING WELL DESPITE THE LACK OF IT. tHE FRONT HALF OF THE GARDEN IS IN AND FERTILIZED WITH 5-10-5 AND EGG SHELLS POTTIING SOIL MIX. THE TIGERS ARE BLOOMING AROUND THE PORCH AND THE sNOW ON THE mOUNTAIN IS DOING GREAT UNDER THE CEDAR TREE. THE PHOTOS WILL GIVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THE YARD. i AM GETTING READY TO START THE FALL VEG PATCH AND SOME MORE PERENNIALS. THANKS FOR LOOKING!

Garden prep and planting

Looks like it's going to be a great summer. Once the rain stopped, all kinds of things are happening. The veg garden is coming along and this year I spent some bucks redoing the soil base and added all new 5-10-5 and plenty of eggshells. Also, this year I am planting everything in the garden with potting soil as the plant base. This was suggested on other blogs to give the plants a good root base. Two kind of tomatos, acorn and butternut squash, yellow banana peppers, green Bell peppers, peas, Romaine and spinach. The herb garden has lemon oregano, sage, chives and curled parsley. I also cut down a few over hanging limbs to get more afternoon light and in the fall will get more out.

Having a whole weekend with my beautiful Lisa, my garden, my pets and our snug little place is the best blessing I could have. Check out the photos of the progress and surrounding perennials.

New Yard Activity

Well spring is definetely here. The tigers, Hostas, Lambs Ear, and a whole bunch of stuff planted last year are showing up. The cedar tree area had been cleared and raked and the "Snows" and wildflowers are also coming out.

I have also done a lot of the fence work and have reached the scrub on Murphy's side. Posts are not in, but the wire is temporarily hung to keep the "kids" in. The back part is green staked and partially hung up to the deer trail. I will buy the rest of the 4x4 posts and finish it off within a week or 10 days. Then the gate has to be built and hung and that will do it.

After that, I have the topsoil ordered for the flower burm in front of the fench on the lakeside. Still undecided what to place there, but Jimmy Eichberg and Dan Slotman have a ton of ideas, so I expect it to turn out great.

Check out the pics and enjoy the weekend!

Cleaning up with Ava

Today begins the yard spring clean up. Focus for me today is raking the gravel from the lawn and street back into the driveway. This happens when you have a gravel driveway as a result from the winter plowing that scatters the gravel everywhere. Time consuming, but best to get it done when the ground is soft. Also the front porch garden is getting some cleaning and raking to make way for the new stuff. If time allows, then yard pick up and twigs for the fire pit. Ava likes to help as you can see during any season.

All the green stakes are in the back for the rear section of the fence and only needs to have the wire hung in order to enclose the back woods. Four additional 4x4 posts will be going in on Murphy's side to add another 30 feet or so into the scrub. Originally that was to be green staked, but it looked terrible and did not hold the fence taut. For the woods it's fine, but for the front we want it to be asthetically correct and secure and the green stakes were'nt making it.

It's warming up!!

Greetings! It's April 2nd and things are starting to happen outside. Lots of water this year due to the rains and melting. My remaining post holes are filled with 2 ft of water still as a result of our high aquafier being so close to the lake. Things are begining to show up around the porch area. The Tigers are up about 2 inches or so and the Lambs Ear just began to peek up yesterday. I'll be walking the whole yard later and seeing what else is "waking" up.

I will be continuing the fence work the next week or so to ensure it is up before the scrub grows in. I am adding 5 more wooden posts to Murphy's side and green staking the back "40". The green staking is going to be helpful when Lisa begins her dog agility area because they can be moved and repositioned to make an obstacle course or a maze or a run. The topsoil for the flower burm has been ordered for the bottom of the fence on the street side. Then we'll decide what kind of climbers we can put in. We've decided against painting the fence and posts and hope the climbers produce some good cover and hide any fencing that may rust over the years.

Here is Jada the cat, our newest addition who showed up in our basement in February during the really bad weather. I went down to do some laundry and heard a little meow and she came out from beneath the work table, skinny wet and cold. So now she is getting her weight and coat back and has decided that she now lives here. She is SUPER affectionate and is always waiting for me in the basement. We have no idea where she came from or why, but anyone who knows us will attest that no animal is ever turned away at our house.

Enjoy the warming trend and have a great week!

Winds of March

Welcome back after a very cold Jan/Mar. As we approach the Ides of March, the yard is a swamp after the heavy rains and tree limbs from the wind. Mr Stevenson certainly named this house correctly. First project after the yard pick up is to enclose the back "40" with the fencing and complete the enclosure before the scrub grows in. After that will be the widening the parking area and gravel it to eliminate the annual mud parade coming from the driveway.

Here's a couple of "Spidey" taking a break during plowing.

Hope everyone had a good winter and is ready for some great flowers and crops this year!