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!

Fall is upon us

My apologies for not being current with the blog posts. It has been busy with Mom arriving, the fence project, and numerous work projects.

The fence posts are in and getting the time and help to complete the hanging of the fencing has been a challenge. But recent developements in my shcedule looks like it will be up by the 25th of this month.

All of the remaining produce has been harvested, and all of the summer "fodder" has been thrown into the garden along with my eggshells and coffee grounds to "ferment" over the winter.

Also check out the photos of my new "neighbors" which are Black Faced hornets. Very cool little guys and very non aggressive unless you disturb the nest. We had a smaller nest right above our front gutter last year and we were never bothered by them.

Hope to stay more current and will be adding more photos soon.

Hints of Fall

Sorry for the delays in updating the blog. I have been overwhelmed by the fence project and readjusting my work schedule.

Today is 65 for the high and last night we almost put a fire in the living room. Brrrrrrrrr. But a lot of the garden is finally showing signs of improving and the new stuff is looking a lot healthier.

It is the local opinion that the cause was two-fold. One was the extreme and continous heat which actually bakes the nutrients in the soil and the lack of bees and minimal polination.

The photos show the latest yield and my Lambs Ear are ready for their new home near the patio.

Today is more driveway work, one side is completed and I am into the south side. Should have it done by Oct.

Fence post holes will be dug thhis comming week and the materials are arriving Tuesday. Hope everyone is ready for fall!!!