Yesterday I had a glorious massage after SEVERAL days of mixing and spraying 2-gallon containers of weed killer, and then switching to 6 hours of using the power washer a couple of days ago, cleaning outdoor furniture, our deck, and the back sidewalk. My body was really anticipating the miracle that is Lynn Moody, my massage therapist. 479-629-7601. I spent the rest of the day reading, resting, and sleeping. AHHHHHH! I capped it off by getting a good night’s sleep last night.
Not even the fact that today is supposed to be very rainy can dampen my spirits.
We’ll go to Lunch Bunch in about an hour, catch up with our friends while enjoying chicken fingers, and then hit the local grocery store for supplies before coming back home.
Weather permitting, I’m hoping to gather the first harvest of the season from my veggie garden! My mouth is watering for a salad made with lettuce and spinach from our own garden.
I hope that you are safe and well. Enjoy your Friday.
I love this painting. Sorry, but I am unable to read the signature to give credit.
I have told you that we are having to have our ceiling replaced on the porch due to an invasion of squirrels who ate wiring and chewed a hole through the ceiling. The painter is out on the porch today, finishing up the project! Their company name is Safe Elite Transformations 479-849-0520, but I secretly call them the “Band of Brothers”. Cliff Harden is the owner, and his brothers, Jared and Cameron (among others) work with him. They are honest, hard-working guys. I trust them. They do what they say they will do. They will work with you. I am waiting to give feedback on Home Advisor until the job is completely finished, but I will give them the highest possible rating.
Yesterday I stared mixing up KillzAll Weed Killer. My container with a sprayer holds two gallons. I filled it up and sprayed things 6 times yesterday. At that point I was pooped and stopped for the day. I hope to finish the job today.
Our weather is beautiful. I hope that you are having a great day, too.
Today is a gorgeous day in Arkansas. The sun is shining and it’s 55 degrees outside right now. It may make it to 80 this afternoon! Since I finally finished the main part of the weed whacking around the yard in the past few days, I’m planning to use my two-gallon sprayer to spray KillzAll all around the yard and planter edges, under the deck, and under my garden planters today to see if I can get a leg up on the weeds around here. I will probably do the spraying in several trips so that hopefully my back doesn’t yell TOO loudly afterwards. :0)
Tomorrow at least one of the guys in the crew that has been replacing our porch ceiling and doing a couple more handyman jobs – SAFE ELITE TRANSFORMATIONS– CLIFF HARDEN – 479-849-0520 – will be here all day to paint the porch. Things started with them just doing the new ceiling, but then we expanded that to include painting the rest of the woodwork on the porch. That will allow ME to concentrate on using the power washer to clean up the outdoor chairs, and then continue on to include the front porch, sidewalks, driveway pad, and the deck. This is a big project and will take me several days, if not a week, to finish. (with cooperation of the weather)
There is a lot to paint, so I’m assuming it will take most of the day. Then two fluorescent light fixtures and a ceiling fan need to be put back up, and then a lot of clean up. This may take through Tuesday.
Right now the deck is piled high with ‘stuff’ from the porch. I have promised myself to get ruthless about what goes back on the porch. Using my new ‘LESS IS MORE’ philosophy combined with Marie Kondo’s idea of only keeping things you really need or give you joy, I’m planning to donate a lot of things and throw away others, consolidating what is left. I’ll post pics when the porch is back together.
I hope that your Sunday is shaping up to be a fine day, too.
We had quite a storm last night – heavy rain, gusty winds, hail, flying hairballs…. I went out this morning to see what havoc had occurred.
Two of my three new azaleas were pretty battered, but I’m hoping they will perk up once they get a chance to catch their collective breaths.
My garden plants seem to have come through fine. As you can see, one of the next jobs will be to spray weed killer under the planters.As you can see, I need to pull off yellow leaves and weed this tomato planter. The ‘nook’ tomato planter is looking pretty good..
I’m feeling very lucky that the hail storm didn’t decimate my garden, as they did one year in the recent past. I’m trying to ‘hold my mouth right’ so the good luck continues. :0)
Things are looking very happy right now. We are under a possibly severe storms warning most of the day, so I’m HOPING that the storms are just rain and wind, rather than hail.
We are having a beautiful day today. It’s hard to believe that we are due for possibly severe storms overnight into tomorrow, with gusty winds and hail (and flying hair balls) much of the day tomorrow. I’m hoping that the whole thing will bypass us.
My guys are due tomorrow to finish painting our new porch ceiling. They will also paint the rest of the woodwork on the porch, so it will seem like a whole new porch when it’s finished! They have already installed a new shutter to replace the one that fell off the front of the house and sealed the area of the roof soffit where the squirrels were getting in. Clifford Harden is very reliable. He either comes when he says he will or calls to let us know what is happening, so we’re not left hanging. He, his brothers, and other workers in the group they call Safe Elite Transformations have a passion for excellence. You can reach them through Home Advisor, or directly at 479-849-0520.
If Mother Nature cooperates with us, by the end of the day tomorrow we should have a nice-looking new porch ceiling!
Since our weather is so nice today, I’m planning to transplant the celery I’ve started in the kitchen to the main garden. I’ll take some pics so show you later. Things are happy in the garden so far. I’m also planning to finish weed whacking in the back and then hopefully spray some KillzAll to discourage the weeds from popping right back up. My goal is to have less and less to weed whack each time throughout the season.
I’m still trying to go through the things I brought home from the booth I shared with my friend Carla at Rags & Roses in Greenwood. It is a really nice shop, and the owner, Joanna Brandt, is a peach. Our sales were super slow, though, so we decided that it was best we try other venues. I am going through things, trying to decide which I should list on my Amazon Handmade page. I’m taking my time, so my office looks like of like an explosion occurred. :0)
A. A. Milne – E.H. Shepard – Winnie the Pooh – DreamsQuoteTulip TreeAmber and Purple IrisNew Azalea BushesAzalea bush close-up
There is always more to do in the yard or in the garden, and this is my favorite time of the year. Lots of sunshine, hope, new life, beautiful blooms, the promise of healthy veggies…
I went out to check on the garden and everything seems to be doing all right.
I’m trying to grow spinach, leaf lettuce, head lettuce, yellow squash, zucchini, broccoli, red onions, radishes and celery in the main garden.
This is what I call the “nook” planter. It’s in a nook between the back of the house and the back porch. It is shielded from the wind and rain a bit better than the other, longer planter.
This is the longer planter. Things are not growing really fast yet because of the cool nights, but things are looking healthy.
This picture isn’t our house, but it gives you an idea of what is going on this morning.
The workmen were here at 8am. They will tear down the current porch ceiling, replace it, paint it, and put the fluorescent fixtures and ceiling fan back up. They will also install a pair of shutters on the 2nd story of the front of the house, plus seal a place in the roof soffit where the squirrel family got in. They will take away all the debris. They think they will have everything done by the end of the day on Monday – even with this being Easter weekend – and having to wait for different steps to dry in-between. We are delighted to have found them.
I showed them where the bathrooms were on the first floor and that there were bottles of water in the fridge and they got started.
I spent a couple of hours yesterday moving everything off our back porch. My back immediately began talking to me, but it isn’t hurting as badly today. I was happy that I was able to move a round table off the porch by myself. I had to turn it on it’s side, and maneuver it to get each of the legs to clear the doorway, but I DID IT.
I went through Home Advisor to get quotes for the job. I’ve used them before and was pleased. Things were much more complicated this time because “Home Advisor” bought out “Angie’s List” and there are a lot of details to be addressed regarding which website you’re on versus a payment app on a smart phone. We did it, but it was pretty awful. Thank goodness for a woman in the payment department named April who figured out what the problem was and helped us solve it.
Though not having the worry of the ceiling crumbling while we’re trying to enjoy lunch on the porch is a really nice thing, my biggest relief regarding this job is that my husband was planning to install the new shutters on the house himself. The shutters that fell off during the winter were on the 2nd story of the house. This requires standing on an extension ladder and balancing while holding the shutter, tools, etc. We had mollies in the brick into which the screws go to hold the shutters on, but sometimes they fail. The shutters have to have holes drilled in them, but that isn’t a problem. I’m just happy that my husband – who still thinks he is young – won’t have to try to do this job.
Otherwise, my husband prevailed and got our riding mower going yesterday, after installing a new battery and then using a chain hoist in the shop to raise the whole mower so he could remove a piece of wood that jammed in there, causing the blades to stop rotating, and was able to mow the back yard. He’ll do the front today. I’ll do the weed whacking and clean up.
This is one section of our yard I love to watch. Right now, the red bud tree behind the yellow forsythia make a nice picture. Later our wisteria in this same area will make a nice display.
Our tulip tree is starting to lose its blooms, but it’s glorious right now.
I’ve counted 8 red bud trees on our property this year. Some are very small, but the lovely color shows up very nicely whether large large or small. Our land is too rocky to plant things in the ground much; hence all our brick planters and our raised bed, square foot veggie garden, but we treasure the things that come up naturally here.
In town there are some people who have a red bud with a white dogwood tree close by – a really stunning combination.
Things are ‘springing’ around here – bringing up my spirits and filling me with hope.
Although the plants are a bit waterlogged from last night’s rains, all seems to be looking good. I still need to make markers for the plants, and we need to put the new sprinklers in when they are delivered; but otherwise, the spring garden is in. Whenever I feel down, all I need to do is walk out to the garden and my spirits lift.
“It was such a pleasure to sink one’s hands into the warm earth, to feel at one’s fingertips the possibilities of the new season.” ~ Kate Morton
“I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” ~ Ruth Stout
“There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.” ~Mirabel Osler
“In every gardener there is a child who believes in The Seed Fairy.” ~Robert Brault
“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” ~Lindley Karstens
“You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt.” ~Author Unknown
“One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides”. ~W.E. Johns
Today is supposed to be a “washout of a day. Heavy rain and lightning will be the main concerns today. Some small hail and gusty winds will be possible in the stronger storms but the threat is low overall.” It’s cool and gray and rainy right now – a great day to take a nap under my throw in my recliner. My husband is sleeping in this morning, and the morning chores are done. Nice and quiet.
I’m hoping to have a burst of energy so I can get the paperwork that is piled up finished, plus get a good start on adding some of my craft products to my page on Amazon Handmade. Adding things is to the page is kind of laborious – hence my needing a burst of energy to get started. :0)
So far I’m very encouraged about my spring garden. I’m glad we drilled lots of drain holes in our 4’x4′ wooden raised bed planters. All is designed to drain well and not get waterlogged. Needless to say, with all the rain we have been getting, delivery of the new sprinklers will just be NICE, rather than NECESSARY. I’ll get some pics to share with you when the rain stops.
There are lots of reasons to be down these days. Some of them we share. Others are personal. I think it’s more important than ever to be grateful we are HERE and ALIVE, and live with enthusiasm for the gift.
I just went out to check our spring garden. The plants are totally unaware of any possible problems in our world. I’m not advocating being UNAWARE. I guess I’m advocating living as IF “heavy, heavy” isn’t hanging over our heads. Much of what is happening is beyond our control. We can be aware of those things, but concentrate on the things over which we DO have some control.
My spirits rose today as I saw that my garden plants – well watered from an overnight rain – seem to be thriving. On the other side of our property, our tomato plants are also looking good. I stopped to remove the PVC irrigation pipe that was shattered on one brick planter during one of our last winter storms, saving the faucet part that we can reuse. There are many things to be done in the yard, and I’m happy for the normalcy of that.
I’m taking a new direction in selling my craft products. I’m concentrating my efforts on my page on Amazon Handmade, listing new stuff in a steady stream. Linda Lewis Artworks If you happen to visit, I would very much appreciate your honest feedback.
My husband and I are both in reasonably good health at this point, although our bodies remind us that we might have taken on too much sometimes. :0) We are trying to get the lard off, and I am trying to exercise and move more on a daily basis to stay as healthy as possible. We will both get our 2nd COVID shot next Monday. I will feel relieved that two weeks after that, we should be as protected as we can be and will not be a source of the virus for anyone else.
Today we are scheduled to have some windows replaced. Several years ago we had all of our windows replaced by Window World. We have lived in our home since we built it in 1987. Obviously, some things have really gotten better since then. Replacing our windows made a big difference in our energy bills, but also in the QUIET. Many times we get a hard rain and don’t even notice it! We are very pleased with this company. It has taken a long time for us to get the replacement windows, but we are lucky we are all in a position to do this at all. Hopefully, it will happen this afternoon.
I’m grateful for spring also because this season of the year helps me in my efforts to lose the lard.
I’m growing leaf lettuce, head lettuce, radishes, yellow squash, zucchini, red onions, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, and celery. Being able to look forward to harvesting some of this straight from the garden to our table at night makes a big difference in my eating. I can throw off the comfort food of the winter and embrace being outside longer each day and eating big, healthy salads for our dinners.
All of my outside activities encourage me to drink more water, as well. My pedometer takes notice of my increased mobility and that encourages me to do even more.
Fingers crossed that this all comes together and I can make some good progress on my efforts to get healthier, stronger, and more flexible.
Daffodils and Tulip TreeForsythiaRed Bud TreeAnother Red Bud Tree
We actually have 7 Red Bud Trees blooming right now. Iris greenery is spearing out of the ground and in some of the planters around the yard. Today the sun is shining and the high is supposed to get to 70!
Much of the rest of the week will be rainy, bringing life to more and more.
There are things left to be done of course, but my main spring garden is planted. I weeded two brick planters yesterday and got my tomato plants in, too. We have ordered new sprinklers for the main garden, and the irrigation system for the yard needs to be tested. We need to replace a PVC pipe that waters one planter in the front yard. I have two celery starts that need to go out to the main garden. These are details.
I’m still overwhelmed by how my SPIRITS lifted when I bought the plants and worked to get them into the garden. I guess I’ve let the state of our world sit on my shoulders too much. It’s hard to stay upbeat when there is so much bad stuff happening all around you. I felt good feelings FLOOD into me, though, with HOPE for the future as I found places for all my plants the past two days.
I’m smiling as I type, ready to get back outside and see what details I can handle today. :0)
I hope there is something wonderful flooding YOUR heart and soul today.
After Lunch Bunch yesterday, we went to the co-op and bought a bunch of veggie plants.
This is the way my raised bed square foot garden has looked all winter. I did an experiment this year. Hoping to avoid having to spend a day or two weeding the boxes before I could plant, I cleaned out the boxes when the growing season was over, filled up the boxes with Mel’s Mix (soil alternative), put a pail in the middle of each box and covered each box with a tarp, held in place by bungee cords. I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
Happily, this is what I found!
I planted Buttercrunch Leaf Lettuce, Head Lettuce, Spinach, cabbage, yellow crookneck squash, zucchini, and red onions. I will add radish seeds and some celery I’m starting in the kitchen.
We discovered we needed to replace a section of the hose. Then we discovered that the sprinklers’ pressure setting parts in the center of each were broken from being in the weather too long, so we have ordered new sprinklers.
Today I need to weed the two brick planters we converted to square foot gardening and plant the tomato plants we bought yesterday.
I can’t tell you how MUCH my spirits lifted to be outside in the sunshine digging in the dirt, planting my spring garden!
I hope that you are enjoying some nice weather, too.
Spring officially starts tomorrow. I’m hoping to be able to get some veggie plants for my garden today, kicking off my season of being outside every possible day, kicking up my activity level, cutting DOWN on my comfort eating!
I will also look forward to eating fresh stuff from my garden. I always try to grow lots of spinach and lettuce, radishes, onions, and broccoli, and then whatever else looks interesting. In two other planters, I plant tomatoes. Availability varies, but I LOVE watching things grow, taking care of my plants, and then harvesting the results.
Some years I’m really successful and I can take fresh food to my friends. That is the BEST. :0)
Each year I feel renewed hope for the growing season – a new lease on life.
It’s especially welcome this year, and I look forward to sharing my efforts with you.
It’s rainy here, making me glad I have a warm, dry house.
It also makes me want comfort food, and I have trouble staying away from ‘bad’ things.
In general, I do pretty well, but then the gremlin inside my head tells me, “It’s been over a year since you had a ________. It wouldn’t hurt to have just one…” Yeah, right. And then we move on to President’s Day, and National Pickle Week, and the whole thing crashes.
Today I’m trying to distract myself by working in the yard, if Mother Nature will cooperate. It is not raining this very minute, so maybe I can get my elephant ear plants re-planted.
I noticed yesterday that in addition to my daffodils lifting my spirits, our tulip tree is blooming! Talk about signs of hope for the future!
So, I will finish my coffee, keep my mouth firmly shut otherwise, and stay busy.
I have had a really nice celebration this year. My husband was raised not making a big deal of birthdays, so he doesn’t do much on anyone’s birthday, his own included. He simply doesn’t think of it. My friends and relatives make up for him, though, making me feel VERY special. I have received cards and texts, phone calls, and TWO Lunch Bunch Fridays where two weeks ago, the waitresses/friends at the Pizza Barn got me some really nice foaming soap and a tall, heavy candle that smells like Cranberry-Mandarin. Heavenly!
My birthday fell exactly between two Fridays this year, so that always complicates things on when we celebrate. Yesterday my Lunch Bunch friends gave me a special birthday lunch. I got some really luxurious hand cream (the foaming soap and the really nice hand cream are wonderful for chapped hands from all the hand washing we do now), and then a gorgeous plant (Mime Rose) with a solar-powered glass hummingbird to put in the pot.
I set things up, putting the flowering plant with hummingbird in the window. Last night when we were taking Amber out for her last outing of the day, I noticed the hummingbird was glowing, changing colors, and reflecting in the window! I’ve taken some pictures this morning, and I’ll try to get some tonight when the hummingbird is changing colors.
You have to look carefully to see the hummingbird up high above the mime roses.
You can see the hummingbird high above the plant in this picture a bit more easily.
Here’s a close up of the glass hummingbird. At night, it turns different colors, simply glowing and reflecting in the glass of the window. It’s stunningly beautiful. Hats off to the people who created this.
I just called my Lunch Bunch friend, thanking her again for such a wonderful gift. I love the mime roses, and I love the hummingbird. I’m a lucky lady. I’ll try to get pics tonight and share them with you tomorrow. :0)
I received this from my SIL yesterday and I’m still smiling. I love it. I had a pretty good, quite birthday yesterday. Apparently I’m a bad one to hold grudges because I still resent being described by ANYONE as “elderly,” no matter how sweetly is it said. If I am with them when they say it, I will bite them in a leg, and I have NOT had my rabies shot.
Our weather is iffy, but I’m trying to replant my elephant ear bulbs. What I’ve read,though, says to wait until all chance of frost is past, and that is April 5th here, so I guess I need to wait a bit longer.
A lot of my daffodils froze, but I have bunches blooming their heads off around the yard. Even my husband remarked about them when we left to go to town yesterday.
This is the group I call “Debbye’s Bouquet.” I had a good friend who died of breast cancer several years ago. True to her nature, at her funeral two barrels were set up at the door of the church. We were asked to grab a handful of daffodil bulbs as we left and to plant them in her memory. I thought that was a truly wonderful idea. Every spring her bouquet comes up, giving me hope.
I’m re-reading “Now and Then” # 35 of 40 in Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. I have thoroughly enjoyed re-immersing myself in the amazing world he created. I will be a bit sad when I get to the end of the series. Several good, well meaning writers have tried to continue his legacy, but they seem just a shadow, so I don’t try to read them anymore. I’m just feeling very lucky I found the original and have a collection to treasure.
I am 74 today – older than dirt – older but not wiser – still ornery and kickin’ .
I have started a petition – in my own mind at least – to obliterate the word, “Elderly.” Supposedly, this includes people 60 and above. Every time I hear the word, realizing that the people uttering it are referring to ME, I get hostile.
“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.” — Pat Benatar
I’m just getting a good start now. Right at this moment, I’m feeling a bit older than usual, though. My husband and I got our first shot of the COVID vaccine yesterday. My arm is a bit achy, and I’m not feeling very energetic, but that is a TEMPORARY condition, and this one time I’m glad I’m ‘old enough’ to get something.
I am full of plans for spring. I want to re-plant the elephant ear plant bulbs I’ve been storing in the garage for the winter. I want to repair our irrigation system where the cold weather busted one of the pvc pipes we use to water our plants. I am eager to uncover my raised bed planters so I can get spring veggies started.
I have ideas rattling around in my head for things I can try in my art room. In fact, I’m planning to spend part of my birthday today up there. :0)
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”~ Sophia Loren
It’s a nice day, so I’m going to spend time on my elliptical trainer in the garage, and then do a good, long session of yoga stretches this afternoon.
BoredPanda
“You don’t stop laughing when you grow old, you grow old when you stop laughing.” — George Bernard Shaw
I truly love finding things to post on this blog. There is so much to share that is hopeful!
“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.” — Criss Jami
My scales are finally beginning to take notice of my efforts to lose the lard. Though I vary on eating between meals, my basic program remains the same. I am eating healthy individual portion frozen dinners prepared by good people at either REAL FOOD or STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood. The ingredients and amounts are listed on the meals. No unpronounceable additives or preservatives are used.
Otherwise, a sandwich or tuna salad, sugar-free jello, and olives or grapes for lunch.
Now that our weather is finally warming up, I don’t dread spending time on my elliptical trainer in the garage as much. I’m trying to do 35 minutes on it three times a week and my yoga stretches every day. I’m doing pretty well at that, even though I have missed days due to helping my husband fix all the stuff that is falling apart around here lately.
I gave up on my efforts to start seeds. I got some messy sprouts, but all were trying their best to die, so I stopped. My title as ‘Serial Seed Killer” remains. :0( Happily, some plants are available locally. I’m trying to decide if I should go ahead and plant things, even though our average last frost date isn’t until April 5th.
Though it’s on my wish list, we have very few quiet days around here.
I’ve told you that things are falling apart around here lately. We are having to jump from one thing to the next, sometimes trying to juggle several things at once, trying to keep our heads above water.
We are waiting for our propane supplier to call us – hoping that one of their delivery people can stop by the next time they are in our area to help us get the pilot light lit for the heater in the shop. I’m assuming that because my husband can’t do it this time, it needs something replaced. We are in a good holding place on this problem. Everything is turned off. We don’t HAVE to work in the shop, and the weather is gradually getting warmer anyway.
I told you that my husband ran over something in the road on the way back from Ft. Smith last week, resulting in a flat and our having to order two tires. The turn signals quit working and the exhaust system is rattling now. The wonderful Vette designers made it so the whole front of the Vette has to come off to work on – or change – the turn signals. We are planning to take it to the dealer in Ft. Smith tomorrow and leave it with both problems to be fixed. THEN, when the tires arrive, we will take it to the local tire place to have the new tires mounted and balanced. Hopefully, that will finish THAT project.
I THINK that is the last of the series of things we have been dealing with the past month of so. (Knock on wood) I’m very glad to be enjoying the LAST day of February!
I saw the local hardware store is selling veggie plants! I may break down and get some. The seeds I started may one day finally be strong enough to go out in the garden, but I’m not depending on that. The plants are calling to me. L- I -N -N- N—- D- A! WE’RE W- A- A- A- A- I- T- I -N -G F O R Y O U !!!!!!!! :0)
Happy last day of February. I hope it’s a fun day for you.
My sweet daffodils which shot spears of green up around the well house in anticipation of glorious blooming are now dull and frozen-looking. I don’t know if the plants will bounce back now that temperatures are warming and the snow is melting, but I hope so.
I am trying to get some seeds started for my raised bed, square foot garden. I have read a bunch, but really have no clue what I’m doing. I used a seed tray starter kit, filling it with seed starter medium, planting some seeds and marking them, sprinkling some fertilizer, spraying them carefully with water and covering them with a transparent cover. They have been sitting on the dining area table, the best place for getting whatever sun there is.
I planted spinach, lettuce, broccoli, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and green peppers. When I saw that some had sprouted, I took the transparent lid off. I have been turning the tray each day, trying to provide equal sun and encourage the sweet little sprouts to grow up straight. Some sprouting has been good. Some of the seeds haven’t done anything.
I would love it if I end up with some nice plants to put out in the garden when the time is right, but the biggest thing for me at this point is the HOPE. The PROMISE of spring. The CHANCE of new life, The ANTICIPATION of being able to play in the dirt again sometime reasonably soon.
I hope that you are seeing – or creating – some signs of spring wherever you are.
It’s harder to stick with a rational, mature eating plan when the weather is yelling for comfort food. It’s 17 degrees F here in Greenwood, Arkansas. February is always our coldest month, but I was beginning to believe we wouldn’t have much of a winter this year. Hahahahahahhaha! Our highs are in the 20s, we have ice everywhere, our deck is a skating rink unfit for old folks to fill the bird feeders, and our 650+ foot long, STEEP driveway and the road that runs in front of our place are not encouraging travel – even to retrieve our mail at the bottom of the driveway. The forecast is for ‘dangerous cold, and snow Sat – Monday, then again Wednesday of next week. Did I tell you I HATE February?
VectorStock
I’m trying to be the “mature adult woman” that I’m supposed to be, NOT stuffing my face while continuing to earn my gold stars on my desk calendar for exercise. I put on my sweatshirt, sweat pants, puffy vest, knit hat, and gloves to go out to the garage to put in my time on my elliptical trainer. The good thing is I feel very proud of myself if I manage to get my time in out there each day. The yoga in the afternoons is easier.
Yesterday I finally got the seeds planted for my spring garden. The seed starter tray is sitting on our dining area table where the seeds will get the best sun. I’m watching the tray like a mother hen, hoping my seeds will sprout and then do really well so that I’ll have healthy, good-looking plants to put into my raised bed square foot garden the first week of April.
I am planning to continue my efforts to clean and reorganize my art room today. So far, the only clean area is my drafting table. Today I’ll tackle this table.
I hope you’re having a good Friday. Maybe we can start a petition to do away with February…
This afternoon I have finally planted seeds that I HOPE will make transplants for my spring garden.
It was more involved than I thought it would be. I simplified it as much as I could, but it still took me two days. The biggest problem was trying to get the seed starter medium wet. That sounds like a dumb problem, but the medium is VERY light. If I had sneezed into the bag, the medium would have covered the whole kitchen – I kid you not. I added water VERY carefully and slowly. The spray in the kitchen sink was MUCH too strong. I finally used a turkey baster to ease water into each of the peat planter pods, making sure each didn’t overflow. I also didn’t want the peat pots to fall apart, so I stopped several times in the process. I did it last thing last night, hoping that things might settle in overnight.
This afternoon I found a spray bottle in the garage and used it to add more water. Then I used a pencil to make two planting holes in most of the pots, but only one hole in the ones for the broccoli. I planted two rows of spinach, two of broccoli, two of lettuce, and one row of green pepper. I split the last two rows, planting some yellow squash, zucchini, and two kinds of tomatoes.
I pushed the holes closed and tamped down the medium a bit in each peat pot, and then sprinkled some fertilizer pellets. Finally I sprayed everything carefully one more time and added the clear plastic seed starter tray top. I had to hold it down with some pill bottles because it didn’t want to close tightly.
Supposedly, things will start sprouting in 8 to 14 days, depending on the seed. When that happens, I’ll take the plastic top off and turn the tray around each day, hoping the sprouts will grow up reasonably straight.
I have little clue what I’m doing. Everything I have read is like the recipes for bread that say, “Knead it until it feels right.” :0(
It’s exciting to be TRYING to grow plants that I can move to my spring garden around the 5th of April.
So far, it’s mostly words and little action on my efforts to start some seeds for my spring garden.
I’ve found and printed a “starting seeds guide,” gone through the seeds I have on hand, listed 3 kinds of seed I need to buy, found my seed starter tray, a calendar, a note pad, and a pencil. Not much, huh.
The next step is to research when to try to start each type of seed. Instructions are based on the last frost date in your area. Then you count backwards from there to figure out when each type of seed should be planted.
I’ll make a list of those,
Fill my seed starter with Mel’s Mix,
Cross my fingers and see what happens!
I’m going to TRY to start seeds for: head lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, green pepper, crookneck squash, and zucchini. At the proper time, I’ll look for sweet onion sets. I’ll plant radishes directly into the garden around the 1st of April.
If the seeds don’t make, I will HOPE that I can find starter plants at the local stores in Greenwood. It would do my heart good, though, to be able to do this on my own this year.
I’m HOPING to be able to start and grow some plants this time, rather than hoping our local resources will have what I want when I’m reading to plant.
A lot of people do this routinely. Part of my hope is that THIS TIME I’ll be successful, having some good, healthy plants that I can transfer to my garden when the time for the last spring frost for my area is past – April 5th. I will try to plant seeds in my seed starter in tranches, so if one group doesn’t make, another may. It would also be good not to have all of my plants needing to be harvested or eaten at one time. Talk about hope!
So far, I’ve found that the last spring frost date is April 5th, and the first fall frost date is October 31st. I found my seed starter tray and brought it in. It has a cardboard covering that gives directions for use. I have a bunch of seed packets, also with instructions.
LOTS of reading and research to do before actual planting, but my excitement is growing as I type.
I have a raised bed, square foot garden into which I would like to transfer these plants. Before winter started, I weeded the six 4′ square chest-high planters we built. I mixed barrels of Mel’s Mix (vermiculite, peat moss, and at least 3 different types of compost) and filled up the planters to the top. Then I covered the planters with tarps to try to keep the weeds to a minimum over the winter to make less work when I start my spring garden.
I will try to take pics of each step in the process – success or fail – in case you’re interested in following the process with me.
Hope springs eternal that I will have success this time!
Yesterday afternoon my husband and I spent about an hour with a chainsaw, cutting down a huge branch that broke off recently. It was hanging down into the civilized part of our front yard (as opposed to the woods that slope all the way down to the street that runs in front of our property.) The branch would have made it difficult, if not impossible, for my husband to use the riding mower there.
Since the land slopes, I had quite a challenge of trying to get the ladder braced against the back of the tree so that my husband could get up high enough with the chain saw. I breathed a sigh of relief when we got the main part of the branch cut and I could quit worrying about that part of it.
The rest of the time was spent cutting smaller branches off the large one so that I could grab them, pull them away from the main one, and throw them down the hill farther so they would be out of the way.
We don’t like to think about it, but we are considered ‘elderly’ by the people deciding who should get the Covid-19 vaccine, so I guess that means we’re older than dirt, whether we want to accept that or not. I have to admit that after we finished the job and had rested in our chairs awhile, both of us were wincing a bit at sore muscles.
Today my husband would like to use our pole saw to cut down a few branches along the side of our driveway. They are about a third of the way down, which means we’ll need to put two 100-foot extension cords together to get power down that far. Hopefully we can get them cut down and thrown off to the side of the driveway without too much problem.
Mother Nature warmed things up here yesterday afternoon for long enough that I was able to clean out the second tomato planter. This was a laborious process of trying to untangle or cut the plants off the tomato cages and supports, then stack the cages and supports out of the way, then pull the plants out – sometimes one branch at a time – then gather the frozen tomatoes that could now be used as ammunition in case of intruders, then dispose of the vegetation, then clean up a bit and put the wheelbarrow away, I was tired and cold by the time I finished, but feeling triumphant that another yard project could be checked off my list.
We had a nice tomato harvest this year, even though our weather was a bit wonky. I’m still enjoying some cherry sized tomatoes for snacks and in salads. :0)
Today’s project – again if Mother Nature is feeling cooperative – is to do some weed whacking in my garden area.
Winter for our Square Foot Garden
We converted two brick planters on the far side of the house to be used to grow tomatoes. Those are the ones I’ve been trying to clean out. As you can see here, our square foot garden is ready for the winter. This is the first time we’ve used the tarps. This is to keep the Mel’s Mix Soil Alternative from blowing out and also hopefully to keep weed growth to a minimum as far as getting the planters ready for spring planting.
It’s the perimeter of the garden outside the fencing, plus the area around the trash barrels that hold the Mel’s Mix ingredients and around the propane tank for the shop that need attention with the weed whacker. I will be happy if I can get that under control today. :0) Right now it’s 37 degrees F. – too cold, but the forecast is for 59 this afternoon. Fingers crossed.
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