Momentous day!

I saw the first hummingbird, "cow bird" (cattle egret), bluebonnets, and oak leaves of the season today!!  

And don't have pictures of any of them, alas. :)

Visitor on the first night of spring

It seems that not only do we have a back-step kitty, 

we also have a back-step possum!

 Terry and I heard a very loud chomping from the direction of the kitchen...our kitties don't usually make that much noise eating. And, lo and behold, there was a possum enjoying our outdoor kitty's dinner!

 Friendly greeting?

 Mouse and Eliot are fascinated!

Looks a bit like an alien, don't you think? :)

Big Moon 3-19-11

We went to the lake (Ray Roberts) last night in hopes of getting some good pics of the "biggest moon in 18 years." Got there just before moonrise. None of my pics were all I had hoped, but here are a few pretty good ones.  Took the big "white" moon from our porch.

 

Big-horned neighbors

While we were out and about yesterday, we saw our big-horned neighbors a little closer than usual!

Planning on planting some seeds later this afternoon...mixed salad greens and spinach, a hill each of bush cukes and zucchini...and possibly some green beans. Meanwhile, my little seedlings in the yurt are growing like crazy, even the peppers and eggplants now!  Still too young to set out, but at this rate it won't be long.  These 80 degree days are pushing spring into high gear; if it would just rain, no telling what would happen! :)
 

First plants of the season!

Well, I swore I wasn't going to buy any plants...but I can never resist! So...two heirloom tomatoes, a grape tomato, two poblanos...Greek oregano, dill, lavender (I really can't resist lavender!)...plus marigolds and zinnias!

I promise I'll do everything else from seeds! :)

I'll do my herbs in pots again this year...they did pretty well last year.

And some bright spots! Zinnias and marigolds are two childhood favorites...I must be getting old. :)

Final step and the bed is ready!

I completed the soil portion of the raised bed today by adding eight 25-lb. bags of Moo-nure (organic compost and manure). So now it is ready for seeds!

And for a nice finishing touch...it is thundering and about to shower! 

I do love spring!! ♥

Another raised bed layer

Today was Operation Harvest Woods Floor! There are no-telling-how-many layers of decayed leaves out there so I figured there should be some good rich soil to be had. My only concern:  those pesky thorny vines. I really hope none of their roots stowed away in my cache!

 I also added some compost I had dumped out a few months ago when our composter got too full.

So,here's my wheelbarrow full of home-grown soil!

And here it is all spread out!
I plan to finish it out with a few bags of organic humus/manure/compost.

Here are two kinds of tomatoes and some basil that I started from organic seeds a while back. Still no sign of the Japanese eggplant or mixed color bell peppers, though. It *has* been rather chilly in the yurt, though, so maybe they'll come along in this warmer weather. (Note recycled growing containers. :)



OK...just one more thing.  Our very own red bud trees (in the woods just behind our house) are blooming more than I've ever seen them this year! Now, if we just had some goats to keep the undergrowth down!

Until next time! ♥

Progress on the Raised Bed

We took the mower and trailer out this afternoon and dug a load of sand from one of the sand banks on our land!  Nice having several acres to choose from. :)

I first covered the bottom of the bed with weed cloth.

 

Then we unloaded the sand and spread it to about and inch or inch and a half depth.  I'm thinking it will be good for drainage.

I'm actually just basing my bed "ingredients" on what I've read and otherwise improvising and experimenting.  Guess we'll find out if it works!

Tomorrow (hopefully--unless abject laziness takes over--and what are the odds??) I plan to see what I can find in the way of humus and dried leaves in our woods...lots to choose from there as well.

Ramblings

 

Out and about a little bit yesterday.  Saw one of those lovely bright spots created by a red bud in bloom!

And finally was able to get a photo of our neighborhood's littlest donkey ("Little Grey Donkey") and its companions!!

And, while being totally lazy indoors today, caught Eliot playing in our not-very-frequently-used toy corner.

Well, until later! ♥

Lazy days

Well, several lazy days have intervened...and not so lazy, actually. I started my interim gig as organist/choirmaster Sunday...that sort of tired me out! :) Then cooler weather, a necessary trip into town, another one tomorrow plus Ash Wednesday service.  So it will be Thursday before I get back to the raised bed project.

Meanwhile, things are greening up like crazy, the red buds are bright little spots of beauty in the otherwise mostly brown woods, time change is coming  this weekend. Oh, how I love spring!! ♥

Building the raised bed

After several tries at a garden, I finally gave up on our terrible soil. So today we built our first raised bed!  I decided to make this one 12" tall so I could perhaps use it as a cold frame, or at least get a really early start in the spring; it is on the south side of the house and quite sheltered. 

 I had to clear and level our 8x3 plot. (I was sweating it out later when we put the frame in to check for levels...I was spot on!! A true miracle, for sure!)

Here are most of our materials. (Our composter is in the background.)













Terry is putting together the frame. It is made from cedar 1x12s with doubled 2x3s in the corners and screwed together.

Now he is putting in 3/4 inch PVC pipe to hold the hoops over the top.

Next we attached wire mesh to the bottom...to deter all our little underground critters!

Trimming the excess wire mesh.

Here's the finished frame, complete with hoops (1/2 inch PEX tubing--it is more flexible than PVC and was a lucky find because we didn't have a clue what we were looking for!). We may cut them down some--right now it looks rather like a conestoga wagon! We'll either put plastic over the top and sides to protect from freezing or use shade cloth  in really hot weather. They are easily removable.





Tomorrow, if it isn't raining we'll start working on the soil!

Here I Go!

Starting a new adventure today! This is my first attempt at blogging but all retirees need hobbies, right? So I think I'll chronicle our life after sixty. It will include projects and activities out at the old homestead in Mountain Springs and hopefully some travels as well.

Spring is rapidly approaching and there are several projects afoot (Terry is so thrilled..).  I'll be back with details and pictures later.

Have a great day!