Hi friends,
It's raining cats and dogs, so I thought I'd stop in at the shed
and document the latest changes.
Since I last wrote; we said goodbye to our cows again.
Although Spring grass had started coming on; it's time to start
buying hay again and because of last year's drought we pretty
much have lost our shirts. $ in the hole that is...
going backwards, downwards, upside down and
inside out.
What a losing proposition.
Myguy added things up when getting ready for tax season
and nearly checked out.
As in an "I'm coming to join you Edith," thing.
I think it hurt me more than him when loading them all day
and hauling to the salebarn.
Didn't think that was possible but I think he's just "over it all."
Least til he retires. Maybe then with more time things could be different-
Maybe? The truth is; for us... feeding cows year round and having to buy skyhigh
hay is just not something we can afford.
So... we no longer have cattle.
The day after selling them; it was weird looking out at that great
big empty pasture. At the same time it was a lighter feelin too.
The cost to feed them was a burden.
Last I wrote here I was dreamin, schemin, and trying hard to plot out
my planting for the new growing season.
I found a photo of a garden bed alot like this and Myguy
said he could make me one!
So here was the start.
Dirt was a big problem because our soil around here - is mainly reddish clay.
We talked to a neighbor who wanted good soil for their garden too and they have a friend who let us get some
off his land in the Hartman bottoms. Myguy did the hauling for both of us with a dump truck so that worked out great. Much darker and richer soil.
He was able to unload it on this end and then we used shovels to move it to the other side.
You can see on the far end we bent a cattle panel over the top so cucumbers can grow
overhead. I got it all planted and the next morning walked out there and our cats
had a party in it all night long looked like. Grrrrr.
We put netting all the way around it and then he remembered this door he'd made along
time ago for our old chicken coop. It fits perfect! It's still just wired on for now but kept the cats out last night.
I'm a little surprised and wondered if they'd just climb the posts and jump in? Maybe the rain is what deterred them; not sure.
Next Myguy is going to cut the old hinges off the door and replace them to get it all working.
As of now we have onions, beets, carrots, potatoes, snap peas, cucumbers, petunias and lobelia planted in the bed.
Last night we got a bit more mulch put down and then ran out.
It just doesn't go as far as you'd like.
On the rest of the garden I wish we could use straw but finding it with a guarantee
that herbicide wasn't used on it... well... isn't anything I'm willing to risk unless it's
from someone I know.
Been there done that and learned a hard lesson.
Any other garden news:
wisteria is blooming it's head off.
The bees are sooo happy.
Hummingbirds have arrived too.
I think if I was a cat I'd sleep right there too.
Would you?
I've never seen so many blossoms ontop of this roof before.
Usually they all dangle down.
Wish you could smell their fragrance.
It's nearly intoxicating.
Spending so much time in the greenhouse inspired a few changes.
Lately the color green has been grabbing me.
Different shades of green too that I've never been attracted to before.
At a flea market I picked up this freshly upholstered chair.
Pink roses are always a no brainer for me but that green too in the leaves?
For some reason... I've been gravitating towards it. SO...
time to paint. It's a fast and fairly inexpensive way to make a
change. I chose all three of the larger chips here. Top to bottom: Plant stem, fresh moss, and wild thyme. I got a quart of each and have no idea yet what I'll paint which color but-
I think I'll repaint my desk, an antique possum belly cupboard, plant stand and a little ladder in the green house. For so long now I've been on the aqua/turq train and while I still love it... just needed
a fresh, new, earthy nature inspired boost. And I still think mulch brown and robins egg blue
look pretty good with green. We'll see?
Another project before long is to make a new fountain inside a washtub.
We looked at some reproduction style pumps but they're always painted red it seems like.
Myguy found this old rusty one and old n rusty is more "us." lol
He still wants to make some kind of a stand for the pump to set it on and then we can
get started on that.
This little piano bench was inside the greenhouse and still had the box part on the seat?
A board was set on top of it and the veneer on the bottom of the seat was peeling apart.
Ants discovered it was a great home and when I lifted the board a billion of them came marching out with eggs.
I ran it outside and ended up taking a shovel to the veener and busted it all out.
--- Then decided to plant it.
Didn't have a coconut basket that would fit so stapled chicken wire and screen in a basket
shape and layered some old hay in the bottom then potting mix.
The hay came from a field I know wasn't sprayed and so it worked as a safe liner.
Besides the new bed; I ended up tilling the other side of the garden even
though I'd been avoiding doing so. Got pole beans planted on this teepee and
now waiting to get the rest of the tomatoes in before laying barrier and mulch.
Hopefully things will dry out some this coming week.
You know what they say bout April showers though.
Hard to complain when flowers are involved.
Lilies have come back to life in the goldfish pond.
Remember the rootball mess we pulled out of there?
Really wasn't completely sure what I'd saved was lilies and instead was
the other junk we disliked. But definitely lilies.
Then we spotted these at Lowes. The color looks almost salmony.
I hope they are!
These seeds are also a new thing.
Another friend surprised my grand daughter and I with two little
ceramic chicks for her to play with and these heirloom morning glory seeds.
We will plant them together around the mud kitchen!
This was taken today.
My angelmother's peonies are sooo close to bloomin!
Allium gifted years ago now from my friend at Sparrowgrass are also blooming.
Don't you just love sharing seeds and flowers with others?
I cherish the ones my friends have gifted me.
To walk out in your garden and remember the person who sent you a plant start
....oh happysigh.
And this other surprise came in my mail this week from a sweet friend!- this stack of antique books.
We had to have a photo shoot. :)
This one is entitled the Coloured Language of Flowers!
What lovely old books!!!
--and what a thoughtful sweet friend!
Guess I better go check on the baby guineas and sign off.
When I looked in on them this morning two were missing.
They're still living in the box in the back room of a shed and two had flown
out of the box and were sitting in a corner of the building. eeek.
An old window screen is over the box now but one end is still open so they
may have flown the coop again. They've started buckwheating too now finding their voices.
I've missed that sound!
Sorry this got long winded.
Thanks for spending your time with me here at the
potting shed.
Have a wonderful day!
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