Garden Plant Markers

I recieved a few beautiful boquets this Mother's Day and those flowers make our home so cheery, I felt very loved. But one boquet in particuflar has been immediately useful outside! These sweet home made garden markers from my friend Jenn went strait out to the garden and have spruced things out there! Thank You, Dear Friend!

Fire Hazard

E left her lampshade askew, and this is what we found a few hours later...very good reminder.

Garlic in the Ground, Tree's in the Trailer

Stopped by my neighborhood nursery and found a few things that got me out in the yard for most of the day. Inchelium Red Garlic, a Gravenstein Apple tree and a 4-way Combination Pear (Highland, Red Bartlett, Conference, Bartlett, Anjou). I love replacing useless trees with food trees; we took out a few ornamental's that had either died or were driving me nuts and quickly divided up the heads of garlic and planted for some good eating next year!

Chicken Prison

I've mentioned before that the gals just haven't been getting along. They're catty yes, but I think I was trying to make them all live in a smaller space than they deserved. Our original coop was built with the idea that we'd only ever have 3 chickens, and since then we've added 3 more birds, and a little more room...but in retrospect not enough. I was frequently jolted awake by squawking in the early hours of the morning to free them. I have even considered giving one or two of the trouble makers away to make my life easier, but then we wouldn't be getting 1/2 a dozen eggs a day, and I've gotten used to that. Thankfully D easily saw my predicament and took an entire day off, rented some equipment, bought the necessary supplies in order to build what he now affectionately calls "Chicken Prison." I love him for this new addition. Its walls are high enough (over 7 feet) so that those nit-whits cannot fly over, and the fence itself is not ugly, I think it looks a little like a zoo exhibit, myself. I love going out and collecting eggs and feeding them now, they're even letting me sleep in!

N watched his dad from the play structure

the gals were freaked by the noise

large post holes next to old fence

the digger

posts in

cross beams on

door together

Ivy hiding

helping

adding the chicken wire

the inmates

finished product

Less Tree = More Sun

Remember a few short monthes ago when I posted this? Well my garden is even happier today. My dad came over again armed with a 50 foot lift and a chainsaw on a pole.

Hello sun.

Thank you Dad.

Anyone need free firewood?

Leaving the Livingroom; Bye Bye Carpet :: Part 4

Well, our scheduled day to remove the remaining carpet in our living room was quickly shoved forward a few days due to an unforeseen...shall we say ingestive/digestive problem with Molly and my son's diaper?

Yup.

The kids hiding under the displaced coffee table

If I never see another strip of carpet tack...

Anyhow, the offensive bits had to be removed as soon a possible so armed with my trusty pry bar off to work I set at 1pm, a quick break at 3 to pick E up from Summer Camp, then back at it until supper. After D arrived home from work we successfully removed everything (living room and kid's room) by midnight. The bare floors look and feel great. We are tired, but happy.

inch by inch

Due to the terribly disgusting nature of what I witnessed you, dear reader will not be subject to any beforehand photo's, you just get to see the shiny after shots!

only hardwoods

Starting in on the Main Floor; Bye-Bye Carpet :: Part 2

I get the 'pull-the-carpet-up' bug just about every Tuesday evening after supper. The trash is collected on Wednesday morning, and I just cannot stand to see a half empty trash barrel (like my Massachusetts lingo Tan?) go to the curb. So on go my work gloves (that also double as my garden gloves) and out come the pry bars and pliers.  Last week it was the majority of our second staircase, and we started on the main floor this week.  I have to be strategic tho because I don't want to pull up more than will reasonably fit in the container at the street, and I don't want our house to look any more crazy than it already does.

Last night I yanked the 4.5 x 7 foot section at the top of the stairs. I carefully cut along the areas that butt up to the hall, the entrance to the family room, and also kitchen.  Then I pulled the padding, and then the painstaking job of getting each staple and nail.  As you will see, my assistant was not so thorough...see that bit of tacking with the 2 nails sticking out...D knelt on it and they completely sunk into his left knee...and then he was sent for a Tetanus shot today.

Tho she still prefers to lay down on the quickly disappearing carpet, Molly hasn't seemed too phased by this new slick surface and I just love hearing her clickity-clicking on the wood as she follows me around.

The wood underneath is not perfect, there are a few dents and scars that I will worry about when we refinish, but I say; "Imperfect wood looks better than dirty carpet, any day."

Poppies

E has become fast friends with a little girl around the corner from us, Megan. Yesterday her mom got out canvas's and paint for the girlies to use, and now I have new artwork for the playroom!

One Step, Two Step; Bye-Bye Carpet :: Part 1

Yesterday morning I came home to dirty stairs. I'll be the first to admit it...they are often dirty. It's a high traffic area that leads from the outside, and stairs are the worst to vacuum! Between kids and the dog there's just no getting around it, even when I've hired professionals to come in...it lasts a month or so and then it's embarrassingly disgusting again. Anyhow, the ongoing conversation in my head got the better of me..."I don't want to vacuum these, I just wanna tear out the carpet and be done with it."

I did it.

Slow and steady though, I'm just doing one at a time. First I rip off the carpet, then the pad, next I start in with the pliers and pull all the huge staples, and then attack the strip of wood with all the tiny nails that keeps everything in place with a crowbar.

The stairs are hardwood, in fact our entire house has hardwood under the carpet, save the dinning room, kitchen and bathrooms. It's not in pristine condition, but far outweighs the condition of our carpet. The only worry is that it may make things a little trickier for Molly, but we can work on that when need be. So this will be the summer of bare floors! Step by step.

Timber!

I have been desperately seeking ways to increase the sun in our yard. My garden is struggling, and moss is taking over the lawn and now our roof! I had someone come over and give an estimate to skirt this 90+ footer and 2 other trees (we have 6 huge evergreens on our lot), but short of robbing a bank we just can't pull it off right now. So, I talked my dad into coming over to trim a few of the lowest limbs on our gigantic fir tree in the front. It has made such a difference in the light that reaches into our living room and my brain, and now hopefully to my veggies! Thanks Papa!

before

after

Lil Helper

D's been expanding our coop to my specifications, and a Little Mister is eager to help.

My Urban Homestead

I've really been into this book for about, well, a year I guess. I've checked it out from the library a handful of times and it was just time to buy it. I have grandiose dreams of my yard turning into the diagram below:

So orderly, so logical. Grow what you eat. It makes sense. What are you inspired to do this growing season?

Garden Happy

Today was the day. Got together my seeds (thanks Jenn Hall), my accumulated toilet paper rolls (thanks Erica), soil, my dog and girl and set to work! IT was magic. All of us sitting in the sun, the chickens pecking around, and my hands in the dirt.

seeds!

filling tubes

everything organized

Even weeds are cheerful sometimes

Moll's

Seeds!

I'm starting to see my mail order seed catalogues pile up!  I love this time of year, kind of feel like it's my late Christmas!  I've been scoping out the garden, trying to figure out where I can expand, making up lists of veggies our family will readily eat, and then adding a few exotic ones I wanna try.  I'm really crossing my fingers we have a more consistently warmer summer this year, I plan on spending our weeks outside.  I am also crossing my fingers to at the very least thin out 3 of our gi-normous fir trees (would really love to just get rid of them) to get at some of that heat and light down in the side yard.  I also bought a really mini portable greenhouse to get a jump start on, well, starts and am hoping to try my hand at building a cloche.

What type of gardening are you hoping to do this Spring and Summer?

The Rocky Theme Song

Can you hear it?

I finished the garden today!  After I tenderly placed the last start (chives), I brushed the dirt from my knees and gloves, & punched my fist into the air as those celebratory trumpets bugled inside my head.  I did a little dance in my gray hooded sweatshirt, pumped my fists in front of me and shouted "Woo-Hooo!"  Of course we're not even close to done, there's lots of maintenance and tending to do, but the hard labor of digging and tilling is so over.  Now I can get back to being a bit of an inside mommy, and planning our chicken coop!

Keeping an Eye on Me

N likes to snack from his little roost behind me and belly laughs as I toss handfuls of turf into the wheelbarrow, or rev up the engine on the rototiller after I've cleared a section for planting.

I decided to leave a little walking strip between the two beds; something interesting to break things up and I can always rip it out if I run outa room...Although looking at it from this vantage point, I'm seeing that I probably didn't leave myself enough clearance for the lawnmower...(sigh).

Carrots, Cuc's & Sunflowers

This morning I had some extra help out in the dirt, while N slept.  E's been home sick for the last 2 days due to a sore throat, and her cousin Mabel get's to come and hang with us on Friday's again!  With their help I was able to extend the bed another 2 feet out, and sow carrot seeds, cucumbers and giant sunflowers!

Tomorrow:
potato's
bush beans
pumpkins
lettuce