This is the time of year that I get really excited about gardening. Most likely this is because the memories of my failures of last year have paled during the winter and partly because there are green things sprouting all over the place all of their own volition. I have to remind myself that just because something is green and growing doesn’t necessarily mean it going to be a beneficial thing. Funny as it is even weeds can be inspiring.
It’s a sign of the coming spring and that makes me happy. It means we are close to planting and I need to get my seeds out, organized and started.
This year I plan on NOT failing my seedlings! A friend of mine has a greenhouse and has offered to start some seeds for me, since she is doing her own in there anyway. She says its as easy as flipping a switch when she goes out to do chores each day so I’m taking her up on it. I’ve got two flats of soil prepped and ready with the seeds. OH, HAPPINESS!
My sweet lover has also been in the mood for farming. He has gotten 2 loads of compost, and one load of manure, delivered and tilled into the ground.
Our lettuce be is sending up a handful of volunteers amongst the carrots we’ve planted, ‘and the peas and safely tucked in their beds. I am resisting the urge to go dig one up avery few hours to see if they’ve begun to sprout.
I’m hoping to keep up my enthusiasm and not sequester myself in the air-conditioned house once it gets really hot out there. For now, I refuse to think about those couple months of heat over a hundred degrees. For now, I’m happy in today, thankful for today.
Happy First Day of Spring!
Hello all you city folks that are dazzlingly jealous of my fresh crisp laundry! No ironing needed, btw!
This is the clothes-line that my sweet lover built for me. I’ve been wanting one for years and have had the wires hung up at different places, just draped here and there. It looked a little like white-trash (BTDT…. lol!) but I don’t care. It is sure nice to let the clothes dry in 45 minutes of clean, fresh, desert air, than it is to let them dry in 45 minutes of either our previous electric or now gas heated dryer. IT’S SO SO MUCH NICER.
So, we’ve been her for a few years without a line and I threatened to wrap the wires around the vinyl posts of the back patio. I threatened more than once or twice but never did it. This set-up with the poles is much nicer and won’t damage the posts. I’m thankful Wes had the time and materials to do some welding. Doesn’t it look great!?
The down-side to not having a manicured lawn is that if the wind blows any clothes off the line they get PRETTY dirty on the dusty, sandy ground. We do get some gusts too. Twice the wind has lifted our trampoline off the ground and set it down somewhere else. Yeah, I know! Unbelievable! I’m totally serious though. And yes it’s a full-sized trampoline.
So! I was thinking today about the things we buy out of convenience, since I don’t need dryer sheets anymore. I wondered how many things we could really do without, make do with what we have, or make ourselves with our already available resources. Such as lotion, shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, tissue, and toilet and other paper products for the home. I wondered how difficult it would be to incorporate more cloth items like feminine pads and diapers and baby wipes.
This laundry line is a baby step toward being more efficient with our resources, and more self-sufficient. I have many plans in the works and will share them as I go. Thanks for reading and pop in again.
Here’s the flower bed I put in a few summers ago. The irises are doing well. I’m really pleased with the way it’s turning out. Later in the summer the sage bushes will be flowering the prettiest dusky purple with honey bees buzzing all over it. I love it!
This is the trellis that Wes built for me for Mother’s Day last year. Shame on me! I haven’t sealed it yet. That was the deal: he built it, I was to seal it. I need to get some linseed oil soon!
This is our peach tree blossoming. Last year we had a cold spell that froze all the blossoms and we didn’t get a single peach. I’m hoping that we are past all that for this year. We’ve been watching the forecast just in case. The weather has been so nice, but we had a couple cold nights this week. For a few nights, we covered the trees with tarps and pulled extension cords to dangle a light bulb over a branch beneath the tarp, hoping to avoid the catastrophe of last year. Keeping our fingers crossed.
This is our lettuce bed. The rebar dome is for the plastic we used to create a mini greenhouse type of situation. Since lettuce is a cool weather plant we started it super early. Once it starts warming up in the desert it doesn’t stop. We’ll hit over a hundred degrees way too soon for lettuce to mature if we wait for the last frost date. Behind this box you can see the other boxes with beets, spinich and other misc. good things in the ground waiting to peep out. To the left you can see Wes watering the baby peas. YEAH!
I’m learning new things. I love to learn. I do. And, with all the home schooling we do around here there never seems to be an end to the opportunities for learning. I truly believe that it’s a lifestyle, if one can overcome the natural tendencies to act as if we know everything. Pride is so ugly. But I digress.
I’ve learned to make Kombucha. It’s a healthy drink made by fermenting sweetened organic black tea. Not difficult in the least. I was a bit intimidated to use a culture, goodness it doesn’t look nice, but does an excellent job. The resulting beverage tastes a bit beery, slightly sweet and is good for your liver.
Here’s a pic to let you see a glass:
Chas at My Cup Runneth Over has a wonderful tutorial in her Archives, if you are interested in giving it a try. She is also having a GIVEAWAY right now so head over and have a peak around her sight. Love you Chas!
I don’t know why children don’t like vegetables. Perhaps it is because they’ve never tasted them. Seth has been chewing on fresh veggies since he had teeth poking through his gums.
Here he is drinking some freshly made carrot juice.
Now that is one genuine smile. I don’t think I could have made him happier with a Hershey’s bar. And I’m sure he’s healthier for getting in all those lovely and necessary nutrients.
