Just doing, day 4.

Morning is a little rough for miss Vera. She’s grumpy and a little explosive, and so we take some time on the couch to relax and calm down. It works well!

We all have breakfast and head outside. I clean out the compost container.

Asa plays in my newly planted flowers…

I get eggs.

And I also discover a summer squash! A new variety this year- Ronde de Nice. I think I picked it a little early, but I’m just so smitten. I’m going to have lots of fun stuffing these little guys.

 
I put together some extra supports for our pole beans with what we’ve got hanging around. Old trellises work just fine.

 
We talked about where/how to cure our garlic, and I decide not to hang it from the beams of the awning like we wanted to, because we don’t want to have to get a ladder out to manage them. I thought that repurposing some of the leftover white fencing we have would work for all the things we will be drying/curing throughout the season. So we prop one up under the awning and it’s perfect!

 
I tie up the garlic in bundles of ten and hang them from the new drying rack.

 
11 bundles all together, and enough leftover to send home with our friend who helped us today. We are happy because we think that will last us through the year with enough to plant too. 

 
I trim the lilac. There are a lot of dead/sick branches.


 

It’s a really hot day, so Vera swims and we wade.

 
We discover poison ivy by the clothesline, and so we cover it up with cardboard- soon to be covered with lots of wood chips.

 
I weed my herb bed.

 
Asa goes down for a nap, so I take the opportunity to work on the front yard. More smothering the grass with newspaper and then mulch.

 
We decide to use straw for the walkways, at least temporarily. This means that I have to move the mulch that I already laid into other areas and replace it with the straw. 

 
I’m happy with the contrast. I think the straw will be nice, especially after it settles a little.


 

I plant this shrub in the corner and then mulch that whole area.

 
Then I work on the other side of the front yard.


 

Only one more section to do tomorrow.

 
Plant a butterfly bush by the street sign in a little full sun patch.

 
I went to the backyard to see what Jeff and our friend did while I  was out front. Jeff finished the cucumber/melon trellises, and they mulched some of the walkways! 


 

We order pizza. Bacon and pineapple. It’s perfect and feels well deserved.

 
I take a bath with the kids…

 
… and come out to a peaceful and picked up house. Love that guy.

 
Jeff puts Vera to bed, and Asa and I go out to check on the chickens again. There’s one more egg. Asa loves the chickens.

 
I am coming to terms with having to use the cheesy wire fencing around these new beds. They are just not kid/dog proof. I’m not sure what a good solution is, but this is fine for now.

I think things are looking better than I thought they would.   🙂

 

We go inside and Asa starts playing with Vera’s "Big Sister Doll", and he keeps saying "Bay ba. Bay ba!" This fills me with gratitude and makes me think about this time last year.

 
Feed the fish.

The rest of my night is going to be hanging out with my love watching True Blood and munching on cold pizza. I’m tired!

 
Gracie
Gracie

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