Before . . .

After!

I worked on my Pumpkin Patch last week and got the entrance finished.  Weeded, stone, mulched and planted 4 Lavender plants.  I’m hoping the Lavender will draw bees for pollination and if the Lavender does well maybe I’ll dry some for a Christmas project!?  I have to wait a bit longer for the pressure treated posts to dry before I can paint the whole thing and I’m choppin’ at the bit to paint it.  Hoping for lots of pumpkins this fall, because you need pumpkins for a “Harvest Party” and yes there will be a “Harvest Party”! 😉

So, here we go.  I’ve never planted pumpkins before.  I’ve read everything I could find, started them indoors & spoke nicely to them when I set them in their little dirt cups! I have the “Halloween Blend” orange and white & also a pack of “Jack-O-Lantern” seeds.  Pumpkin prayers welcomed!! LOL

One down, one to go!  In between rainy afternoons I put this garden bed together, just need to add some center supports.  I’ll have two – both will be 4’x8′ and 12″ deep.  I figured l should start with these and see how good my gardening skills are, lol.  After reading a ton of garden bed ideas on Pinterest, I decided to go with Douglas Fir, 2″x6″x8′ boards – 6 boards for each bed.  It freaked me out a bit reading on Pinterest how the pressure treated wood has chemicals and could leach into your soil so I went with untreated wood (HD says the pt wood is fine for garden beds).  It won’t last as long as PT wood but I figured I might be “done” with gardening by the time they rot, lol or I’ll change my mind and turn the garden area into a chicken coop, we’ll see.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When I bought my little farmhouse I thought this area next to the barn would be perfect for my veggie garden.  The sun is finally out so after work I decided to see how hard it would be to cut down the metal on the garden wall (the previous owners had this area built like fort knox to keep their killer dog in).  I got my gloves, my safety glasses and my wonderful new headphones.  These headphones are the best, thanks Diane & Brian!!!!  They’re noise reduction and have a build-in radio, LOVE!  I used a grinder (I borrowed from work) and a “cut-off” blade.  Once I got the hang of it, the grinder cut like butter, well kinda, lol.  My plan is to finish cutting the top half of the wall off to let more sunshine in and then possibly use “cattle panels”  (http://tinyurl.com/hc3mdqw) and some wood trim to finish it off.  Slowly but surely, lol. 😉

March 2, 2016

May 3, 2016

I’m so tickled my strawberries have survived the below freezing temps & 4 snow/rain storms since I planted them!!  They even have flower buds, Grandma Weaver would be proud 😉  So for those of you that are strawberry grower experts . . . should I pick those flowers off????  It seems like I read somewhere that you should pick the first flowers off????

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In between snow storms we’ve had some decent weather.  I’ve been working on my potting bench for awhile now and finally finished yesterday (more snow tomorrow).  The frame of the bench is from scrap wood in my yard leftover from the “addition”.  I only had to buy the fence pickets for the back and the 1×4’s for the top/bottom work space and the upper shelf.  I had leftover outdoor paint that I used on the 1×4’s and then I used some white Behr, Barn & Fence paint for the base & back.  I’m pretty tickled with myself – lol – this is my first building project and I love it!  A girl with power tools – the sky is the limit 😉   The link below was my inspiration that I found on Pinterest.  Thanks “Back Woods Cottage”!!

http://www.backwoodscottage.blogspot.com/2011/04/building-our-potting-bench-part-ii.html

As a Christian this is a special weekend.  I am thankful and grateful for everything Christ has done in my life.  Enjoy your family, be thankful for the small things, try not to take each other for granted, be kind to one another and in everything give thanks.  Happy Easter Family & Friends!! 😉

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I was outside painting my potting bench Tuesday after work in 70 degrees.  I woke up to a blizzard and below freezing temps yesterday!!  Airport closed, schools closed, work closed!!  We got 2′ of snow and it was crazy windy!!  I took the picture of the house on my way into work today, nice and sunny.  The other pics are from yesterday.  The weird pics are looking up to the roof from my front door, that snow is suspended off the roof line – crazy.  The doorway pic is snow piled up against my back door!  I’m hoping the front porch and walk will be melted when I get home, lol wouldn’t that be nice.