It has been quite awhile since I have done a weekend in review post, so I thought I would do one since I am, you know, posting every day this month! :)
Oh my goodness! Spring is simply stunning this year, and today Ornery and I spent a whole day playing outside in the back yard. HE would say we were working, but honestly, when a day is as beautiful as this one was, I am pretty sure it was a pleasure to be outside, no matter what we were doing. And what were we doing?
I am so glad you asked! We were getting our backyard ready for the summer. We turned the soil in the two raised vegetable beds, transplanted four mature nandina bushes to a spot outside my studio window, moved around some pots and transplanted a few perennials that had managed to winter over in pots.
Ornery unclogged his staple gun (a procedure that took so long I thought he had gotten lost or something) and used it around four raised beds to get the landscape fabric up off the ground. The highlight of his day was using his cordless drill to hang the rain gauge on the fence. I swept, raked, hoed, shoveled, bent over and over and over... and boy am I feeling a winter of inactivity! Anyway, we got about 75% of the work out there finished, and even planted some little seedlings courtesy of my sweet daughter who has been ever so faithfully watering them every day since Valentine's Day. I planted six tomatoes and two zucchini squash plants. :) I also transplanted three herbs that had over-wintered. I am using one 4X8' bed for vegetables and the other one for herbs. Next weekend we will finish all the planting, and hopefully get some fresh mulch down on the bed we removed the nandinas from.
Yesterday we went grocery shopping and worked a little bit in the front yard--I planted a few new perennial flowers I picked up at Whole Foods--and Ornery mowed. He had just finished with the mower and was getting the weed eater out when the skies opened up. It was great sleeping weather, so we had a nap, which kept us awake much later into the night than we are used to, so we ended up sleeping in this morning.
The other news is that I am now in possession of my old van again. Ornery is not thrilled because it is pretty much a heap of junk, but it is wheels and it does run, so I now have a bit of freedom to come and go while he is at work. It has been almost four years (?) since I have driven, and I can't say I had missed it at all until Ornery was gone for a whole week and I couldn't get my mail! :( Very sad. Anyway, Elizabeth and Michael brought it over Saturday so now I can't use the excuse of "I don't have a car" anymore. Not that I ever offer excuses... :)
Rain is in the forecast for the next five days. Thursday we have an appointment with the county tax assessor's office to contest their property valuation on our rental property. Boy, I sure hope they lower the taxes on it!
And that's been our weekend. It was nice!
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Signs of Spring
I suppose there are those who hate to see winter end, but I do not count myself among their number. The signs grow more evident every day that we have seen the end of winter's frigid temperatures. Yesterday it was 75 degrees (F) and typical for the season, windy. Here are a few of the things we saw...
Some baby bunnies in one of my barrel flower pots
Rembrandt Tulips on my back porch
Parrot Tulip-- only one is blooming as several of the bulbs heaved out of the dirt. :(
My "Fairy Garden" filled with miniature flowers.
Trays of seedlings under grow lights in my garden room...
More seedlings, or as Elizabeth calls them, "seedies." Ornery calls them "weedies." :D
The front flower bed sporting all sorts of spring flowers; pansies, creeping phlox, daffodils, crocus, blue-grape hyacinths, violas and in a few days the scabiosa will be open! :)
And, late in the afternoon we had our first round of spring foul weather. Tornado sirens were on and off for a couple of hours while a huge storm that went through threatened to drop tornadoes on us. Nearby areas had softball sized hail, and parts of Tulsa had trees down. We don't have or watch TV so didn't see the extent of the storm or the aftermath, but Elizabeth said there were some big trees down near her part of town. Always sad to see that. She had golf-ball sized hail and high winds, but we just had a little bit of pea sized hail, some high straight winds and about 1/2 inch of rain. Ornery's sister said there were tornadoes in her area, and we did see some cloud rotation here, but it never dropped down. After the storm passed, the temperature sure did drop, though. Brr!
You can sort of see the last of the blossoms on the Bradford Pear trees in our neighbors' yards. They didn't last long this year, maybe a week. All I'm lacking for the sure sign that spring is here are the flowers on the redbud trees--and the buds are nearly ready to open. THAT is spring in Oklahoma to me!
You can sort of see the last of the blossoms on the Bradford Pear trees in our neighbors' yards. They didn't last long this year, maybe a week. All I'm lacking for the sure sign that spring is here are the flowers on the redbud trees--and the buds are nearly ready to open. THAT is spring in Oklahoma to me!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
A Little of This and That
Life is clipping right along around these parts. Spring seems to have settled into place, the first daffodil is ready to open any day, the clocks are all set to a new time an hour later and we are gradually adjusting our sleep schedules to match the clocks. Ornery woke up at 2:00 AM yesterday, and decided to start the day--may as well, no more sleep would be happening with the big dog barking all night right outside our bedroom window. I finally broke down and wrote a letter to them yesterday and am hopeful they will do something about the dog soon, but if not, I am prepared to begin keeping a log of bark-fests to present to the court. What a pain.
So, you may be wondering what we have been up to around here... Well, I've done a few art projects, finished off the last of my Swap-bot swaps for March, and written a few of my A to Z blog posts. I decided that while I won't quit altogether, I am going to cut way back on swapping my art--it is in many ways the same as giving it for free. I don't think I am "all that" that I can charge a fortune for my creations, but neither do I think my art has no value. It is one of a long line of perspectives that I am working on changing, and it has always been a struggle to ask to be paid for something I made.
Elizabeth has been busily planting seeds and comes by each day to praise their progress. It's fun to hear her sing out to them each day, "Morning seedies!!" I confess to having absolutely no interest in gardening yet this year. My focus seems to be on other things, and I think that is okay. That said, I really don't know what she has planted...
The tray on the far right has been planted the longest (almost a month), the two on the left are just from this past weekend--so those little bits of green were seeds three days ago. She bought a LOT of new flower seeds, and quite a few herbs. I hope she maintains her enthusiasm for the garden, because mine is still hibernating.
Last Wednesday when we were snowed in, Ornery and I began reading aloud Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker. We spent several hours that day, and have continued to work our way through it a bit each day since then. We should be done reading it for the first time by this weekend. We have also signed up and made hotel reservations to attend a Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar, and been faithfully following the advice in the book, in as much as we are able.
It is time consuming and emotionally intensive to address long held beliefs and take the steps to alter those thought patterns. However, it is another step in the progression of the goals we set at the beginning of the year, and we are both on-board with the plan. It seems when we are both in agreement with anything, we make serious progress, so it is exciting to consider the future and what it may hold in store for us.
Our ultimate goal at the beginning of the year was to replace Ornery's income at his job with self-employment and/or passive income. We thought to do it with real estate, but it requires much more investment capital than we have been able to secure, so we are taking some different paths. So far we haven't made any money, but we have learned a LOT and I think we are moving in the right direction. Time will tell, but we aren't quite through with the first quarter of the year and we can already see that things are aligning to bring about the changes we seek.
We have both continued to maintain a lot of the routine we set for ourselves in January. We know that success in the financial arena will require that we have good health and stamina, so part of our daily routine has been to spend time doing the sauna, exercising and eating for health. We have gone a couple of weeks now without eating wheat, and Ornery says he has lost about 5 lbs. so far. We are also still having a quiet time each morning, reading from the Proverbs, Psalms and two different Bible study books depending on the time we have. We are fairly consistent (more so lately) in our nightly journaling exercise wherein we track the daily activities that will bring us closer to our goals.
One of the quotes by Jim Rohn that has really helped us to focus is, "If it's easy to do it is also easy not to do." Doing those little "easy" things every day makes change and will create the lifestyle we seek. But it isn't possible to just do something once and establish a habit or change core beliefs--it is by repetition every day that will achieve success. Easy to do, but easy not to do. And life is so DAILY!
This is the longest period of time we have been able to maintain our momentum, and that is really encouraging to us both. We have been able to remind each other of the potential benefits, and have had some really deep discussions and addressed some heretofore unknown issues in ourselves. I would say the last month has been one of the most rewarding times relationally we have ever had. And that is saying something because we have always had a very close relationship!
Mom came over yesterday to work a couple of jigsaw puzzles. I had intended to write blog posts for April all afternoon, but it was good to spend time with her. One never knows how long we'll have with family, so it seems wise to use the time we do have to build good memories. I know she must get lonely, as well. It is unimaginable to think how I would cope without my beloved Ornery.
So, now you are up-to-date with us! The days are rushing along like a speeding train, and April will be here before we know it. My goal is to have all my blog posts for April written by Friday, catch up on all my correspondence over the weekend, and begin in earnest to write my book next week. I realize how important it is to carve out large blocks of time to work uninterrupted, so I have decided to treat it like a job. I ordered new business cards to take to the Millionaire Mind Intensive, and for my profession/title I listed artist and author. I'd like to have a good body of work under my proverbial belt before I have to face someone and claim my titles face-to-face!
So, you may be wondering what we have been up to around here... Well, I've done a few art projects, finished off the last of my Swap-bot swaps for March, and written a few of my A to Z blog posts. I decided that while I won't quit altogether, I am going to cut way back on swapping my art--it is in many ways the same as giving it for free. I don't think I am "all that" that I can charge a fortune for my creations, but neither do I think my art has no value. It is one of a long line of perspectives that I am working on changing, and it has always been a struggle to ask to be paid for something I made.
Elizabeth has been busily planting seeds and comes by each day to praise their progress. It's fun to hear her sing out to them each day, "Morning seedies!!" I confess to having absolutely no interest in gardening yet this year. My focus seems to be on other things, and I think that is okay. That said, I really don't know what she has planted...
Last Wednesday when we were snowed in, Ornery and I began reading aloud Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T Harv Eker. We spent several hours that day, and have continued to work our way through it a bit each day since then. We should be done reading it for the first time by this weekend. We have also signed up and made hotel reservations to attend a Millionaire Mind Intensive seminar, and been faithfully following the advice in the book, in as much as we are able.
It is time consuming and emotionally intensive to address long held beliefs and take the steps to alter those thought patterns. However, it is another step in the progression of the goals we set at the beginning of the year, and we are both on-board with the plan. It seems when we are both in agreement with anything, we make serious progress, so it is exciting to consider the future and what it may hold in store for us.
Our ultimate goal at the beginning of the year was to replace Ornery's income at his job with self-employment and/or passive income. We thought to do it with real estate, but it requires much more investment capital than we have been able to secure, so we are taking some different paths. So far we haven't made any money, but we have learned a LOT and I think we are moving in the right direction. Time will tell, but we aren't quite through with the first quarter of the year and we can already see that things are aligning to bring about the changes we seek.
We have both continued to maintain a lot of the routine we set for ourselves in January. We know that success in the financial arena will require that we have good health and stamina, so part of our daily routine has been to spend time doing the sauna, exercising and eating for health. We have gone a couple of weeks now without eating wheat, and Ornery says he has lost about 5 lbs. so far. We are also still having a quiet time each morning, reading from the Proverbs, Psalms and two different Bible study books depending on the time we have. We are fairly consistent (more so lately) in our nightly journaling exercise wherein we track the daily activities that will bring us closer to our goals.
One of the quotes by Jim Rohn that has really helped us to focus is, "If it's easy to do it is also easy not to do." Doing those little "easy" things every day makes change and will create the lifestyle we seek. But it isn't possible to just do something once and establish a habit or change core beliefs--it is by repetition every day that will achieve success. Easy to do, but easy not to do. And life is so DAILY!
This is the longest period of time we have been able to maintain our momentum, and that is really encouraging to us both. We have been able to remind each other of the potential benefits, and have had some really deep discussions and addressed some heretofore unknown issues in ourselves. I would say the last month has been one of the most rewarding times relationally we have ever had. And that is saying something because we have always had a very close relationship!
Mom came over yesterday to work a couple of jigsaw puzzles. I had intended to write blog posts for April all afternoon, but it was good to spend time with her. One never knows how long we'll have with family, so it seems wise to use the time we do have to build good memories. I know she must get lonely, as well. It is unimaginable to think how I would cope without my beloved Ornery.
So, now you are up-to-date with us! The days are rushing along like a speeding train, and April will be here before we know it. My goal is to have all my blog posts for April written by Friday, catch up on all my correspondence over the weekend, and begin in earnest to write my book next week. I realize how important it is to carve out large blocks of time to work uninterrupted, so I have decided to treat it like a job. I ordered new business cards to take to the Millionaire Mind Intensive, and for my profession/title I listed artist and author. I'd like to have a good body of work under my proverbial belt before I have to face someone and claim my titles face-to-face!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Garden Update: Peas Gone Wild!
The aquaponics garden is finally doing great! We seem to have the ants fairly well under control, and the fish are fertilizing the plants. We are on a regular schedule for adding chelated iron to the system, and we have the lights adjusted (mostly) to accommodate the various heights of the plants.
This photo is standing in the NW corner of the room in front of the window. We call this Bed 1. It has broccoli, carrots, cabbage, onions, chard and zucchini planted in it. This was the bed with the worst ant infestation. We still see a few in there, but they are not building a super highway like they were. The weight on the board in the middle of the bed is to hold the media guard in place. The growstones are VERY lightweight, and when the water fills the beds the stones float, causing the guard to lift from the bottom. Several stones had migrated into the sump tank before we figured out a workable solution. The weights were supposed to be a temporary fix while we came up with something a little prettier, but it appears they are permanent fixtures!
We planted more seeds (direct sow) of the same things in this bed on Sunday, and yesterday we already had some sprouts!
This is bed 3 containing lettuce, two tomato plants, three basil, marjoram, stevia, celery and more carrots. The minibell tomato plant has several blooms on it already. The other (gypsy) is pretty flimsy. I am thinking we may need to put a fan on it to strengthen the stem. Ornery put a stake in there for the basil and this tomato plant. These photos were taken on Sunday, and already things are bigger and healthier looking.
These are my blue lake green beans on Sunday. They are loaded with blooms and already several little beans are popping out! How fun!! In the foreground you can see the snow peas we planted first back in March. We have trimmed them several times to get rid of the bleached out leaves which appear when the iron level drops too low. They still don't have any blooms, but...
they have grown above the lights and are bumping the ceiling! Crazy things!
These are garden peas, and there are some very cute little pea pods showing. If you click on the photo you should be able to see some. :)
These next photos are of some of the outdoor beds. We have lots of containers on the patio, including this cedar box filled with herbs. Cilantro, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram, Corsican and regular Basil.
In another of those cedar boxes which Ornery built legs for to keep the rabbits out of we planted all the strawberry plants I had in one pot last summer. They didn't produce last year because of the aforementioned rabbits, but they are loaded with blooms and berries right now, so hopefully we have hit upon a solution!
This next one is a photo of part of the patio. We have hanging baskets and numerous pots, plus the two new raised flower beds along the edge. It's mixed as to how well things are doing, some are great, some not so hot, but overall, I think once it warms up, we should have a pretty display of a wide variety of colors and textures. I have mostly planted perennial plants, but there are some annuals mixed in because I just can't seem to pass them up!
This is our columbine from last year. It did great all year last year, and is almost giddy this year producing even better than last. It is very happy in this spot on the patio.
Against my better judgment, we piled straw all over the beds to help protect against weeds and keep the moisture in. Unfortunately, the straw (wheat) has sprouted prodigiously (which happened last time and was the reason I didn't really want to use it for mulch) and has sort of hidden the various plants so I don't really know how they are doing. It has also provided a haven for the blasted rabbits to hide in, and they have burrowed in two of my vegetable beds. :( Not a happy gardener. I have a renewed appreciation for Mr. McGregor of Peter Rabbit fame. You can be assured we will be waging war on the little furry fiends. They aren't as destructive as some other critters, but it is hard enough to garden while battling the weather without added complications!
We planted more seeds (direct sow) of the same things in this bed on Sunday, and yesterday we already had some sprouts!
These next photos are of some of the outdoor beds. We have lots of containers on the patio, including this cedar box filled with herbs. Cilantro, Sage, Oregano, Thyme, Marjoram, Corsican and regular Basil.
In another of those cedar boxes which Ornery built legs for to keep the rabbits out of we planted all the strawberry plants I had in one pot last summer. They didn't produce last year because of the aforementioned rabbits, but they are loaded with blooms and berries right now, so hopefully we have hit upon a solution!
This next one is a photo of part of the patio. We have hanging baskets and numerous pots, plus the two new raised flower beds along the edge. It's mixed as to how well things are doing, some are great, some not so hot, but overall, I think once it warms up, we should have a pretty display of a wide variety of colors and textures. I have mostly planted perennial plants, but there are some annuals mixed in because I just can't seem to pass them up!
This is our columbine from last year. It did great all year last year, and is almost giddy this year producing even better than last. It is very happy in this spot on the patio.
Against my better judgment, we piled straw all over the beds to help protect against weeds and keep the moisture in. Unfortunately, the straw (wheat) has sprouted prodigiously (which happened last time and was the reason I didn't really want to use it for mulch) and has sort of hidden the various plants so I don't really know how they are doing. It has also provided a haven for the blasted rabbits to hide in, and they have burrowed in two of my vegetable beds. :( Not a happy gardener. I have a renewed appreciation for Mr. McGregor of Peter Rabbit fame. You can be assured we will be waging war on the little furry fiends. They aren't as destructive as some other critters, but it is hard enough to garden while battling the weather without added complications!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
An Aquaponics Update
Including these that have had to be removed from the rack because they wanted to climb on everything!!
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Peas are Planted...
We put the peas from the grow rack into one of the aquaponics garden beds on Thursday night. Friday I took this photo; some had already grasped the strings we hung for them to climb on. :)
Dave is plumbing in the last bed this afternoon, and yesterday we planted seeds: in soil, on paper towels for the aquaponics garden, and broadcast into the grow stones. Theoretically they will sprout and come up just like they would in soil. Here's hoping! :)
Monday, February 24, 2014
Weekend in Review: A Lotta Dirt!
"Look, Ma! The seeds are UP!!" In fact they are so tall, we had to raise the light a couple of links! Elizabeth is over the moon excited about how well these little guys are doing. Even the ones she planted last week are almost all up. If we end up harvesting 1/2 of what we've planted, we are going to need to find an outlet for the excess!
There are two more trays on the shelf below that are just getting started well. The seed starting mix she got is amazing, but I am sure things are helped along by her twice daily conversations with them, urging them to "come along, little seedies!" :)
So, here is the report on the indoor garden: Not much happened there, except the fish tank is now filled. We had to buy a shower filter to add to the garden hose to filter out the chlorine, and I imagine there are many other substances in the city water that won't be helpful to the occupants of the system--plants or fishies.
Ornery's mom joined us on Friday for a puzzle working session and to buy me dinner to celebrate my birthday. She was quite awed by the whole system Ornery has going in the garden room, and told his sister she needed to come see. So, Saturday morning she and Monty came by for a little look-see. After they left, the dirt hauling commenced.
Elizabeth and Michael brought over their own shovel and wheel barrow, and the three of them shoveled, and dumped, raked and repeated for a long time on Saturday, then came back for a second dose of torture on Sunday. In all they moved 7 YARDS of dirt off the driveway and into five newly built beds,
places on the lawn that needed a bit of leveling out,
and the last remaining bit into the front flower bed, which is awaiting some terracing and a general overhaul.
It looks like some giant moles have been at work out there! I bet Ornery is a little more careful next time he guess-timates how much soil we will need!! :)
So, here is the report on the indoor garden: Not much happened there, except the fish tank is now filled. We had to buy a shower filter to add to the garden hose to filter out the chlorine, and I imagine there are many other substances in the city water that won't be helpful to the occupants of the system--plants or fishies.
Ornery's mom joined us on Friday for a puzzle working session and to buy me dinner to celebrate my birthday. She was quite awed by the whole system Ornery has going in the garden room, and told his sister she needed to come see. So, Saturday morning she and Monty came by for a little look-see. After they left, the dirt hauling commenced.
Elizabeth and Michael brought over their own shovel and wheel barrow, and the three of them shoveled, and dumped, raked and repeated for a long time on Saturday, then came back for a second dose of torture on Sunday. In all they moved 7 YARDS of dirt off the driveway and into five newly built beds,
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| flower beds!! Can't wait to fill them! |
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| Vegetable Garden beds! Awesome dirt! |
places on the lawn that needed a bit of leveling out,
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Happy Birthday to ME!
Today is my birthday, and already I have gotten more cards than I have ever received for any one birthday! Ryan and Ale sent gifts, Elizabeth and Michael gave me money (which I promptly spent on art supplies!), Ornery gave me paints, (although I picked them out and ordered them myself) and my pen-friends and swapping buddies have sent cards, goodies, and Instagram wishes all week! I am feeling so blessed!
In other news, Michael and Elizabeth came over Sunday. While she planted more seeds, Michael assembled a new 9 cubicle shelf unit for my studio closet. My stuff runneth over! Then they both helped Ornery build three raised beds outside in the backyard. The building consisted of laying down lime, then corrugated cardboard, then putting cedar 4'X8'X12" boxes on top of that. I need to order some mushroom compost and round up some manure to do some lasagna garden beds, but we are off to a galloping start!
Ornery got the first 18 bags of Grow Stones rinsed, soaked and rinsed again, and put them into the grow beds in the aquaponics garden room last night. Seeds are sprouting and growing happily on the starter rack, and the weather has been absolutely beautiful! I think it was a short lived phenomena but it was a wonderful and welcome harbinger of spring!
In other news, Michael and Elizabeth came over Sunday. While she planted more seeds, Michael assembled a new 9 cubicle shelf unit for my studio closet. My stuff runneth over! Then they both helped Ornery build three raised beds outside in the backyard. The building consisted of laying down lime, then corrugated cardboard, then putting cedar 4'X8'X12" boxes on top of that. I need to order some mushroom compost and round up some manure to do some lasagna garden beds, but we are off to a galloping start!
Ornery got the first 18 bags of Grow Stones rinsed, soaked and rinsed again, and put them into the grow beds in the aquaponics garden room last night. Seeds are sprouting and growing happily on the starter rack, and the weather has been absolutely beautiful! I think it was a short lived phenomena but it was a wonderful and welcome harbinger of spring!
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