I felt quite a bit better today, but I still didn't get much done. I did actually get to take a nap which was nice, since I didn't get to bed as early as I'd hoped last night.
This morning when I went out to water the the umbrella garden, I felt a bit off from the heat again, but it didn't affect me as strongly as yesterday. I did wear a hat when I went out today, though, so I'm not sure if that made a big difference or not. Then this evening, when it was about the same temperature outside as it was this morning, I went out and wasn't bothered by it at all. So I'm really leaning toward it being a stomach thing rather than the heat. Although, I suppose it could be the direct sunlight and the hat really did help.
I just hope it clears up soon, whatever it is. We've got to get that pod on the driveway unloaded. Speaking of the pod, the code enforcement officer drove by yesterday. She called my husband, but he isn't used to his new phone, and it was silenced, so he missed it. Anyway, she said that we still hadn't gotten the pod moved back (she originally told him we didn't really have to, since we'd be getting it cleaned out), and that he needed to get rid of the branches beside it. He'd forgotten that he'd put the small trees he cut down before we went on vacation on the side of the pod. :::sigh::: And she mentioned that she'd given us until the 15th of June to get the original issues under control.
Huh? Nope. She gave us until the end of July. So Hubster called her back this morning only to find that he had missed her call again. She said she'd totally forgotten to write it down in her book that she'd given us until the end of July. And she wasn't too concerned about the container. It was just the elm trees he'd cut down at the side of the container. So he'll get them out of there before work tomorrow. Hopefully, they're not too dry to go through the chippers. The chippers will eat them up just fine even, if they are dry, but it's much harder on the person who's feeding them into the chipper. The dry ones hurt!
I wasn't successful at stopping my consumption of soda before we left on vacation. I drank 2 cans on most days and 3 cans a couple of days. I'm down to one can a day, and I will drink it tomorrow morning. I can already tell it's making a difference for the good. The nerve pain in my legs has diminished substantially. I'm really hoping it will go altogether when I cut that last can out completely.
Best of all, there were no meltdowns today. Hopper seems to be getting back on track.
Now for the rest of us.
Showing posts with label umbrella planter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label umbrella planter. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
A little of this and alittle of that.
What a beautiful day it was here today. The weather was gorgeous. Mild and cool with lots of sunshine. Sunshine just makes the biggest difference for me. It is just...good.
Hopper felt much better today. She and Scooter helped me plant the last of the tomatoes, peppers and strawberries today. We even got the onion sets planted. I really crammed the onions together, because I planted them at the base of the umbrella planter with the Clematis and in a pot. If I'd had a plot ready, they'd have been spaced out more and in the ground. Maybe next year. The thing is, it doesn't really matter how big onions are. They taste good no matter what, so if they're a little cramped it won't matter to us. We'll still eat them.
So this is a picture of our V Trees. From the angle I took the picture, it's actually sort of hard to tell how far down the left tree was leaning. It was actually leaning quite a bit more than the picture shows. The tree on the left was the one I was worried about the most, because if it had not fallen correctly, it would have landed on the bitter widow's fence, and we likely would have been sued.
Thankfully, it landed no where near her property.
The tree making the right part of the V was the one that was pulling towards the power line. The powerline was behind the shed several feet, but the tree was tall enough, and the wind was strong enough that it caused a few tense moments. They'd tied the rope about 6 feet above the roof of the shed and pulled toward the house. They knew, if they could get the heavy part of the tree to fall, it would fall straight down. It did.
Our backyard now looks like a jungle, because we still have to finish cutting the wood up. The hubby got a couple wood chippers from Craigslist today. Seemed to make more sense to buy a used one than to rent one for almost $200 a day after paying tax on it. One is a bigger gas chipper, and the other is a smaller electric one. Our plan is to use the gas one to clean up all the branches in the backyard that we're not giving for firewood and then selling it again. We'll keep the smaller one for things that may come up over the years. At least that's our plan for now. We'll make a final decision in a year or so.
It was a quick but productive weekend for us. Hopper did feel much better today, but she went to bed on her own around 4:00 this afternoon, so she's still not up to par. Hopefully, tomorrow will be her best day yet.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about our military. Those Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen that gave their lives to keep our country free. Those that made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are so very grateful for each and every one of them.
We will remember.
Hopper felt much better today. She and Scooter helped me plant the last of the tomatoes, peppers and strawberries today. We even got the onion sets planted. I really crammed the onions together, because I planted them at the base of the umbrella planter with the Clematis and in a pot. If I'd had a plot ready, they'd have been spaced out more and in the ground. Maybe next year. The thing is, it doesn't really matter how big onions are. They taste good no matter what, so if they're a little cramped it won't matter to us. We'll still eat them.
So this is a picture of our V Trees. From the angle I took the picture, it's actually sort of hard to tell how far down the left tree was leaning. It was actually leaning quite a bit more than the picture shows. The tree on the left was the one I was worried about the most, because if it had not fallen correctly, it would have landed on the bitter widow's fence, and we likely would have been sued.Thankfully, it landed no where near her property.
The tree making the right part of the V was the one that was pulling towards the power line. The powerline was behind the shed several feet, but the tree was tall enough, and the wind was strong enough that it caused a few tense moments. They'd tied the rope about 6 feet above the roof of the shed and pulled toward the house. They knew, if they could get the heavy part of the tree to fall, it would fall straight down. It did.
Our backyard now looks like a jungle, because we still have to finish cutting the wood up. The hubby got a couple wood chippers from Craigslist today. Seemed to make more sense to buy a used one than to rent one for almost $200 a day after paying tax on it. One is a bigger gas chipper, and the other is a smaller electric one. Our plan is to use the gas one to clean up all the branches in the backyard that we're not giving for firewood and then selling it again. We'll keep the smaller one for things that may come up over the years. At least that's our plan for now. We'll make a final decision in a year or so.
It was a quick but productive weekend for us. Hopper did feel much better today, but she went to bed on her own around 4:00 this afternoon, so she's still not up to par. Hopefully, tomorrow will be her best day yet.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about our military. Those Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen that gave their lives to keep our country free. Those that made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are so very grateful for each and every one of them.
We will remember.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
*Good googalee woogalee!
Today was a long and productive day. So long I had to record the series finale of LOST on the DVR to watch as I can this week. Shh! If you know, please don't tell me what happened!
I took a couple of Benadryl last night, and it helped me to actually get some sleep! I woke up every hour on the hour, but I was able to drift back off within minutes, and I'm so very thankful. I desperately needed the sleep. I'm wide awake now, though, and I don't know that I'll have as much success sleeping tonight.
Bugster came over, and she helped me plant most of the tomatoes, strawberries and peppers in the buckets on the umbrella planter. I still have to find one more bucket to drill holes in and get it filled with plants, because the only other one I have that has a hole in the bottom doesn't have a handle. The first buckets I'd painted and made wire handles for, but I only got 4 finished. I need 8, so I have one on each tine of the umbrella planter, but it won't happen until next year that I have all matching bucket planters for it.
I really enjoyed the planting, although I probably should have worn a mask. I got some planting soil that was full of fertilizer to use to give my plants the best shot, but boy did that stuff stink! I've spritzed my nose with saline several times, but I feel like I am still smelling that stuff. Yuck! But if it means we get bigger tomatoes and peppers, I can deal with it. I'll just wear a mask when I finish up the rest of the planting.
We've got to cut a big tree down in the backyard, because we lost a major branch of it during a wind storm last fall. It's going to mean a lot more sunlight to help out my upside-down tomatoes and other plants, but it also means that there will be a ton more sun and heat on the little window air conditioner that we had in the dining room window. So we took it out and put it on the other side of the house that only gets the morning sun. Hopefully, it will still cool enough of the house over there to make it worthwhile. It was quite the undertaking, but it's in place now, and we'll be able to start working on cutting the tree down in the next week or two.
Hubby cleaned up the side of the house that the code enforcement officer mentioned needed done. He got the trundle beds sprayed off well with water and then doused them with a bug spray to kill any spiders/critters that might be hiding in the springs once they dried. They're now securely under the beds in the house, and it's a big relief to both of us. Just one more thing off the list of things that need done.
Our bitter neighbor lady can't complain now. We have until the end of July to get the storage unit on the driveway unloaded, so I'll be concentrating on finishing the basement as quickly as possible after I finish planting the rest of the garden plants. I am anxious to get things together down there, so we can start using the basement like we envision. It will be nice to have a place to hang out and have a craft area and a place to work out. We're very much looking forward to it.
I have a few projects other than housecleaning/dehoarding that I have to work on in the next couple of weeks as well.
It's going to be a busy summer.
*I told my husband that I couldn't think of a title of the post. This was *his* idea! :D
I took a couple of Benadryl last night, and it helped me to actually get some sleep! I woke up every hour on the hour, but I was able to drift back off within minutes, and I'm so very thankful. I desperately needed the sleep. I'm wide awake now, though, and I don't know that I'll have as much success sleeping tonight.
Bugster came over, and she helped me plant most of the tomatoes, strawberries and peppers in the buckets on the umbrella planter. I still have to find one more bucket to drill holes in and get it filled with plants, because the only other one I have that has a hole in the bottom doesn't have a handle. The first buckets I'd painted and made wire handles for, but I only got 4 finished. I need 8, so I have one on each tine of the umbrella planter, but it won't happen until next year that I have all matching bucket planters for it.
I really enjoyed the planting, although I probably should have worn a mask. I got some planting soil that was full of fertilizer to use to give my plants the best shot, but boy did that stuff stink! I've spritzed my nose with saline several times, but I feel like I am still smelling that stuff. Yuck! But if it means we get bigger tomatoes and peppers, I can deal with it. I'll just wear a mask when I finish up the rest of the planting.
We've got to cut a big tree down in the backyard, because we lost a major branch of it during a wind storm last fall. It's going to mean a lot more sunlight to help out my upside-down tomatoes and other plants, but it also means that there will be a ton more sun and heat on the little window air conditioner that we had in the dining room window. So we took it out and put it on the other side of the house that only gets the morning sun. Hopefully, it will still cool enough of the house over there to make it worthwhile. It was quite the undertaking, but it's in place now, and we'll be able to start working on cutting the tree down in the next week or two.
Hubby cleaned up the side of the house that the code enforcement officer mentioned needed done. He got the trundle beds sprayed off well with water and then doused them with a bug spray to kill any spiders/critters that might be hiding in the springs once they dried. They're now securely under the beds in the house, and it's a big relief to both of us. Just one more thing off the list of things that need done.
Our bitter neighbor lady can't complain now. We have until the end of July to get the storage unit on the driveway unloaded, so I'll be concentrating on finishing the basement as quickly as possible after I finish planting the rest of the garden plants. I am anxious to get things together down there, so we can start using the basement like we envision. It will be nice to have a place to hang out and have a craft area and a place to work out. We're very much looking forward to it.
I have a few projects other than housecleaning/dehoarding that I have to work on in the next couple of weeks as well.
It's going to be a busy summer.
*I told my husband that I couldn't think of a title of the post. This was *his* idea! :D
Saturday, May 22, 2010
How embarrasing. I'm red in the face!
When I saw my doctor yesterday to get my TB test, I decided to have him listen to my breathing. We've been sick with a lot of coughing around here, and it's been really hard to try to get under control. He said that I have asthmatic bronchitis. He figures it's viral, but he also doesn't want it to get any worse. So I'm back on steroids and a cough suppressant. The last time I had asthmatic bronchitis and it wasn't bacterial I ended up in the hospital. No sense in repeating that!
Unfortunately, the meds are keeping me wide awake. All. Night. Long. By the time I'm done with the meds in a few days, I'll be a walking zombie. While the meds keep my mind awake, they don't give me any energy. And they make me more than a bit irritable. And they make me gain weight, which I really don't need. I've gained close to 30 pounds in the last year due to steroids. It packs on a lot more quickly than it comes off. But they're a necessary evil. I'd rather gain a little weight and still be breathing and not in the hospital.
And although I didn't get sunburned when we were out shopping for garden plants today, the medicine makes me look like I have a 3rd degree sunburn on my face. It feels like one, too. So tomorrow when I go out to plant my upside down tomatoes and my strawberries and my peppers, I'll be wearing sunscreen, a big old floppy hat, and a great big grin!
After we took Hopper and Scooter to have their TB tests read, (thankfully, they were negative!), we went garden shopping. I found some small tomato plants packed in 9 count containers for $3. They're pretty small, but they're easier to use in the upside down planters anyway. I got a few larger ones as well, so we'll have staggered harvests. And I got a few varieties of peppers we haven't tried before. All in all, we got chocolate, purple, red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers as well as some banana peppers. Decided to try some yellow tomatoes again this year, too.
Lastly, we got some strawberries as well. We couldn't find any bare root strawberries, but I did find some 4 packs of 5 to 7" tall plants for $4. The one nursery was charging $4 for a single plant, and strawberries typically take off pretty well, so I think we made a good choice. The Bugster* got the holes all filled in the crown moulding and baseboards downstairs today, so I'll have her help me outside tomorrow. We'll have to drill more holes in some of the buckets to make them into strawberry planters, but it will be nice to keep them on the umbrella and out of the squirrels' reach!
Hopper begged to get some onion sets, so we could plant some onions, so of course I obliged! She LOVES onions just like her mama. When I was little, I used to sit on the counter and talk to my older sister while she watched dishes. I would enjoy her company and eat an onion like it was an apple. Hopper is the same way and always has to have several bites of onion when I'm slicing or dicing them for cooking. Onions also help with asthma, so I'll have to make sure we baby those little sets until they're big juicy onions ready to enjoy!
I'm so looking forward to fresh veggies from the umbrella garden this year! It's hard to beat fresh veggies grown in your own backyard!
*I changed our oldest daughter's nickname to The Bugster or Bugster. If you're interested you can read why here.
Unfortunately, the meds are keeping me wide awake. All. Night. Long. By the time I'm done with the meds in a few days, I'll be a walking zombie. While the meds keep my mind awake, they don't give me any energy. And they make me more than a bit irritable. And they make me gain weight, which I really don't need. I've gained close to 30 pounds in the last year due to steroids. It packs on a lot more quickly than it comes off. But they're a necessary evil. I'd rather gain a little weight and still be breathing and not in the hospital.
And although I didn't get sunburned when we were out shopping for garden plants today, the medicine makes me look like I have a 3rd degree sunburn on my face. It feels like one, too. So tomorrow when I go out to plant my upside down tomatoes and my strawberries and my peppers, I'll be wearing sunscreen, a big old floppy hat, and a great big grin!
After we took Hopper and Scooter to have their TB tests read, (thankfully, they were negative!), we went garden shopping. I found some small tomato plants packed in 9 count containers for $3. They're pretty small, but they're easier to use in the upside down planters anyway. I got a few larger ones as well, so we'll have staggered harvests. And I got a few varieties of peppers we haven't tried before. All in all, we got chocolate, purple, red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers as well as some banana peppers. Decided to try some yellow tomatoes again this year, too.
Lastly, we got some strawberries as well. We couldn't find any bare root strawberries, but I did find some 4 packs of 5 to 7" tall plants for $4. The one nursery was charging $4 for a single plant, and strawberries typically take off pretty well, so I think we made a good choice. The Bugster* got the holes all filled in the crown moulding and baseboards downstairs today, so I'll have her help me outside tomorrow. We'll have to drill more holes in some of the buckets to make them into strawberry planters, but it will be nice to keep them on the umbrella and out of the squirrels' reach!
Hopper begged to get some onion sets, so we could plant some onions, so of course I obliged! She LOVES onions just like her mama. When I was little, I used to sit on the counter and talk to my older sister while she watched dishes. I would enjoy her company and eat an onion like it was an apple. Hopper is the same way and always has to have several bites of onion when I'm slicing or dicing them for cooking. Onions also help with asthma, so I'll have to make sure we baby those little sets until they're big juicy onions ready to enjoy!
I'm so looking forward to fresh veggies from the umbrella garden this year! It's hard to beat fresh veggies grown in your own backyard!
*I changed our oldest daughter's nickname to The Bugster or Bugster. If you're interested you can read why here.
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Bugster*, Hopper and Scooter.
I have to say that I really struggled when I wrote the post about the code enforcement issue. It's such an embarrassing thing to have them called on you. You know? But I am wanting to be honest about being a hoarder - even the hard and embarrassing things. Because I need to remember them, so once I've gotten my house cleaned out I never go back there again.
And I have to say thanks to all of you who have supported me through this and haven't judged me for being in the mess I'm in. It's not been easy, but all of you have made it easier for me to make the changes I need to make and to know I can go on and reach my goal.
I've made a decision to change something about my blog. Instead of constantly referring to 'our oldest daughter', 'our middle daughter' and 'our youngest daughter', I will now be referring to them by their nicknames. It just gets a bit too wordy the way I've been doing it.
Our oldest loves ladybugs and always has. Thus, she will be 'The Bugster*'. Besides, she's really good at bugging me, so it fits on two levels.
Our middle daughter will now be referred to as 'Hopper'. We can be downstairs, and all of the sudden we hear her hopping on the floor above us. It's totally random. I usually have to say something at least 4 times before I catch her attention and get her to stop. Still. It's a cute quirk she has, and she loves when we call her by her nickname.
And our youngest scooted for years before she could ever sit up. She did the backstroke to get from room to room. As a result, she had no hair on the back of her head. She had it on the tops. She had it on the sides. And she even had some under the bald spot on the back of her head. I used to pull it all together for a long, but quite thin pony tail to sort of cover up the lack of hair. That is until Hopper was 3 and grabbed her by the pony tail and dragged her like a little cavewoman into the kitchen, so I would get finished with the bottle I was feeding! Shortly after that I cut her hair, but she still kept scooting. Thus, she will henceforth be known as 'Scooter' on my blog.
Tomorrow, The Bugster is coming over to help fill the holes in the baseboard trim and the crown moulding in the basement. She'll be coming on Sunday to help finish it all up. I'm hoping it will be all finished by then, anyway. It just kills my neck to look up all the time, and it kills my back to get on my knees to fill the baseboards. So I'm thrilled that Bugster is going to be helping me out. In return, she and her new hubby get the china hutch we bought when she was little. I think she thinks she's getting the better deal, and I think I am. so I think it's a pretty fair trade.
She helped me out a bit tonight, too. Since it's been so warm since I painted the umbrella planter except that we got torrential downpours for a solid hour about 3 hours after I put the second coat on). Bugster helped me get the clematis started up the pole again. I lost several shoots from it which is upsetting, but I'm really hoping it just causes it to grow in overdrive. It stretches about halfway up the pole now, and there are several buds waiting to spring open. I'll get pictures and post them when it starts blooming. I'd love to see it grow all the way up the pole and go down the tines eventually. I think that would be absolutely gorgeous!
We'll be taking Hopper and Scooter to get their TB tests read. So far they're showing not showing much of a reaction at all. Although Scooter seems to possibly be getting eczema at the injection site. I'll ask about it in tomorrow. I'm just praying that they both have negative tests. The antibiotics that they would have to take, if they tested positive are some pretty serious and nasty drugs.
When we're done there, we'll be dropping off some stuff at a friend's house. Just things from the girls' bedroom that I think they can use. So we'll be completing a bit of dehoarding tomorrow by getting it out of the house. That always helps.
And then we'll stop at Home Depot. We've got a gift card we need to use, so it doesn't expire. I'll be buying tomatoes and peppers and strawberries, if they have them. If they don't, I'll be getting some bare root strawberries somewhere else, if I have time to get them planted. I'm thinking of just drilling extra holes in some of the bucket planters I use for the tomatoes and peppers. Not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but I'll be doing it with a smile.
I'm just glad I'm going to have a mini garden this year. There's something so fulfilling about it, and it helps take the mind off the neighbors!
*Edited after the comment by Amanda. Didn't even think of that, since I'm not from England, but thanks for pointing it out. I thought of a couple other names for her to choose from (The Bugster and Buggerina), but she didn't care which I used. So her daddy got to vote, and he liked The Bugster best. So our oldest will now be known as Bugster or The Bugster from now on, because truth be told, she's always loved all bugs and not just ladybugs. :)
And I have to say thanks to all of you who have supported me through this and haven't judged me for being in the mess I'm in. It's not been easy, but all of you have made it easier for me to make the changes I need to make and to know I can go on and reach my goal.
I've made a decision to change something about my blog. Instead of constantly referring to 'our oldest daughter', 'our middle daughter' and 'our youngest daughter', I will now be referring to them by their nicknames. It just gets a bit too wordy the way I've been doing it.
Our oldest loves ladybugs and always has. Thus, she will be 'The Bugster*'. Besides, she's really good at bugging me, so it fits on two levels.
Our middle daughter will now be referred to as 'Hopper'. We can be downstairs, and all of the sudden we hear her hopping on the floor above us. It's totally random. I usually have to say something at least 4 times before I catch her attention and get her to stop. Still. It's a cute quirk she has, and she loves when we call her by her nickname.
And our youngest scooted for years before she could ever sit up. She did the backstroke to get from room to room. As a result, she had no hair on the back of her head. She had it on the tops. She had it on the sides. And she even had some under the bald spot on the back of her head. I used to pull it all together for a long, but quite thin pony tail to sort of cover up the lack of hair. That is until Hopper was 3 and grabbed her by the pony tail and dragged her like a little cavewoman into the kitchen, so I would get finished with the bottle I was feeding! Shortly after that I cut her hair, but she still kept scooting. Thus, she will henceforth be known as 'Scooter' on my blog.
Tomorrow, The Bugster is coming over to help fill the holes in the baseboard trim and the crown moulding in the basement. She'll be coming on Sunday to help finish it all up. I'm hoping it will be all finished by then, anyway. It just kills my neck to look up all the time, and it kills my back to get on my knees to fill the baseboards. So I'm thrilled that Bugster is going to be helping me out. In return, she and her new hubby get the china hutch we bought when she was little. I think she thinks she's getting the better deal, and I think I am. so I think it's a pretty fair trade.
She helped me out a bit tonight, too. Since it's been so warm since I painted the umbrella planter except that we got torrential downpours for a solid hour about 3 hours after I put the second coat on). Bugster helped me get the clematis started up the pole again. I lost several shoots from it which is upsetting, but I'm really hoping it just causes it to grow in overdrive. It stretches about halfway up the pole now, and there are several buds waiting to spring open. I'll get pictures and post them when it starts blooming. I'd love to see it grow all the way up the pole and go down the tines eventually. I think that would be absolutely gorgeous!
We'll be taking Hopper and Scooter to get their TB tests read. So far they're showing not showing much of a reaction at all. Although Scooter seems to possibly be getting eczema at the injection site. I'll ask about it in tomorrow. I'm just praying that they both have negative tests. The antibiotics that they would have to take, if they tested positive are some pretty serious and nasty drugs.
When we're done there, we'll be dropping off some stuff at a friend's house. Just things from the girls' bedroom that I think they can use. So we'll be completing a bit of dehoarding tomorrow by getting it out of the house. That always helps.
And then we'll stop at Home Depot. We've got a gift card we need to use, so it doesn't expire. I'll be buying tomatoes and peppers and strawberries, if they have them. If they don't, I'll be getting some bare root strawberries somewhere else, if I have time to get them planted. I'm thinking of just drilling extra holes in some of the bucket planters I use for the tomatoes and peppers. Not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but I'll be doing it with a smile.
I'm just glad I'm going to have a mini garden this year. There's something so fulfilling about it, and it helps take the mind off the neighbors!
*Edited after the comment by Amanda. Didn't even think of that, since I'm not from England, but thanks for pointing it out. I thought of a couple other names for her to choose from (The Bugster and Buggerina), but she didn't care which I used. So her daddy got to vote, and he liked The Bugster best. So our oldest will now be known as Bugster or The Bugster from now on, because truth be told, she's always loved all bugs and not just ladybugs. :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
What's an umbrella have to do with anything?
Thankfully, the sun did come out and dry up a lot of the humidity today. It was quite the relief. It was dry enough for my husband to mow an entire yard full of dandelions and fill 3 huge trash bags with grass...er...weed clippings. If they were actual grass clippings, they'd go in the compost pile. Or at least some would. But I don't put weeds in there. I don't want weeds planted accidentally any more than I want them planted voluntarily.
We desperately need to just regrade the yards and save up the money for sod. I don't know that grass seed would even work. We mostly just have weeds or dirt in the backyard. It was like that years ago when we bought the house. Having dogs running back and forth for several years just made it worse. And now that the dogs are gone, the damage remains.
I need to look up what all needs to be done to regrade a yard. Maybe we could at least get that part done on our own. Of course, if we got sod for the yard, we'd attempt to install that ourselves as well. However, before we laid any sort of sod for the yard, we probably need a sprinkler system installed. That's even more money. So yeah. We have a yard of dirt and weeds. It will be that way for the foreseeable future.
While the hubby was mowing, I decided to paint a coat of Rustoleum on the umbrella planter my hubby and I made a few years ago. It was starting to rust through the rust-proof spray paint I painted it with when we put it up. I'm hoping the paint I used today with the brush will last a little longer, since it goes on thicker. I don't think I'll be able to paint it once the clematis really gets established.
We made it in memory of my dad who passed away three years ago and for my nephew who died just a short few months later. We planted a purple clematis at the bottom, so it could climb the chicken wire we stretched around the pole, because purple was one of my dad and my nephew's favorite colors. It's made of rake tines from an old hay rake that used to be used in the fields. They use different equipment now, but you can still find the rake tines from time to time.
We call it an umbrella planter, because it looks like an umbrella that's lost all the fabric, and all that's left is the frame. Daddy had made one in his and Mom's backyard, and I just fell in love with it. So it just seemed like a fitting tribute to his memory.
Daddy also loved to grow tomatoes, so I had to try my luck at growing upside-down tomatoes. We cut holes in the bottoms of 3 gallon buckets we'd gotten at the supermarket bakery and planted tomatoes to grow out the bottoms of the buckets. Peppers are planted in the top, so the soil isn't as apt to blow away in the wind, and we can have peppers, too. This picture was taken the first year we had it up right after we planted the tomatoes and peppers.
I'm hoping to get my tomato and pepper plants this week. If I don't, I don't know that I'll be able to get anything planted this year at all. The stores will likely be all sold out by the end of the month. Although, this Spring has been a bit cooler, so I may still have time. People tend not to get their plants right away unless it's consistently warm at night. There's nothing quite like losing a garden (hanging or otherwise) to a frost. It's just such a disappointment!
We have cut that stupid tree that's between the planter and the window down several times. We're hoping that the stump killer we'll be putting on it this year when we cut it down will kill the thing. We also will be cutting down a really tall tree in the backyard soon, too. It's the same type of tree, but it's not the most stable thing. We lost a rather large branch in a big windstorm last Fall, and we just don't feel it's safe anymore.
So with those trees all out of the way, my tomato and pepper plants should really take off. I'd love to get 4 more buckets and get all 8 tines filled with upside-down tomatoes this year. I may just have to stick with the 4 that are hanging right now, though. I would just love to have enough to can some. There's nothing like tomato soup made from tomatoes from your garden in the dead of winter!
Eventually, I'll have a large garden, but it may be a few years off. Still. It's fun to plan it in my head. What about you? Do you garden at all?
We desperately need to just regrade the yards and save up the money for sod. I don't know that grass seed would even work. We mostly just have weeds or dirt in the backyard. It was like that years ago when we bought the house. Having dogs running back and forth for several years just made it worse. And now that the dogs are gone, the damage remains.
I need to look up what all needs to be done to regrade a yard. Maybe we could at least get that part done on our own. Of course, if we got sod for the yard, we'd attempt to install that ourselves as well. However, before we laid any sort of sod for the yard, we probably need a sprinkler system installed. That's even more money. So yeah. We have a yard of dirt and weeds. It will be that way for the foreseeable future.
While the hubby was mowing, I decided to paint a coat of Rustoleum on the umbrella planter my hubby and I made a few years ago. It was starting to rust through the rust-proof spray paint I painted it with when we put it up. I'm hoping the paint I used today with the brush will last a little longer, since it goes on thicker. I don't think I'll be able to paint it once the clematis really gets established.
We made it in memory of my dad who passed away three years ago and for my nephew who died just a short few months later. We planted a purple clematis at the bottom, so it could climb the chicken wire we stretched around the pole, because purple was one of my dad and my nephew's favorite colors. It's made of rake tines from an old hay rake that used to be used in the fields. They use different equipment now, but you can still find the rake tines from time to time.
We call it an umbrella planter, because it looks like an umbrella that's lost all the fabric, and all that's left is the frame. Daddy had made one in his and Mom's backyard, and I just fell in love with it. So it just seemed like a fitting tribute to his memory.
Daddy also loved to grow tomatoes, so I had to try my luck at growing upside-down tomatoes. We cut holes in the bottoms of 3 gallon buckets we'd gotten at the supermarket bakery and planted tomatoes to grow out the bottoms of the buckets. Peppers are planted in the top, so the soil isn't as apt to blow away in the wind, and we can have peppers, too. This picture was taken the first year we had it up right after we planted the tomatoes and peppers.
I'm hoping to get my tomato and pepper plants this week. If I don't, I don't know that I'll be able to get anything planted this year at all. The stores will likely be all sold out by the end of the month. Although, this Spring has been a bit cooler, so I may still have time. People tend not to get their plants right away unless it's consistently warm at night. There's nothing quite like losing a garden (hanging or otherwise) to a frost. It's just such a disappointment!
We have cut that stupid tree that's between the planter and the window down several times. We're hoping that the stump killer we'll be putting on it this year when we cut it down will kill the thing. We also will be cutting down a really tall tree in the backyard soon, too. It's the same type of tree, but it's not the most stable thing. We lost a rather large branch in a big windstorm last Fall, and we just don't feel it's safe anymore.
So with those trees all out of the way, my tomato and pepper plants should really take off. I'd love to get 4 more buckets and get all 8 tines filled with upside-down tomatoes this year. I may just have to stick with the 4 that are hanging right now, though. I would just love to have enough to can some. There's nothing like tomato soup made from tomatoes from your garden in the dead of winter!
Eventually, I'll have a large garden, but it may be a few years off. Still. It's fun to plan it in my head. What about you? Do you garden at all?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)