Day 2...Yard clean-up

Well, it started out as a dumb day.  Husband and I went looking at cars...such a frustrating experience.  After playing the car lot games, we came home with exactly the same thing we left with.  Well, we came home with lunch too.  Our original plan for this afternoon was to eat and then be lazy.  Well, that changed...I may have encouraged Husband to cut down the stupid fig tree branches that are lying on my clothesline, making only one line even useful.

Husband got out the chainsaw and for some reason, it refused to start.  Thinking back, we realized that it hadn't been started since the Great Capsizing of Summer 2011.  It was submerged for a good amount time, as Husband hung on to it for dear life.  Pretty sure the water wasn't really very good for it.  After several hours of taking apart, reassembling, cursing, going to 3 different stores to find the correct spark plug, and taking apart and reassembling some more, we finally got it to start!  Of course, I did nothing other than get tools and offer some moral support.  Woo hoo!  Let the games begin!

So, the fig tree was the first to go.  Now I can restring the line and get stuff out to dry with out getting attacked by the fig tree monster!  Then Husband asked what was next.  I got a little flustered and started pointing at random stuff.  By stuff, I do mean trees and such.  So after some discussion, we decided that the stupid trees on each side of the garage were next.  The first one came down and the house immediately looked better!!!  The second one also came down easily.  There was a plant behind the "tree"...looked like someone had bought a plant in one of those black plastic containers, set it down, and forgot about it.  The plant had grown all the way through the bottom and had to be seriously yanked out of the ground!  You can see it still "planted" in the picture below.  I didn't take pictures of the other side, but it looks really nice.

After that, we decided to tackle the dead (!!!) Japanese Maple out front.  It is so ugly!  I tried to hit the tree to see if it would budge.  It wouldn't.  Husband said we could hook it up to the truck with a tow strap (his solution for all immovable things).  I had my doubts...not sure why I ever doubt this method...it always works!  

It fell over so slowly, it was comical!

I'm planning to put some sort of pretty tree in its place.  We might add a couple of wine barrels with flowers in them out there as well.  It needs a little color now.  So many weeds still in the pathway though...it's not supposed to be that green...ha ha ha.  

After the cutting frenzy, we decided we'd had enough for today.  Hoping we can get more done tomorrow.  If nothing else, I would like to get as much in the dumpster as possible.  We've made quite the mess in our efforts to clean up.  Isn't that the way it always is?  Clean up the clean up...

The sun sets on day 1 of yard clean up...

I had grand plans for Day 1, and while those didn't exactly pan out, Husband and I got quite a lot accomplished!  Sandwiched between doctor visits for Husband's rugby injury, we managed to get some of this yard under control. Husband mowed and mowed and mowed...kind of ridiculous when you have to mow the driveway, but mow the driveway he did!  And the front lawn.  Looks pretty awesome!

Fish and I finished off the front area where the rocks are.  Took a while, but so worth it!  

There will be more work here, but at least we got it started!

So many weeds!  

So on to Day 2...not sure what we will do tomorrow, but the list is long.  Lots to choose from and no jury duty!  Yippee!!

Day 1...Yard Cleanup

Okay, so technically, Day 1 was supposed to happen yesterday, but Husband did something to his back/shoulder region during his rugby game Saturday and healing time was in order yesterday.  We were somewhat busy though...we did manage to get all the odds and ends shopping done that we needed to do.  The animals will be quite happy that we got enough feed for them to last them a while.  The pups each got a huge meaty knuckle each to gnaw on.  This is always entertaining to watch...Jetta devours the meaty stuff off of hers as fast as possible and then does whatever she can to get Daisy's.  Daisy, of course, daintily removes the meaty stuff off of the bone and this takes most of the day for her.  Jetta takes hers with her when she comes out of her kennel, while Daisy carefully hides hers so that Jetta won't find it.  I can really picture what these two would be like if they were humans.  Jetta is the fat kid that can never get enough to eat, even if she really isn't hungry.  Daisy is the one with the body image/issues with food/eating disorder.  Ha!

Anyway, so feed was bought, household supplies (toilet paper and the like) bought, bills paid, dishes done, laundry done (by done, I mean washed, dried, and now awaiting folding and hanging in the spare room), and we managed to go to a 2 year old's birthday party.  All this despite Husband feeling very uncomfortable and me having a slight case of tummy troubles (I won't go into details here).  Even watched a movie last night.  Hoping that today might pan out to be a bit more productive.  If nothing else, I want to fill the dumpster outside with yard trash.  I vote that these two trees become our first victims.  You can't see by the pictures, but these do not grow parallel to the house...they jut out at around a 35 degree angle from the house.  They are super messy and always full of bees.  Not to mention, the one on the right side of the garage is getting ready to grow through the power lines connected to the house.  Bad news as far as I'm concerned and an excellent reason to cut these down.  

So, I suppose I have done enough writing about all of this and should really get moving on getting Day 1 underway.  I escaped jury duty for another day, but who knows what tomorrow might bring.  Onward!

It's raining, it's pouring, the weed count is soaring!

I love the rain...I do. However, it is now creating more work for Husband and me. Although, on the flip side, the weeds are easier to pull out of soggy ground. Such a dilemma...

The other day, I went out to one of the more infested areas of the yard and pulled one large weed. It came out so easily, that I thought I would pull one more. It felt so satisfying...30 minutes later I had 3 mounds of weeds, a burning set of muscles, dirty hands, and a very runny nose. But the sense of accomplishment was awesome. I got 2/3 of the area done. Hoping I'll feel motivated to do that on the rest of the  yard...today, I don't feel motivated, but I'm watching little Fish play volleyball. So, maybe tomorrow. We'll see...

Holy Raging Radishes Batman! And other yard news...

I'm like a little kid when it comes to planting seeds.  When I look inside my greenhouse and see something sprouting that I just planted a few days ago, I get excited.  I'm also a bit impatient, which is probably why I get so silly when I see something happening.  Once I plant my garden, I go out there every day to see if I have any vegetables actually growing.  So yesterday, impatient me was peeking into one of the trays of pots and discovered that the radishes are going crazy in there!!  Little sprouts all over the place.  I'm not sure why I planted radishes, as I am not a big fan, but I like the way they look.  And I suppose, in times if crisis, they are better than nothing to eat.  Scarlett O'Hara might disagree on that one.  A few other things are pushing the surface dirt, so by the weekend there should be more stuff sprouting.

Big plans for next week!  It is Spring Break and it is time to get our wild jungle of a yard in order.  It's not even a jungle, as that conjures up visions of green, lush vegetation.  The only thing that is green and lush are the weeds.  Dry winter + spring rain storms + fabulous temperatures in the 70's = prolific WEEDS!!!!!!  The photo below is my beloved veggie garden...so much work to do!  Good thing Husband and I have 10 days off (snort!).

And this is after I pulled the weeds 2 weeks ago.  Grrrrrr....

The rest of the yard is either green with weeds, or brown with death.  I guess the hot summer, the lack of proper watering apparatus, our lack of standing outside for hours on end with a hose, the dry winter, and the stupid grasshopper infestation from last year all contributed to our hideous color palette.  I don't really understand what happened to some of the trees.  The top portion of the trees are dead...as a door-nail dead...the bottoms are sprouting like crazy.  Ugh. Not sure what to do with these.  

The ones that are completely dead are just getting cut down.  No replacements either.  That requires water, which as previously mentioned, is an issue where we live.  "Storm Warn 30" told us that because of the lack of storms (although when it rained...sprinkled...last week, the weatherman treated it like it was a typhoon), we will have a dry summer.  Not shocking news, as summers here are always dry.  None of the dead trees are really all that valuable anyway.  The trees on this property appear to have been placed in the back of a pickup truck, then the truck was driven as fast as possible to make the trees fall out.  Then they were planted in the exact random spot where they fell out.  Probably not the way it happened, but that's the way it looks to me.  If it had been up to me (and if I owned all of this property), there would have been some useful fruit trees and more shade trees.  Instead we have nonsense like this:

And this:

And of course, this:

I just don't even understand this.  So random.

In any case, we have our work cut out for us this next week.  Slave labor will be in full force (she is not looking forward to this), and I'm hoping for pleasant weather.  I will post before and after shots when we have finished everything.  Go us!!

Poultry update!

With the onset of spring weather, the chickens have been quite prolific layers lately.  I think, however, that someone in the coop is not measuring up to the current production standards, as we seem to be one or two eggs short of the actual chicken count.  Coop Mama (not sure which buff that is, or if they take turns) has been cheerfully sitting on a small mound of eggs every day when I get home and check,  She (for the moment I will assume its just one Coop Mama) still protests loudly when I stick my cold hand under her to get the eggs.  The best part is when I get a couple of eggs, and move the rest away from her, she uses her beak to push the eggs back under her.  She's pretty fast.  I wish they would understand that those eggs will never become babies and we might as well enjoy them.  I guess it could be quite traumatic to have your "children" taken from you every day.

We've been averaging 10 eggs a day and the colors are beautiful.  Green, white, tan, brown, and tan with speckles.  I am still amazed at the fact that the hens have all of these eggs up inside of them.  Where do they keep them??  I'll look that up here shortly.  The suspense is killing me.

Saturday, I went out to the coop to collect eggs and found something funny.  Among all the large and extra large eggs, was this little(!!) egg.  Husband said it must have come out accidentally...sort of like passing gas.  Probably surprised the chicken.  I have visions of her walking along, feeling a little discomfort, going to relieve the pain, and whoops....out comes this little gem.  I put it in the carton with the other eggs, and it looks...well...small.

A midget among giants.

Not so much...

Ha ha, well, of course, I wanted to know if the little egg looked the same on the inside.  Yeah, I know...weird.  I cracked it and it had the tiniest yolk I've ever seen.  I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland.  We didn't eat it...that seemed wrong somehow.  

I took a break, and as promised, I Googled the reproductive system of a chicken.  Appears simple, yet so complex.  The eggs must develop at a breakneck speed in there.  I'm still in awe.  Makes me want to go in the coop and congratulate each hen individually...okay, not really.  But still quite impressive.  

About time to head home and see what awaits me in the realm of chickens and vegetables!  Can't wait!

I think I've got this!! Well...maybe...

Okay, blogging for realsies now!  No more month long gaps in the action.  I think I might have overcome the feeling that I'm a total failure at this vegetable gardening thing too.  Proof is below!! 

Cucumbers, squash, and soy beans!!  Woo hoo!!

Peas, brussel sprouts, and a variety of tomatoes!

I did a little Googling and found out that while greenhouses are nice and effective when closed up, the plants inside also need to have fresh air and sunshine.  Who knew??  Well, obviously many people must know that.  I know now, so away we go!  

This weekend, Husband and I finally had some time off.  I decided it was high time to get all those other seeds planted that I feel compelled to buy every time I walk into Walmart or Tractor Supply.  I had purchased a ton of peat pots and soil and set up my planting area on the porch.  After filling all the pots with soil, I watered them thoroughly, let them soak through, and then watered them again...another rookie mistake on my part in the past.  After a while, I went out and methodically planted the seeds.  By methodically, I mean I very carefully counted out seeds for each pot.  I make a point of this, because again, in my previous rookie state, I would just dump seeds in and then wonder later why nothing is sprouting.  Dumb.  So, after counting carefully, putting vegetables near others that can easily be friends, and labeling each row so I don't wonder what the heck is this stuff, I watered the babies very carefully.  Yup, did that last time too...turned the water on so hard, half of the seeds flew out with the majority of the soil.  

I was able to put several trays in the greenhouse, but there wasn't room for these.  They will stay out on the porch in the "diffused" sunlight, so I think they will be okay.  I managed to plant quite a variety of things...more squash, beans, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, peppers (red & green varieties), artichokes, spinach, lettuce, kale, bok choy, radishes, onions, cantaloupe, watermelon, and mini pumpkins.  More herbs too...rosemary, as my first efforts were part of the epic fail, and a couple of others that are now escaping my memory.

All tucked away in the greenhouse.

And now to wait...

Hopefully, this venture will be successful.  Of course, using up all the pots and soil did not deter me from buying three more seed packets yesterday at Walmart...he he he.  At least I'm on the upside of the learning curve.  I think...