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AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! YaYYYYYYYY!!!!!
Our yard is officially graded. I can start to plant lots of things now. Like flowers and trees and herbs! I am so excited!
We just had to take cover in the basement as the tornado sirens were blaring. The wind was whipping and the rain was pouring. My 2 basement windows leak. Thats good to know, right? I mean, had we not had to rush to the basement to seek cover from a tornado then I would have never known that the windows were going to allow water to rush in all over the floor.
Some of the soffit managed to come away from the house during all the wind and now it looks like we have snow all over our porch because there was blown in insulation up there that blew all over. Thats fun.
Then, the guy next door had to go out in the road to pick up all of his fence. It literally took the panels from the fence and blew them all over the road. Which of course, caused them to all fall apart. White, vinyl fence pickets all over the neighborhood. Thats fun, too.
The grading company showed up last Thursday to begin grading the yard. Yes, I was ecstatic. They worked for a few hours and then left. Then they showed up bright and early Friday morning and began again. Until the rain started pouring down so heavily they had to take cover in their trucks and wait for it to slow down enuf so that they could load up all their machines and depart once again. And I was so hopeful....they have about 4 hours of work left to do he says. So far they have probably put in about 6. Of course there is rain in the forecast for the next 2 days and then once the rain stops the ground has to dry out enuf for him to be able to do anything properly.
Before he left he saw my little tomato plants just patiently waiting to be nestled into the earth. He says, you need to get those in the ground. I agree, I say. He says, we got most of the heavy work done out here, so go ahead and get those plants in and we will work around them. Really? Gotta love him. His wife puts in about 100 plants every season. My 35 seem minuscule compared to that, but none the less, he sees the importance of the plant. Rising food costs, he says. Cant hardly afford to shop at an actual store anymore. Besides, he says, garden fresh is better anyway. I'm sure you can tell by the size of my belly....as he pats it ever so nicely.So, this weekend, darting the rain, we manged to get the plants in and secured. Got the stakes in so that when they get a little bigger we can keep them upright. It gets so darn windy out here that leaving them to their own devices is asking for trouble.
Online we found a really nifty cucumber trellis. We went out and purchased all the supplies and S and J got both of them built in a jiffy. It folds flat so that it makes for easier storage. And underneath it you can grow some tasty lettuce that will be shaded and stay cooler from all the vines. That may happen later...or not. We have yet to master lettuce plants. In due time, right?
Our CSA share began last week. That makes me so happy.
Anyone got any good recipes for baby asian greens? We have had 2 bags come in so far and we have had a frittata and a....frittata. Which were both really good, but I think we are ready for something new.
We also received some spring mix. Super tasty. Do you have a salad spinner? I didnt either, till we began to get all the greens. I would just do the normal rinsing of the leaves and then pat them dry in a clean towel. Not knowing at all what I had been missing out on this whole time. Crisp, crunchy leaves of goodness. First tho, before we got the spinner I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own spinner. Because I am so cool like that. So, I washed all the greens and put them in a towel and pulled all the corners together and then....spun it around really fast like a windmill. Yeah, didnt even think about the fact that the water had to go somewhere whilst I was spinning the towel...it proceeded to fling water all over the kitchen walls, cabinets, and myself. G thought this was great fun. He wanted me to do it some more. Hey, at least I was able to keep the greens in the towel, right? They did end up really crispy tho. This is what led to the purchase of the OXO salad spinner.
It is a really large bowl with a basket in it for the greens and then the lid portion has the device that causes the spinning action. The best part I think is that it has a push button spinner instead of a crank spinner like I have seen before. It also has a stopping device on the top so you can actually make it stop spinning instead of just waiting for it to slow down on its own. The bowl has a little rubber ring on the bottom to help it stay steady on the counter while you are using it. Since the bowl is clear you can actually watch the water being spun off the greens into the bowl. Pretty neat.
At any rate, if you can help me out of my frittata rut...let me know a good recipe.
I have had a dream for quite some time now...since I had kids anyway, to get some land and let them grow up on a farm. Living off the farm, eating off the farm, raising animals on the farm.... I know absolutely nothing about farm life. I have just always been drawn to it. Maybe just the idea of it...Im not sure yet.
There has always been a spin off of that in my mind. When I grow up I am going to have an alpaca farm...or would that be ranch? What makes it a ranch? Anyway, the idea sits there. In the back of my mind. And sometimes one little thing will cause it to pop up....and remind me that however impossible it sounds right now to have an alpaca farm, however expensive it seems....that it really could happen. Maybe.
This is what did it this time. Sugar Creek Stuff comments on some of the blogs that I regularly read. I wasn't aware till recently that she had an Etsy shop. And shop it is! 2 of my close blogger friends have been lucky enuf to enjoy her works of art. I was officially jealous when Danni got hers. Now I am jealous all over again since Angie talked about hers. This bag is the one that caught my attention. Isn't it the best thing you have seen ever? Look at that little llama....all furry and cute. Okay, now stop. I know you like it too, but I have officially put in a birthday request to my husband for this bag. If you should happen to fall in love with it as much as I have, please do not tell me that you got the bag till after my birthday. So I can show you mine, too! Besides, I'm not sure how fast she can make these artful wonders and I need that bag to be there so that when I remind my husband how it would make such a lovely gift, he can place an order right away! It doesnt matter at all that my birthday is not till August....I mean really, thats just few months away....I can wait that long, right?
Everyone needs them. Especially when you need to go out and watch the backhoe behind your house.
So, for a while now....no, really, I mean a while, I have been trying to decide what ornamental trees I want to plant in my front yard. This is a big decision, right? I mean, its not like a rose bush that you can dig up and move fairly easily if you find a better place for it. And if you know me at all then you know that I like to move things around. A lot.
I have been researching trees and going to nurseries and bugging my father in law, who happens to be an excellent landscape architect. He has gone with me to the nurseries. Wait, before you get all like, well she shouldn't be having any problems making up her mind....and she should never have any garden woes.....and I bet she gets loads of great plants, big and small because her daddy in law loves her so much....
First of all, one would think that having him come to the nursery with me would be a grand idea, right? And it does begin that way. We are walking along taking a direct route to the trees that I have it narrowed down to. But then, this is what happens. We see things. On the way. Things that we like. Things that jump out at us and say you know you love me. And then he starts giving me more options. Thinking of trees that may work just as well. So, now those choices that I had narrowed down to 3...that moves right back up to like 7 or 8..maybe 9 or 10. See what I mean? Choices are good, right? Just ask my friend, Mim. She loves choices. Me? Too many choices and I become overwhelmed and just stop. I just freeze up. Like the time I had to buy some carpet. I walked into the store and immediately had a headache. It was too much. Why does one need all those choices of carpet....okay..getting off track here.
Secondly, I do have garden woes. Lots of them. This goes back to the part about my husband being a computer geek. Well, I mean that's not why I have garden woes...I mean, I guess it could be. But, no. I meant that part where people think that I should know all about computers because he does. Like by some kind of osmosis or something. Nope...goes the same for gardening. Just cuz Dad knows, doesn't mean that I know. As nice as that would be! I love to garden. Love it. But believe me, I have had may fair share of catastrophes.
Lastly, well, I must admit. I do get all kinds of great stuff from Dad. He needs space and I have space. Its only logical that I would get some super cool stuff. I even get to put in special orders sometimes. How cool is that?
This was about trees, right? Man, I totally got off track. I have chosen a Japanese Tree Lilac and a Redbud for the front yard. If I could ever get my yard graded then I would be able to plant them. Waiting impatiently.....
Been raining for a few days now...off and on.
I have to say that I am feeling quite blah about Spring thus far. Normally, I am eager to get out there and get my hands dirty. Cleaning up the yard from the previous season. But, when I look out at my yard now all I see is a big bunch of yuck. Mud, mud, and more mud. Not even good mud. Clay mud. Mud, that when dries, it turns into big cement mud clods.
In the beginning I was loving reading all my fellow bloggers talking about how their yards are starting to perk up and the first season veggies are starting to roll in. I was living vicariously thru them. And, dont get me wrong, I am still happy for them. I just am now wishing I had all that stuff going on. I want to be complaining about gall on my junipers, and chicken coops being held up due to the rain. I want to be seeing asparagus growing out of my yard and eating it right out of the pan(cuz I am pretty much the only one who will eat it here, too!) Or how about deciding if I want to expand the garden area? Me, I want to have to decide that.
In the interim, I will just have to keep on reading all your adventures in the gardens. Keep them coming guys. Keep them coming. Its one of the things keeping me sane right now. Well, that in addition to the fact that I get my first CSA share next week!
