MISC.

This is a view of the overflow pipe in the pond. It is about 2.5 feet under water. Here is the outlet of the overflow pipe. This winter it froze. Todd took the elbow piece off so the level wouldn't get too high if it froze up again. He replaced it in March and had to cut a foot off so the pond level would not get too high. Our beach is kind of mushy because of the water level. We will probably add some of our excess sand to it some time.

Shots of the house:

Retaining walls on the main level are almost done. And my clothes line is up, now if it would just warm up so I could use it!

G and her first critter. We plan on expanding with goats in a few weeks.

N's tea party in the pines

Spring Flora and Fauna

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Turkey--We have been seeing turkey pretty regularly. In the last couple weeks the Toms have really been strutting their stuff. Monday there was one back by the barn who must have been getting desperate because every time I looked back there he had his tail feathers all spread out.

Deer--we always have deer tracks around the pond. Sometimes we see them. Not this week though.

?--too big for cat, wrong shape for coon. A friend suggested lynx.

The following are bulbs I planted last fall. I also planted daffodils, but they aren't doing so well. They may be too deep, in really poor soil or not get enough sun.

The rest are planted randomly all over what maybe someday a lawn. They will be done blooming before any grass will need cut. Our last house had these spring bulbs in our grass leftover from the previous owner. I love spring showing itself early with these flowers--even in the snow.

Pie and Bread Bowls

These are from a while back. The pie is J's she has gotten quite good at pies in general.

This shot shows the tile in the kitchen well.

One day during school some one read about creamy cheese soup. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. I had wanted to bake bread that day so I got carried away with the whole thing and put together a dinner fit for a restaurant.

It was more than worth all of the work. YUMMY!

Garden

I have big plans for our sand box...I mean yard.
Here I have built (with some help from my strong husband and daughter) a natural wall for a border for a flower bed on some sort. I plan to add some compost from the township when I can. In the mean time I will dream of what will grow here. It is about half full sun and half mostly shade.

These trees just happened to be bent how I needed them. All of the wood is left over from where we cut down trees for the pond. I requested the most unusual ones for garden decor.

My cold frames spent last summer on KP duty--they actually held up a table top that served as the kitchen sink counter. Now they are back to their original purpose. I brought 6 wheel barrow loads of dirt from near the barn to add some soil. Now I have planted 2 batches of lettuce.Here the first batch is at seedling stage.

These were the logs that made me think to save some for my garden. They have been waiting all winter to become the guardian on my crops. Todd planted them about 42" into the ground. he says they aren't going anywhere until they rot. I may build some sort of arbor across them and plant some vines there.

The left side has had some horse manure added, been tilled and been divided into wide rows for planting. The southern side will get one or two green manure crops before we cultivate it for more garden. I hope to build a rustic fence around the while thing and plant herbs on the outside to deter the deer (I hope)

The garden here looks terraced. It is not, it is just the perspective. Saturday I was able to plant the asparagus crowns I ordered along with onion bulbs (actually N planted all of these), carrots, beans, peas, and kale.My three bin compost pile. It is also made from scrap tree parts and some fencing. The plan is to pile leaves and straw in the middle section and use it to cover the food scraps on the west end first then when that is full start adding to the eastern one.

I sent D out to take pictures of my newly defined garden. This is what I got back.

It's begining to look a lot like springtime

Well sort of. Some days it feel like spring, some days it doesn't.

I have figured out where my garden will be. I even moved some logs around it to define it. Now I need some nutrients for it. I am hoping Todd will bring me some manure soon. I have big dreams for my garden, we will see. I should be able to plant peas and some other early crops soon.

I did plant some lettuce in my cold frames. Nothing has sprouted yet. I think I am going to need to water far more than I am used to. Sand just doesn't hold moisture like clay does.

I also have started 4 flats of seeds, mostly flowers and herbs. I have one more flat that I can fill up in another week or so.

I will try to get some pictures up soon.

Pond Scum

I have been worried about the fertility of the soil here as it is getting closer to time to plant a garden. Todd has been worried about the algae and leaves in the pond. A friend (Rachael R. from the Delta co-op) suggested to put the algae on the pond. I thought that would be way too much work.

But this week we had a 60+ degree day. The children have been asking when they can go swimming or at least get into the pond. So I made a connection...I told them they could go into the pond up to their knees if they harvested the algae for my garden.

My children would never decline the opportunity to get the water so they agreed. I sent J for Todd's minnow saning net. She returned with her "mucking" boots, his net and his fishing waders. It was quite the site.

J and G used the net. N help land the catch and we all dumped it into a plastic tub. I transferred it into the nearest thing I could find to pull it over to the garden site: a sled. Then I dumped it onto the sand that is supposed to make vegetables this summer.
They had a blast and got plenty dirty. It wouldn't qualify as the first swim, but they got a little wet. Even J outfitted to stay dry slid on an underwater slope and ended up with water in the waders via the armpit. OOOOhh cold!