What's Growing

Remember back when we dug up our front yard, Cosmo helped, and we found the canning jar top? Well it's finally a productive piece of dirt that is filling up our fridge.

Currently growing:
>tomatoes
>cucumbers
>eggplant
>watermelon
>cantaloupe
>squash
>bell peppers
>zinnias

We've nicknamed the tomatoes 'tarantulas' because they are taking over anything they can, but when they are as sweet as any other fruit, who can complain? We got two zucchinis out of the squash plants before they bit the dust because I failed to get mulch under them before the rain came. They rotted out so the survivors are getting plenty of TLC. Our little watermelon is chugging along. And the cucumbers are forcing me to research how to make pickles, because these things are EVERYWHERE.

{crops.}

What's growing in your yard?

Just Finished

There aren't many books that I can say I finished in a few days. I generally have a short attention span with books, marked by my pile of half-read selections on the shelf. This one had my attention though, probably because I could picture a minuscule version in our own yard.

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

The Dirty Life - A Memoir of Farming, Food and Love by Kristin Kimball. The author is a New York city writer that stumbles upon a love for farming while doing an interview, and clumsily goes from enjoying reading the paper at a coffee shop to milking the cows before sun-up and providing crops for an entire community.  One afternoon she finds a horseshoe from decades past while plowing the field and notes:

 "You can't truly own a farm, no matter what the deed says. It has a life of its own. You can love it beyond measure, and you are responsible for it, but at most you're married to it."

It made me think of our tiny 7x7ft square in the front yard. The bullets, canning jars and marbles that we turn up while weeding, and how if the dirt could talk it would have more stories than our neighbors that have been there since birth. Chickens have returned, cucumbers are growing rapidly, we have our first watermelon, eggplants are bright purple, and the tomato plants look like tarantulas taking over the plot. 765 may be tiny but it sure is productive.

We Need Names!

Our new little ones are arriving at 765 today.

It's been a quiet back yard since Honey and Cosmo passed away. For the first week or so after I would go out, stand on the stairs and still expect to see them come running around the corner in search of food. And our fridge seems vacant without the mound of eggs falling all over the place.  It did give the grass a chance to grow back though, and my baby tomato plants are probably thankful for no pecking. But now it's time for some cheeps in the yard again. Since they are more like teenage girls (don't worry neighbors, no roosters) instead of chicks we won't have to wait quite so long for eggs either.

These ladies are in need of names... suggestions?

just arriving.

our new lawn mowers.

We're Still Here!

I know it has been inexcusably long since my last post, but hey, I kind of had an excuse. We were getting married! And filling our house with more goodies from all of our family and friends than we probably deserve. (Along with boxes, packaging and more boxes and those don't make for very good pictures). But, since it has been so long I've got something good for you. Really good.

The shed (phase 1) is COMPLETE!

Remember what this poor thing looked like before this whole big project began?

Now we've pretty much got the most fabulous shed in Spanish Town, with awesome doors to actually close it! And once again those could not have been possible without the help of Mitch and his amazing construction skills. Big thanks!

Like I said earlier, we are calling this Phase 1, because really, if there wasn't something to do in or to the 'man cave' it probably wouldn't be a good thing. I'm sure we'll add another splash of orange and maybe some classy outdoor lights, but until then I'm going to say with the addition of 765 on the shed, it is complete. One item checked off the list.