Preparing the herb garden

Last week was an extremely busy time with preparing the new herb garden. We purchased retaining block for the outer border of the bed, extended the area that was blocked off for flowers and added fresh soil (the current soil is clay and difficult to work with). We also ground up leaves with the lawnmower and tossed them in with the soil. We did this in the fall also and used the ground up leaves as cover mulch to protect our current plants. It is amazing to see a gigantic pile of leaves ground down to a bucket of mulch! Planted the peas, beets, radish and swiss chard outside along with a few apple gourd seeds (keeping my fingers crossed the frost is gone) but knowing that we have a whole month before we are frost free here.

The chickens who are 6 weeks old finally got a taste of the great outdoors - the weather was beautiful and we had time to construct them an enclosed run to keep them safe from predators. Here's a quick little video of their first outdoor experience. Doing my yardwork I did find quite a few grubs which I gave to them to feast on - they loved them (gross ... must be a chicken thing).

All the indoor seedlings are growing right along - tomatoes, peppers, lavender, gourds, along with other flower and herbs; I am SO ready to be outside all day long digging in the dirt!

Handmade signs, pictures and chicken update

I used scraps of wood that were left over from the chicken house construction to make some garden signs. I simply woodburned the letters and designs and will either let the cedar wood just age or add some color with paints. If you don't have a woodburner you can use paint and come up with some really neat designs also.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased some calendars for $1.00 each and framed up some of the beautiful artwork. This time of year you can find calendars really cheap on clearance since stores want to clear the shelves of dated material. You can keep this idea in mind to use on your own calendar; I am sure there are some really neat shots you can use!

Here are some updated pictures of the Rhode Island Red baby chicks which we estimate to be about 6 weeks old now - all except little Greta who is about 4 weeks old. See the difference in size between Greta and the others; that shows you how quickly they grow!!

Drying Roses and Planting Lettuce

This week we hit a major milestone in our lives - our 25th wedding anniversary! It's been a remarkable journey and I look forward to the next 25+ years and what surprises they will bring! I did receive a dozen roses and after a few days of enjoying them in a vase on my desk, I dried them. Roses dry very nicely and I laid a few in the silica gel (stems intact) and others I set in a dixie cup surrounded with the drying agent. The dixie cup method helps retain the shape of the rose and other flowers that would benefit would be tulips, daffodils, etc. I will check them in about 7 days to see how they are doing. The entire flower needs to be covered with the material and then sealed with a cover over the container. I have dried roses in my Excalibur dehydrator also and that works just as well also.

In other garden news, the lavender is sprouting up nicely and I was surprised to find flower buds already on the small gourds that I had planted about 6 weeks ago (inside to transplant out later when it warms up).

<---- Flower buds on small gourd vines

I will be transplanting some of the lettuce seedlings outside today and will cover them with a gallon milk jug with bottoms cut off for added protection. The 4 varieties I planted are Red Romaine, Green Towers, Summer Glory Blend and (Green Ice which never germinated).

Chicken page added

I added a "My Chickens" page to the website. We have had the chicks for almost a month and they sure have grown very quickly! I hope the weather is warm enough this weekend and I can introduce them to the great outdoors ... I bet that will be quite the adventure! They are so cautious of everything and they still haven't gotten used to even me! I have to find a bigger feeder and waterer - they eat and drink constant and I fill/change their feeders about 4 times a day and I only have 4 chicks. They are indoors and I clean out the cage at least once a day with fresh pine shavings and sweep the floor quite a bit - ya know, they aren't that smelly at all. I figured it would be obnoxious, but maybe because I clean it up so much and I know not to let the bedding get wet. We almost have "The Hen Pen" complete which is their outdoor mobile cage which I intend on moving around the yard so they can forage for fresh delights every day.

The sign routered and the chick images were woodburned - I will post pictures of the finished housing unit as soon as it is completed.

Promise Yourself

I came across this motivational piece some time ago and every time I read it, it inspires me! So I felt it appropriate to start out my blog with this wonderful reminder -

Promise Yourself ...

*To be strong, let nothing disturb your peace of mind.
*To talk health, happiness and prosperity to everyone you meet.
*To make all friends feel that there is something in them.
*To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
*To be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
*To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.
*To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
*To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have not time to criticize others.
*To stay above worry, to be too noble to anger, to be stronger than fear and too happy to permit trouble.