Seven hours in the garden on Sunday. Another two or so (I think) on Monday and two on Tuesday... more to come, too! The way I see it, this is getting me back on track with my health (which I've totally been slacking on, but thankfully haven't gained much more than a pound or two back ::knocks on wood::)... I'm even back to yoga (which I've put off for about a month-- BAD, Kassy!) to help work out the tightness that the yard work has left me with.
I'm not doing all of this on my own, though... last year, my garden was... well, pretty sad. I mean, we had lots of tomatoes, some potatoes and TONS of Swiss chard, but not much more than that. This year my friend, Nikki, has come to my rescue in many ways. She has helped with the planning, the purchasing, the planting... heck, it's her garden this year too!!!
(continue reading after the jump)
How are you celebrating? Today, it's just my fiance, Moo and me, so we'll be doing some more planting, finishing up and hanging a pop bottle bird feeder that Rye and I started the other day and I'm sure we'll squeeze in a few other things.
A few posts back, I said that my cousin gave me a whole bunch of plants Easter weekend. I feel so loved! Check out what he gave me!
Yikes, have I been slacking! I still haven't posted about Easter weekend! Well, I'm not going to get into what kind of candy the kids got and whatnot, but I *will* share a bit about how we spent the Saturday before Easter because it was just too much fun to *not* tell you about it!
We started off the day meeting up with my cousin and his family at a GIGANTIC Easter egg hunt. It was pure craziness.
O and Moo
(unfortunately, Rye was at her dad's house
and didn't get to join in our fun...
I'm sure they did their own thing there)
Look at all of those eggs!!!
Look at all of those people!!!
...and that was just the people
on the other side of the football field,
there were just as many on our side!
And off they go!
O's got some loot!
More candy!
They even had a petting zoo there....
I'll let you guess what my favorite animal was
(keep in mind I'm a knitter and crocheter)!
I LOVE SHEEEEEP!!!
...and a cute little goat.
The bunnies were sweet.
O really liked them.
Afterward, we headed over to my cousin's house and hung out for a bit... Most of the day was spent feeding and chasing their chickens. I was amazed at how well behaved *all* the kids and the chickens were!
O and Moo feeding the chickens some leftovers.
Look at her pretty coloring.
O says he thought they would try to eat him!
They have an old willow tree they like to eat the bugs from.
My cousin's daughter and Moo with the chickens.
My cousin showing the kids how to feed the chickens.
The little bag on top of the coop is a calcium supplement-
Chickens need their vitamins, too!
My cousin made the coop...
I informed him that he'll be doing
some building for us when we have
our own piece of land someday.
Fresh eggs!
Moo showing off the eggs that were laid that morning.
Lunch!
These were by far the best eggs I've *ever* eaten.
Yum.
More calcium for the chickens...
who knew they like to eat their eggshells?
My cousin's daughter and O playing.
My cousin's son-
I told him to smile and say cheese...
This is what he gave me, haha.
Last year, they had a phenomenal garden, which they're getting going again this year...
Potatoes
Strawberries
Garlic
Ducks visiting their koi pond.
We had such a good time hanging out there! Plus, my cousin gave me a whole bunch a plants to bring home! (I'll have to show those off in a future post)
First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear and loving soon-to-be husband! I made him a birthday dinner that he was very happy with- musaka (a dish he grew up on), custard and scalloped pineapple (a.k.a pineapple bread pudding).... recipes will be coming shortly.
Well, about a week ago or so we were having absolutely gorgeous weather... now it feels more like it's supposed to this time of year (which I'm okay with, I suppose). I took advantage of our lovely weather and got my hands dirty! My fiance and I hit the garden department at a nearby grocery store and picked up a raspberry plant and a blueberry plant, which I managed to get in the ground (almost) right away... they're currently covered with empty storage bins to stop them from getting too cold, though we haven't had a freeze in quite awhile ::fingers crossed:: that we don't have any more!
Our blueberry plant
Our raspberry plant
The single packet of swiss chard seeds that I planted are showing some progress, too!
My fiance has been super sweet and put in a new raised planting bed off of our porch that I can't wait to use when the warmer weather gets here!
Look at it, just asking to be planted in...
This rose used to live where the planting bed is now,
ans it's a good thing that I noticed it there
because my fiance had no idea what it was
and was ready to whack it down!
I saved it's life.
While the weather was sunny I made a point of taking out my paint and getting some stuff done. It was then that I realized that the fact that I haven't *really* picked up a paintbrush since high school shows itself... please disregard the blobby-looking "lettuce" stone.
...mine aren't nearly as adorable as the originals,
but I like 'em enough and they get
the point across.
I *did* get a little more painting done, but I'll have to show you that in a future post 'cause it's just too darn late for this momma.... I have to make breakfast for the kids in the morning, after all.
I'm sure if you live anywhere in the Midwest you're getting sick of hearing people talk about just how insanely beautiful the weather has been. I mean c'mon, it's bee in the upper 70s to low 80s and its not even spring break! All of this warmth and sunshine has me in the mood to garden, but I'm a little wary of doing any real planting at this point, especially given that it's suggested that planting should begin in early May for our area.
Well, I *did* go ahead and plant one measly little packet of rhubarb swiss chard seeds... figuring that it's a cold weather crop, so it *should* be fine. Hopefully it survives if we happen to get another frost (which I'm praying we don't!). I also got a bunch of seeds started, some to be transplanted into the garden and some in pots, all of which can be brought inside if we have to.
There's a whole bunch of stuff here...
radishes, mustard, two kinds of swiss chard,
arugula and tom thumb lettuce!
Again, there's lots here... buttercrunch lettuce,
cucumbers (the "regular" kind and some for pickles),
three of four different kinds of tomatoes and eggplant!
Yesterday, I got the kids outside for most of the day (again) and this time I remembered to bring the camera! I didn't manage to get any good pictures of my baby plants (swiss chard, arugula and buttercrunch lettuce are all coming up!), but I *did* get these...
All three of these pictures are plants that have surprised us...
this is our first spring in this house,
so it's fun to see what kind of flowers are coming up!
Yay, springtime! We tore a bunch of bulbs out of our garden and moved them to another area, not expecting them to flower (or even survive, for that matter) but the crocuses have blossomed and the daffodils a budding (again, no good pictures of those yet)! I also managed to get the kids to help out with cleaning up the leaves and sticks around the fire "pit" (it's not really a pit, it's more of a fire thingy.... I'm not sure what to call it). The idea of yard work has been a lot more fun for the kids since we got our compost bin a few days ago, for some reason they think it's lots of fun to watch things decompose. Oh, who am I kidding? It *is* fun!
Moo hard at work.
Our pretty pile of sticks and logs that we
cleaned up from around the fire "pit."
Obviously, the kids have gotten a lot of play time in as well...
O and Rye chasing around soccer balls.
The girls had a friend stay overnight,
so this was a good chance to get some
quality cops and robbers in.
O in Daddy's truck.
Getting all of that energy out!
Now, I know I'm going a little overboard on the pictures, but it was too gorgeous not to take tons of them! ....so what's my favorite part of being outside?
