I loved my room at the Porches. It was a little oasis where people picked up after me for a change, coffee was delivered in the morning along with croissants and cream.
Tea in the evening and a nice deep bath every other night.
But, by the end of the week I was so ready to be home. I missed home cooked meals and being able cuddle with the cats. I missed the daily walks with Jak and working out with Jason–and just hanging out with him in general.
I had a great homecoming on Saturday. While the flight was bumpy and obnoxiously long, I made it safe and sound without too many flying casualties. I did lose the book I was reading which is really annoying, but at least I didn’t loose my Kindle. Maybe someone will pick up “Made from Scratch” and read it and get inspired like I have been. Or at least use the flight info that has my name and address on it and send it back to me.
Anyway, Jason was all smiles and I was too. Jak did a dance. The ferrets rejoiced. The cats purred loudly. And then the next day happened to have beautiful sunny weather. I did the inaugural spring mowing of the lawn. I raked some leaves. Jason and I double teamed the house to get it picked up (he awesomely cleaned the whole kitchen while I mowed and raked). And while thunderstorms were predicted for today as well, we had another brilliantly sunny day. And at around 4:30pm my plants arrived!
My first round:
- Asparagus
- Horseradish
- Blackberries
- Strawberries
- Lobelia
I had been grinding the ax all day and decided to take advantage of the nice weather and work outside until dinner time. Gardening has a funny way of time-warping me. Before I knew it, the sun was starting to set and it was 7:30pm!
I sure did get a lot done. Most importantly, I discovered that what I thought was “just a few bricks” behind the garage, is actually a pretty huge stash that’s sunken into the ground and been covered by weeds. I’m going to have enough bricks to make my two raised beds! I love old bricks used for beds and paths in gardens. It will match our little patio so well too.
Even better, it saves me about $40+ in supplies for building the raised beds from wood. I am trying to keep a pretty strict garden budget this year, so every little bit that I save now can get rolled into more plants from Seed Savers or a greenhouse for next year or some maple trees or plum trees or native prairie plants for the front yard. Oh, or the morel mushroom kit to set up a stand of mushrooms in the woods right behind my house. The main thing is not having to buy 2×6″ and 2×2″ will go a long way towards other things in the garden.
Today, the most important thing was to remove the sod over a 8’x1′ wide area so I could get the asparagus into the ground. I saved the leaves from raking yesterday and was able to use that to mulch (which saved another $5 in my budget). The rest of my afternoon was spent mapping out the two raised beds, digging and hauling bricks from behind the garage. I also dug a 4’x2′ section of the north bed.
And while outside, I listened to the sun powered radio! How great is that? I don’t even need to use batteries or run a line. I just pop up the little solar panel and turn it on. It lasted all through dinner and my bath as well. Love that.
I’ll be approaching the two beds at a steady clip. I want to plant my peas, beans, and other early crops by the end of the week.
It’s so good to be home! And happily, more posts are coming soon! I have three posts lined up for this week (including this one) and 3 next week on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.
Happy spring!
Kristin
ps – update – finished digging the two other beds and went to lowes to get the remaining supplies for this sweet strawberry planter and the potato planter I talked about in this post months ago.
Supposedly the city of Ames has free mulch for residents. Call City Hall or Parks and Rec if you need it.