Lots of Progress

Welcome back to the homestead,

We definitely had an eventful week. We started by running errands. When we drove through Linden, we realized that there was the Blooming Arts Festival going on. We were so glad we stopped. It really is too bad, we ate ahead of time. There was several food trucks. Their menus and the smells were amazing. We walked around for quite awhile. It was hard not to go broke, but we did pick up a few treasures. One booth was mostly jams and jellies. They offered taste testing on some of their items. We walked away with Jumbleberry jelly and some apple pie bourbon jam. Both were amazing, and if they didn't cost so much, we may have bought more. We specifically looking for yard ornaments. I had my eye on a flower snail, but then I turned and found the three fluffy cows with sunflowers. That was the winner. Another booth we stopped at had some pottery. His main piece is the garlic grater. You can grate many things on this thing. It was a bit pricey, but it is safe on the knuckles. The bonus part is there is multiple holes on the side to strips leaves off of herb stems. The last item we purchased was a sun catcher for Rick. It is pretty and drives the cats nuts.

In gardening news, we got more seeds into the garden. I also transplanted from my winter sowing containers. It has been hard keeping things watered. They keep calling for rain, but it just has not been coming. If our rain catchment was up and running, it would be a different story. We are doing the best we can. I lost a few transplants, but I overplanted just in case. Fortunately, we had a very good rain yesterday. We saved up as much of the rain as we could. It is supposed to be sunny and dry for the next week or so. The next big planting will be in 3 to 4 weeks. The gardens will be all planted out.

A big project this week, was to set up the front gate. First we burned and oiled the posts. We augered holes and planted the poles. The gate went up really easy. We next put connecting rails on both sides. On the one side, we did not screw the boards into the live tree. It sways so much that it would ruin the fence. We oiled them as well to preserve them. The final touch was the sign I had made for Rick for Christmas a few years ago. The front gate needs a few more touches. We ordered some solar lights for the main posts. We also ordered two rose bushes to flank the gate. After that, we put shelves on the swing to put our drinks on. The lovely part, it was all lumber and screw we already had. We oiled them up to preserve them. That is recycled too.

Our next big project was the circle drive and a parking pad for the jeep next to the conex. Our churt was finally delivered. We immediately had to get on to spreading it because the pending rain. It took two days for 2 stubborn people, 2 shovels, 2 rakes, 1 wheelbarrow and 1 jeep. It was hard work, but it was worth it. I even got a sunburn on the back of my neck. Are you wondering what the jeep was for? We used it to tamp down the drive way. We compressed it the best we could, and we just had to wait for the rain. Now the rain came, we have to let it dry some and compress it again. Within the circle we made a tear drop shape garden. We lined it with logs. In the middle we cemeted in the flag pole holder.

We accomplished getting all the vines removed from the trees. We went in about 20 to 30 feet. The rest will wait for another day. As for the trees that need to come down in the safe environment, well that is on hold indefinitely. The wind here has been crazy lately. Just when you think it has passed, it kicks up again. We would rather be safe than sorry.

The garden in the center of our circle drive is now called our island garden. We did not know exactly where is was going to be, so unfortunately the old chirt lines most of it. We are going to be chipping it out. Rick found an easy method, but it will take awhile to finish. We are adding the chirt to the area where we are parking the tailer and to the unlevel spots that be came noticeable after the rain. In this bed, we will be planting some bushes and cooking herbs. The other herb gardens will be for medicinal.

Today was odds and ends day. I got the cabin cleaned up. The dishes piled up a bit from all the long days of work. The floors were extremely dirty. The cats were complaining of the filth. lol Not really. Until we get our grass and porch, it will get dirty in the cabin. I do not even bother dusting. When everything is finished inside, it will be easier to keep things cleaned. Rick took care of some errands outside. Dealt with our water we collected. He cleaned our dirty buckets. He took care of the flag pole and added the flag. It sure looks good and even better with the solar light on top. Hummingbird season is almost here, so we put out one of our feeders. I hope to see some soon.

We will continue to chip out the chirt in the garden, but we have to wait until it dries. We are onto oiling the rafter and facia next. So stay tuned to that. I wanted to take the time to wish everyone a Happy Easter. We did not do anything special. We do miss having the meal with the family and watching the kids decorate eggs and do their egg hunt. Take care everyone. Thank you for joining us on our journey. We really appreciate it.