Keeping busy

When we were down with the flu, we had lots of time to ponder all the work we should have been doing around here. Once we were finally back up and running, we were able to get right onto some of the many things we had only thought about doing. And we've accomplished a lot, PTL!

Some of the things we have been busy with:

We cleaned out and organized the laundry (it no longer has all the extra things in there).

I have been spending 15 minutes a day or so working on one of the pantries (we have two small ones instead of one large one). We can get LOTS more into it and we can find what is in there that we need--some shelves are specifically marked to hold those items that would normally go into kitchen cupboards, if we had them. Once this is done, and I'm close!, I'll move to the other pantry.

We've been working on bringing more order to the front porch (it's amazing how things can collect there) and the carport (stuff fills in this space too).

Last week we sat down to plan our garden and realized that we needed to get on the ball because we could have planted spring peas in January!?! (Seven years in Minnesota will adjust one's frame of reference with regards to gardening!) Our garden is near the house. It is fenced with chicken wire (we have 'free-range' laying hens that would eat the whole garden in a day) and is currently 35'x40'. The outside has raised beds, built by Owen of recycle wood. Owen built the gate too.

Our biggest challenge right now is burning or digging out roots from old trees that we are finding as we turn and add amendments to our very sandy soil. We have also encountered a southern weed, not-so-affectinately called "Nasty plant". I couldn't have come up with a better name! It sends up little vines with thorns but it packs an INCREDIBLE root system! As we work on the roots, to prepare the main garden area (where we plan to garden intensively, as we understand it!), we are filling the raised beds with broccoli plants, cabbage plants, bush pea starts (never seen these before), lettuce (which we will cover for the frost forecast for Sunday night), spinach, mesculun mix seeds, and spring pea seeds. Our first intensive bed in the middle has onion plants and sets.

I am taking pictures, and maybe some rain-y day, I'll get to post some.

What are you up to?

Love, Stephanie