BULL WORK

Just a few shots to show you why I've been so busy in the yard the past few weeks.

About a month ago, I laid down bricks for this "patio" in front of my garden shed.
Hmmm, I think we need a wider view. You can see the level below it (covered in dirt) that I made the year before last. I've never done any brickwork before, and don't do it the "right" way with all the crushed stone and sand. I just do what I like.

Then two weeks ago I moved on to the veggie garden to dig out all the tree roots. It's small, about 7' x 10', but after the first few shovels I said, "Forget it! I'm not going to dig this whole thing out again! (You see, there are tree roots everywhere in our yard, so I have to dig every year in the veggie plot.)

I had always wanted to try Square Foot Gardening, and figured now is the time to do it. I was looking through my garden books for something and discovered that I already had the SFG book (duh!). So I pulled it out and read it.

Then I dug out the 4' x 4' area down to a depth of 12 inches (because of the tree roots). I then double lined it with landscape fabric, and a piece of window screen that Mister had. I refilled it with a mix of the garden soil, composted manure (50%), and vermiculite. Hopefully the landscape fabric will keep out the tree roots for a few years. I just have to put up the frame for the vining plants, and I will bury a large pot in-ground for the pumpkins. I'm so excited!

So here we have it! This will grow green beans, cukes, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, spinach, and cauliflower.

Now, you'd think those two projects would have done me in. Almost! There were plenty of bricks left, so I moved on to the back of the house. I made another little "patio" off the stairs that lead to my workroom door. Rocks everywhere! Besides the fact that New England is just plain rocky, we've been told that we live on a gravel pit. The contractor that leveled the property next door found that out and wanted to level our yard and buy the gravel. No way! We love our hilly back yard - it's got character! Now I just have to clean up and haul the rocks away to the side of the yard.

Are you wondering why Mister didn't do these for me? Well, I like doing bull work, and he likes working on the barn - so we each have our "play" areas!

Tonight, Teen is going to the after Prom party. It's from midnight to 5 a.m. at the high school. The prom doesn't interest her at all, but when she found out the party is going to have a bouncy castle she signed right up! I don't mind driving her over at midnight (I'll be up anyway) - it's the 5 a.m. that will hurt! She's hoping to get a ride home with a friend down the street . . . me, too!