Friday Fotos

 

 

 

 Welcome back to Friday Fotos,

where we share a bit of what we're up to

during the lull in the gardening season.

As you can see, these characters have been

keeping us entertained.

 

 

One of the tasks I got done early in the week

was to clean out all of the birdhouses on our property

and our next door neighbor's.

It is always amazing to see how intricately they are crafted.

Who wouldn't want to cozy up in this sweet nest?

 

 

 I spied a couple of bluebirds already scouting out a new home near the garden.

We relocated these three birdhouses from around other areas of the property.

We will most likely be adding a few more before spring gets rolling.

 

 Another job that has been continued

has been to create mounds of leaf mulch.

The weather has been dry and clear for over a week,

so the leaves that were sitting in bags since the fall

finally got dried out enough to mulch.

This stuff is gold in the garden!

 

 

 

 Some time was spent prepping the new blueberry planting area

by adding our own leaf mulch and worm castings.

We ordered three more blueberry plants from our local Extension office,

and this sunny spot will do nicely.

The soil will be amended with some type of sulfur product.

It would be best to do a soil test first to check the pH,

but with the plants coming in next week, time may not allow.

We will have 6 plants of different varieties with plans to add more in the future.

 

 

The broccoli is bolting, but still tastes good.

Did you know that you can eat the flowers?

They make a great addition to salads.

With the glorious weather we've been having,

I have been so motivated to get things done.

These welded wire panels were given to me by a friend

who no longer needed them.

I used them to "chicken-proof" the raised beds.

 

They were simply cut in half and stapled to the wood on the sides of the beds.

So far, so good.

The chooks go elsewhere when they are foraging.

We received a load of gravel this week

which will be used to create a walking path along the back of the house

and also to be used to make it easier to park our trailer on

along the side of the garage.

This has been on our project list since we bought the house

almost four years ago.

I don't know what it is,

but the sound of crunching gravel under my feet

just  

does it for me.

 

We also went and picked up a load of compost

to add to the raised beds before the planting begins in earnest.

I'm thinking of adding some perlite to the mix

to see if it makes a difference.

One of my daily chores right now is to pick dandelions.

A friend of mine needs seeds that have not been sprayed

to use for her tinctures and teas and such.

Every day when I get home from my walk,

I peruse the property and pick whatever I can find.

She lives in Oklahoma and was told that dandelions don't grow there.

She might become a dandelion farmer,

although folks may not take kindly to that endeavor!

Here's hoping that you are blessed 

with sunshine and time to spend outside enjoying it.