We've been busy

Lots of things have been happening in the past few weeks and it seems a lot easier to make short emaily bloggy thingies than to try and catch up and post a bunch of pics.

This past weekend Darwin's friend Kim came to help us do stuff for the weekend.  Well of course you know it rained and so that made it difficult to do a lot of the things on our list.   However, they did haul out the old fireplace and then they took out the old chimney.  It made a lot of mess and we now have a hole in our roof which is kinda not awesome, but we will try to get it patched and then we will be able to have someoen help us install the ne propane fireplace that is sitting in the living room.  We have had it there since January so I am pretty excited to finally quit tripping over it.

And so it begins....

That was a lot of work, and a lot of mess.  But it's out now.  Just have to patch the roof, insulate inside and then get the new fireplace in

Old fireplace is outside.  We hope to actually make an outdoor fireplace of it with big bricks, but that is a project for some other year

While the guys were doing that, I decided to try and clean up the barn wings. There used to be sides attched to the long barn, but snow/ stupid kids/ whatever collapsed the roog on them.  No one bothered to clean that up or muck out the barns and it was growing grass and stuff in there.  Dar is convinced that i have contracted hantavirus from that but I am pretty sure I am just garden variety ill.  Seems to be a flu or soemthing and intend to go to doctor today again. *ugh*

Got this section totally cleaned out and will get  the wheelbarrow and haul the poo out to a heap in the garden so it can continue to compost

I couldn't life or remove some of these big pieces so will have to do that some other time.  A saw would make pretty quick work of the big pieces and at least there won't be grass growing in there.  Would like to have a roof on this portion again some year, and make it into a greenhouse because that would be swell

How appropriate that we live on Noah's Ark

The first babies I have seen this year.  I am not sure why the one is so much smaller than the rest?  Maybe I could write a story about it and call it the "Littlest Gosling" since it isn't ugly, not a swan and obviously not a duck.

Strawberries taht I bought at Dutch Growers and they are ever bearing and producing already like crazy.  It was suggested to me that I should not let them produce this year so that they spend time growing roots and making runners.  That would be smart... BUT what if they die in the winter>???  Better to have berried and lost than never to have berried .

I am having a rather hard time once again with this blog business and trying to put pics in order.  I think it might be that hte rain has gone to my brain.  I wish it would go back to the plain in Spain, where I do not believe it mainly falls any longer.  What a load of brown stuff that is.

some ducks

another duck

So I planted a lot of stuff in pallets, because the ground where our garden boxes are is mostly sand and gravel and very hard packed.  As well I had seen this at a greenhouse once and thought it worth a try.  The whole "no weeding" makes it a pretty sweet deal

This is an ataulfo mango seed pod.  Apparently some people have luck growing them indoors.You scrape all teh flesh off the pod and leave it to air dry overnight. Then. like shucking an oyster, you get the seed inside. Creepy looking thing, init?
Then, you put the seed in a pot or baggie of peat moss, keep it moist and it should sprout in 1-3 weeks. We'll see!

we got this quad to move snow.  I hope we never have to use it.

The resident bittern overseeing teh garden weeding process.

Another shot of the stuff coming up now.  LOTS of brussel sprouts, tomatoes are going along and the pallets of lettuce and leeks.  If we could get some heat wow ... it would be great

Got some yummy little peppadews the other day.  Lots of people have not heard of them but they are S. African peppers taht look much like little tomatoes.  You can stuff them with just about anything like as appetizers.  In teh olive section at Safeway and probably other stores

It\s a rhubirb

Don't even ask

Shari's lewesia that I was entrusted to care for until she comes back to Cansda

This is a tree earring that Shari sent for my birthday!  Coiolest thing ever - you put those suet balls in there and hang then from a tree like an earring!  Hard to find suet balls this timeof year so I am hoping to find a small round hummingbird feeder that I can put i n it and hang.

Hey Ben ... found this the other day and wondered if you were craving any hahahaha,  I believe you used to call it "Chip Muck"

Just spooning a l'il

So the sweet potato did sprout some great roots and small leaves I planted it in a hanging basket and will see how it does

Bitern wandering through the play ground

Guess what'sin this little lawn ornament that Shari gave me some years ago?  An artichoke!

Go to your room!

OK I probably have lots more pics and some were even interesting but internet is just , well, crappy.  SO I will post this, crossing fingers .... and hope you all have some good sunshiney days on the way soon