Garden Co-ops

Opinion Polls & Market Research

After some incredible high April temps and dry weather that made a dust bowl around here, we're finally getting much needed rain. Vegetation is the greenest I've seen it in months and I noticed yesterday grass is starting to grow. When we first moved in here, I wondered if we'd ever see grass, but I think God orchestrated his creation so there are seeds in just about any soil. (Well, maybe not the clay stuff...)

Speaking of seeds and soil, we haven't tried a garden here for two reasons:

1. I think I'm garden handicapped.
2. I doubt anything will grow in sandy soil.

The first I can take care of by educating myself. There are some great gardening websites and books. The second, I can now solve much easier than buying top soil thanks to my friend. Yesterday she asked me if I was interested in sharing a garden with her.

A garden co-op? Whodathunkit? We must be in tune with each other, perhaps by God's spirit since she loves Jesus too, because if you read yesterday's post, you know I mentioned growing food. I just didn't know how I was going to succeed at it with our sandy soil.

So now the two of us are going to grow a garden at her house where she already has a designated garden plot, and we'll get to share quality time, soak up lovely sunshine and it's precious vitamin D through our much-needed sunblock, give our kids regular play time together, and save money on vegetables! This is a perfect setup for someone like me who is garden green, as in don't-know-nothing-'bout-planting.

If you are planning a garden, why not ask a friend or two if they want to go in with you? Or if you want to save money but don't have the space, ask some of your land-wealthy friends if they might be interested in a garden co-op. Or maybe you have land, but don't know how to garden. Get some friends and learn gardening together. You don't even need that much space. The return might be worth turning a postage stamp parcel's tiny lawn into a garden for a season.

Garden co-ops--what a great way to grow friendships, food, and that green wallet stuff.

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Tech Tags: garden co-op grow plant save money share weather

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Beach Sand

Sand.

It's all over our driveway, and when rain stays away, sand gets everywhere. Especially when the boys and Jim go wheeling on the four wheeler and go cart.

It's perfect sand box sand and feels just like walking on the beach. We ought to package this stuff and sell it.

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Technorati Tags: sand ^ driveway ^ beach sand

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Foliage Tour & Good News

Believe it or not, my silence here has been good. It means I've been doing a lot more with my family like attending IJ's cooking class bonanza (oh the food they served!) and taking kids to doctor appointments.

I had intended to finish the Blog Foliage Tour that week, but was unable to, so I'll continue it at a slower pace until I post all the pictures I gathered two weeks ago. Now that the trees are much barer, it will be nice to see the color-splashed mountains again before that pending blanket of white that's been bearing down on us actually lands.

Great news: Baby KH who was born nine weeks early came home last week!

My brother and sister-in-law extend their deepest thanks to all of you who prayed for their daughter's health. The next two months at home are still critical because she is susceptible to serious viral lung infection and must be isolated from outside people. We're praying God carry her unharmed through this time and beyond so she and her family can begin to find their new normal for life with three kids. I was able to see her briefly for the first time last Wednesday, so that was a treat.

Thanks for your support.

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Blog Foliage Tour 2006 -- 2nd Leg

The Building Brows Blog Foliage Tour 2006
~continued~

The second leg of our tour
takes us to the Vermont/New Hampshire line.

I took these photos of New Hampshire mountains
while standing in Vermont. Vermont stops at the water line
because New Hampshire owns the waters.

I wonder if those who camp all winter fishing in their ice shanties--
no kidding, Jim met a guy who does exactly that and camps
in the woods during warm months--
would be considered part time New Hampshire residents.

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Blog Foliage Tour 2006 -- 1st Leg

And it's time to begin
The Building Brows Blog Foliage Tour 2006!

Below is the first leg of our trip in Southern Vermont.
Which photo do you like best?

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Where's Waldo--er Jimbo? Contest--ANSWER

The Where's Waldo--er Jimbo? contest had no winners.
Nobody could find Jimbo!

Can you find him below?

Here, let me help:

That's Jimbo bending over to look around
the tractor's arm at the ditch.
You can even see his blue cap, if you look closely enough.

Boo hoo. No winners. Maybe next time.

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Llama Pen Extension

Today Jim cleared some of the land where the llama pen will extend.


Heading out to the pen.



Further out.
The kids are walking on the pathway.






Here's the back end.

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Bushwhacking

Make sure you take a moment to
participate in our
Where's Waldo--er Jimbo?
CONTEST
for a chance to be featured on our blog.
(Ya gotta read the comments for the great joke by gary.)

While Jim dug posts for the llama pen extension, I picked up pruning shears and took to the poison berry bushes. Actually, as I began to cut them, I realized they bear a striking resemblance to bamboo. They are cylindrical, smooth, jointed, and have hollow insides. We had bamboo growing on our old property, but it never flowered or had berries, though, so now I'm really wondering what this thing is, Research last year by the berries and leaf shape, however, revealed pokeberries.

At first I thought the plants were faking me out because the stems were still green, not red like they are when the berries mature, but then I realized today that they are indeed pokeberries. Sitting cut in the sun, the stalks deepened to red. So I did recognize them correctly by the flower formations. (Phew.)

Here's a before trim picture. Can you guess what's in this mess of foliage other than deceptive plants trying to get me to leave them standing?





A stump.



On closer inspection this stump appears to have been thrown there. It's not attached to the ground. That will take a bit more than pruners and a rake to move.

This area looks a little better, now, but there's still a long way to go. The back of the house has overgrown terribly since last year. Must be all that sun and rain we've gotten.


Here I am raking the "lawn" next to the trailer. Oooooo, l - a - w - n...
(Yup. I have really long hair. All the better to catch ticks with. Bleck.)



I made the area wider by cutting bushes around the grill.



We can actually walk by the grill to the pool now without scratching our legs on prickers.


The really nice thing about this landscaping stuff is that I've discovered that our property has a berry jackpot--a lot more than I ever knew last week. Black raspberries are scant and I actually found a red raspberry strand this weekend. (Gave them to my mom. Wasn't that nice?) Blackberries, though, are so abundant we could probably package and sell them.

Oh goodie-goodie-goodie. I'll be in berry heaven.

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Hi Ho. Hi Ho. It's landscaping we go... *CONTEST*

Don't have money to build? Put in some good old elbow grease instead. That's what we're now doing. We started with the llama pen.

Jim read that it's best to have one acre per llama. Since we now have four instead of one, Jim decided to extend the llama pen to add three acres. His plan serves two purposes.

1. To give the llamas more room.
2. To clean up the property since they'll eat lots of the foliage.

Great! The more they eat, the less we'll have to do. Chow down, llamas!

This picture shows the end of the llama pen and beyond where we'll expand. Keep your eye on that tipped Birch tree and the triangle area with the tree next to it.

This land will become the extended llama grounds. To get your bearings, note the tipped Birch. The tree in the foreground is the one that appeared to be next to the Birch, making the triangle. See Jim's red tractor arm to the right?


CONTEST
Where's Waldo--er Jimbo?



Jimbo is in the triangle's pocket digging holes and placing posts for the fence. Can you find him?

* Post a comment if you think you see Jimbo.
* Include your e-mail address to be considered for the prize.
(Add spaces in your e-mail address to deter web spiders)
* I'll choose a winner from the correct entries.
* The winner and winner's website/blog will be featured on our site in an upcoming post.

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If You Rake It, It Will Come

Look closely. Do you see it? The little green sprigs of weeds that some feverishly cultivate and let run their weekends?

Yup. You see right. It's--are you ready?--GRASS.

Well, I'll be. How'd that happen? I think I know. And it all started at Walmart.

I was searching for pool supplies, but couldn't find them and ended up in the Lawn and Garden section. I noticed the rakes, and suddenly felt an urge to buy one.

What do I need a rake for? I asked myself. We have no grass, only oceanless beachfront property.

Still, I really wanted a rake. (Oh, the simple things it takes to please me sometimes.) We hadn't owned one for years except the metal wide-pronged rake used to clean the llama pen. The scattered hay from the bug-infested bales Jim had recently pulled away from the house still rested too closely for me, and I wanted it raked.

I confirmed the couple-dollar purchase with Jim and then brought it home.

Now I didn't realize this until I took it out of the car, but there's something going on with me and raking. When I was nine years old I used to pretend I was Cinderella cleaning her wicked stepmother's house while I raked--and I enjoyed it. (The raking, that is.)

So here I was, new rake in hand. I was supposed to go inside to make dinner, but I couldn't resist Cinderella who wanted to escape. I raked around the house, the walkway, and the upper part of the driveway for half an hour, as pleased as a snowman in an arctic storm after a long warm spell. The feel of rake in hand, vibrations ricocheting up the handle with each pass along the ground, and the sound of plastic scraping the earth warmed my heart. I felt like a kid again.

As I raked, I wondered if grass might grow, which prompted more raking. I finally had to go in and make dinner, but I've kept potential grass growth in the back of my mind.

And then I got out of the car yesterday and saw patchy green-tinted beach.

Revelation--If you rake it, grass will come! Even on oceanless beachfront property! Now we just have to figure out how to mow our patchy lawn on uneven ground to keep ticks away, and we're all set. Yea!

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Lucrative Property

One of the joys of building must be the lack of lawn. Oh, how I look forward to the day we can landscape and I can sit outside sipping a cup of mocha while I watch the kids play on the swingset in a lush lawn. In the mean time, here's what we have:

An oceanless beach.

Sand, sand, sand, and more sand. Is it any surprise that the other day my kids created the mound with protruding sticks you see here? "It's where Spongebob lives," my four-year-old said. Of course. The city undersea where a rectangle sponge, dopey starfish, and clarinet-playing squid live; residents eat famous crabby patties; and the strongest jock is a bowl-on-the-head squirrel.

So you see, with 5.75 acres of beach-front property near the popular and prominent city of Bikini Bottom, we have the most lucrative property around.

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