Being a part of a landbase doesn't involve a computer these days. It involves walks down to the garden every day to check on things, hellos to a mother robin that's nurtured four eggs into little birds, chatting with the mice that squeak at me from the tall grasses, and plowing ahead on all the gardening projects Nux and I scheme up on those rainy days.
The garden is doing wonderfully and all the beds have Something in them now. You can find me on myfolia.com as HennaJoan and see more details about what I have planted. There are also plenty of pretty pictures at my Flickr page. We've been happy to put in a few tough transplants that were much bigger than our little coddled seedlings, though those are looking healthy and well on their way also. We've got beans sprouting fast, sunflowers coming up along our western fenceline, and watermelon mounds that have been lovingly seeded and mulched.
We finished an herb garden with gracefully spiraling paths that adorns the southern side of our multipurpose shed. It's been sown with pole bean and passionflower on a chicken wire trellis, and some thirty other herbs and flowers amongst the beds. We hope it'll be a riot of color and of much interest to local insects and hummingbirds here in a month or two.
We've also acted on dreams of a cool camper in summer by erecting an arbor. We put five posts in the ground on the west side of the camper and have attached chicken wire to the western wall and will soon add more to create a sloped 'ceiling'. The bed underneath the west wall was sown with half a dozen different climbing flowers that we hope will provide a shady hangout and also cooler temperatures inside the camper once we start to bake in the summer heat.
I've been making little books lately, and have had plenty of use for them - one a garden journal, another a 'calendar' book of when to plant this, harvest that, look for this wild edible and this herb blooming, etc etc. Nux collaborated on her journal, and I've recently added a small personal journal and a 'to-do' book for all of our many lists. Those rainy days (they tend to come in twos and threes) always make us eager to plot and plan new gardens and exciting things to do with the land.
Finances have been a challenge lately. I'm in Kansas City selling my 'city' car - a 98 Mazda. It's a great car, but we can't afford two, so we're sticking with the pickup as long as it'll last us - hopefully a while. We need the moolah from the Mazda to live through the summer even though we've cut our monthly budget down to a meager $200. Spending $22 for lunch on the town seems much more frivolous these days, and we're glad that what few shops/restaurants Are available to us out in the country are at least affordable.
With the change in spending habits comes a change in eating habits. I'm working towards a more healthful diet. I've already cut out caffeine (not a big deal for me, though Nux is another story), but bread products, sweets, and refined foods in general are still very addictive for me. I'm looking to eat 'low on the glycemic index' to help my stomach calm down and maintain better energy levels throughout the day, and it looks like all those carbs that I love most (mac n cheese, potatoes, cookies, breads) are the devils on this list. It'll be hard to Really hone in on the more nutritious veggies and cut out the few boxed treats we get from the scratch and dent grocer. Anyone else out there making tough diet changes?
Well, life is good, sometimes busy, sometimes blissfully empty, with nothing to do but stand in the shade and look at the gardens, the sky, the butterflies. I hope your life is every bit as rewarding as this blessing I've come to call home.
The garden is doing wonderfully and all the beds have Something in them now. You can find me on myfolia.com as HennaJoan and see more details about what I have planted. There are also plenty of pretty pictures at my Flickr page. We've been happy to put in a few tough transplants that were much bigger than our little coddled seedlings, though those are looking healthy and well on their way also. We've got beans sprouting fast, sunflowers coming up along our western fenceline, and watermelon mounds that have been lovingly seeded and mulched.
We finished an herb garden with gracefully spiraling paths that adorns the southern side of our multipurpose shed. It's been sown with pole bean and passionflower on a chicken wire trellis, and some thirty other herbs and flowers amongst the beds. We hope it'll be a riot of color and of much interest to local insects and hummingbirds here in a month or two.
We've also acted on dreams of a cool camper in summer by erecting an arbor. We put five posts in the ground on the west side of the camper and have attached chicken wire to the western wall and will soon add more to create a sloped 'ceiling'. The bed underneath the west wall was sown with half a dozen different climbing flowers that we hope will provide a shady hangout and also cooler temperatures inside the camper once we start to bake in the summer heat.
I've been making little books lately, and have had plenty of use for them - one a garden journal, another a 'calendar' book of when to plant this, harvest that, look for this wild edible and this herb blooming, etc etc. Nux collaborated on her journal, and I've recently added a small personal journal and a 'to-do' book for all of our many lists. Those rainy days (they tend to come in twos and threes) always make us eager to plot and plan new gardens and exciting things to do with the land.
Finances have been a challenge lately. I'm in Kansas City selling my 'city' car - a 98 Mazda. It's a great car, but we can't afford two, so we're sticking with the pickup as long as it'll last us - hopefully a while. We need the moolah from the Mazda to live through the summer even though we've cut our monthly budget down to a meager $200. Spending $22 for lunch on the town seems much more frivolous these days, and we're glad that what few shops/restaurants Are available to us out in the country are at least affordable.
With the change in spending habits comes a change in eating habits. I'm working towards a more healthful diet. I've already cut out caffeine (not a big deal for me, though Nux is another story), but bread products, sweets, and refined foods in general are still very addictive for me. I'm looking to eat 'low on the glycemic index' to help my stomach calm down and maintain better energy levels throughout the day, and it looks like all those carbs that I love most (mac n cheese, potatoes, cookies, breads) are the devils on this list. It'll be hard to Really hone in on the more nutritious veggies and cut out the few boxed treats we get from the scratch and dent grocer. Anyone else out there making tough diet changes?
Well, life is good, sometimes busy, sometimes blissfully empty, with nothing to do but stand in the shade and look at the gardens, the sky, the butterflies. I hope your life is every bit as rewarding as this blessing I've come to call home.
Comments
I'm really enjoying your blog by the way. My gf emailed me the Acorn Community link... looks amazing!!
Man, those six year olds and their sugar. Heh. It's still hard for me after all those years... why does it have to be so yummy?