Here are some pics of the backyard after we got 8 inches of snow last week. I love the look of winter. Just wish it wasn't so cold.
Monday, December 15, 2008
December in Wisconsin
...and boy is it cold. 5 below zero, tonight. Brrr.
Here are some pics of the backyard after we got 8 inches of snow last week. I love the look of winter. Just wish it wasn't so cold.
Here are some pics of the backyard after we got 8 inches of snow last week. I love the look of winter. Just wish it wasn't so cold.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
October in Wisconsin
Leaves, pumpkins and mums. Boy is it pretty right now.
btw, I never tried the chainsaw bit. I completely chickened out. One of these days, though... one of these days.
btw, I never tried the chainsaw bit. I completely chickened out. One of these days, though... one of these days.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Lawns and Chain Saws
Oh man it's been cold. Today I did what I think will be the last lawn cut of the season. The yard is really starting to look nice. Not fancy or perfect or anything, just nice. It was so bad when we moved in. It feels really great to have it start looking like something. I can't wait for spring. I have so many plans. I'm hoping to finish up the fall work soon.
Tomorrow I will be trying the chain saw. My first time. There are some trees that really need to come down.
Found out today that if I cut down the trees and let them dry I can turn them into some awesome log furniture. Not sure if I will be handy enough to do that but you can bet I'm going to try.
Hope I don't lose a limb. :)
Tomorrow I will be trying the chain saw. My first time. There are some trees that really need to come down.
Found out today that if I cut down the trees and let them dry I can turn them into some awesome log furniture. Not sure if I will be handy enough to do that but you can bet I'm going to try.
Hope I don't lose a limb. :)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
September 30, 2008
The temperature dropped to 54 degrees, today. It's supposed to go back up again. I hope it does. I'm not ready for winter, yet.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Good and Bad of Rain
Saturday in Wisconsin and it's raining. I had so many good plans for my garden, today, but instead the yard will get some much needed rain and I'm stuck in the house with nothing else to do but clean. The good and bad of rain. Can't garden with it, can't garden without it.
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Need to Plant
I found a way to appease my need to plant. I started moving shrubs that needed to be moved. It felt good to get back into the dirt again. There are still a few more to move. Digging those massive holes really puts perspective back into planting.
....man, I can't wait for spring.
....man, I can't wait for spring.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
September in Wisconsin
I know it's a strange time of year to start blogging about gardens, but the truth is my desire to garden has finally returned. I lost my desire years ago when the place we lived was all clay and impossible to grow anything. I tried for years to find a way to get the ground to cooperate. It took digging out the clay and replacing those areas with dirt. It was no easy task and though I was able to grow many beautiful things there, the workload was such that I eventually tired out.
Now we live in a place with the most beautiful dirt you could ever imagine. I love my new yard but still it took almost a year to recover from the difficulty of dealing with clay, not to mention that when we moved here the yard was a mess and it took most of that year just to get it to the point that gardens are even possible.
I remember back when we were looking at this place (it had been abandoned for a year) the yard was four feet tall, all around. An acre and a half of nothing but weeds, and thistles and burdock. Anyone that knows burdock knows how difficult it can be, especially with dogs. We had thousands of them to deal with, and considering each plant contains hundreds of sharp little point seed pods that get stuck in the fur of the dogs, you can imagine what a nightmare it was here when we first moved in. It took a month of work, just to get the yard to a place where we could walk through. ...and then it turned into winter.
It took another month in the spring to find and destroy all the rest of the little devils so that the dogs could go outside without coming back covered in painful nastiness. When the task was done, the floods hit and the yard became too wet to deal with. Finally everything broke and we got to the point of thinking about gardens.
I remember the first time I stepped into the garden and put my shovel in the ground. It was one of the saddest things I found. Though the dirt was beautiful, the people who lived here prior to us must have felt the gardens made a better dumping ground than a place to plant. The things I found in the ground amaze me to this day. Everything from concrete blocks, to beer cans to plastic bottles. We even found an old weight set that apparently belonged to Gold's Gym (as they weights were all labeled as such). I couldn't believe it. ... and that was only in one garden. They found the vegetable garden must have made a better burn pit than planting area, and according to the neighbor, they went out there ritually to burn couches, chairs, mattresses, carpet, an who knows what else. When I stuck my shovel in there, I found pounds and pounds of wire, metal and springs. It was incredible, and not in the good way.
So, after spending a summer of cleaning up someone else's thoughtless garbage, I am ready to begin. Problem is, now it's fall... so, even though I have the bug, the gardens will have to wait until next year.
Now we live in a place with the most beautiful dirt you could ever imagine. I love my new yard but still it took almost a year to recover from the difficulty of dealing with clay, not to mention that when we moved here the yard was a mess and it took most of that year just to get it to the point that gardens are even possible.
I remember back when we were looking at this place (it had been abandoned for a year) the yard was four feet tall, all around. An acre and a half of nothing but weeds, and thistles and burdock. Anyone that knows burdock knows how difficult it can be, especially with dogs. We had thousands of them to deal with, and considering each plant contains hundreds of sharp little point seed pods that get stuck in the fur of the dogs, you can imagine what a nightmare it was here when we first moved in. It took a month of work, just to get the yard to a place where we could walk through. ...and then it turned into winter.
It took another month in the spring to find and destroy all the rest of the little devils so that the dogs could go outside without coming back covered in painful nastiness. When the task was done, the floods hit and the yard became too wet to deal with. Finally everything broke and we got to the point of thinking about gardens.
I remember the first time I stepped into the garden and put my shovel in the ground. It was one of the saddest things I found. Though the dirt was beautiful, the people who lived here prior to us must have felt the gardens made a better dumping ground than a place to plant. The things I found in the ground amaze me to this day. Everything from concrete blocks, to beer cans to plastic bottles. We even found an old weight set that apparently belonged to Gold's Gym (as they weights were all labeled as such). I couldn't believe it. ... and that was only in one garden. They found the vegetable garden must have made a better burn pit than planting area, and according to the neighbor, they went out there ritually to burn couches, chairs, mattresses, carpet, an who knows what else. When I stuck my shovel in there, I found pounds and pounds of wire, metal and springs. It was incredible, and not in the good way.
So, after spending a summer of cleaning up someone else's thoughtless garbage, I am ready to begin. Problem is, now it's fall... so, even though I have the bug, the gardens will have to wait until next year.
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