A Tater-Totin', Sign-Painting', Wammy and Pappy Kind Of Day

The days started out with Sam telling Bruce that he really did want ot go to our house because gardening was boring.  So we gave the gloves and clippers and headed to the potato bed.

They worked really hard cutting the stems or haulms off.

Mia worked on one end of the bed while Sam worked on the other.

We filled Pappy's blue wheelbarrow full to overflowing.

The contest... finds the biggest, the smallest, and a heart-shaped potato.

Sam found a pretty big one!

Mia pulled out a whopper.

That is the pile I gathered from my side of the bed.

Clean-up consisted of dumping the wheelbarrow into the compost bin.

Putting the tools back where we found them.

Pulling my little wheelbarrow to Pappy for a pic.

They look like pretty happy farmers.

rinseing

washing and sorting

We called that one the heart-shaped, but Sam called it the butt crack.

Look at the face; of course he did!

Still washing and sorting.

After all that garden work, I asked them if they could make me a sign for the new garden we planted in the way back.  They were all over it!

The sign reads Hillybilly Hideaway Garden.

A little snack and a game.

We dug 40 pounds of potatoes from that bed.  And we will be planting more!

BTH...Sam left saying that gardening was fun today.

Hillbilly Hideaway Garden: McGyver Style

 

Mark and I finally decided to tackle a project that has been in the back of Murph's mind since long before we started the Great Backyard Makeover.   This is jsut a dead spot in the yard where we blow all the leaves in the fall.  Last year we even threw some gourds and pumpkins back in there to see what would happen.

Lots of vinca vines and poison ivy vines to clear out.  I found lots of treasures the dogs had carried back there over the years, and maybe a few things from the yahoos.  Carolyn took the orange ditch lilies, and I gave all the other flowers new homes in the yard.  We decided to just use the items we could find around the yard.  Doing it on a limited budget.  We had an entire section on fencing that someone screwed very securely to the existing fence that was a Bear to remove.  Thanks to Kory and his idea to use channel locks (because we had already tried everything else), they got it out in no time flat.

I'm telling you it has been brutal!  And my allergies are more than full-blown.

It took us a bit to get the placement of the fence and gate.

My skinny handyman is doing his best.

Here is where the Hillbilly part comes in.  The handyman attached the fence section with hinges going the 'wrong' way, but it was the right way for this project.

All cleaned up after tilling it and removing all the surprises.

All cleaned up, tools put away, and now it is time for a sit and a Pepsi.

Zhuzhing the outside of the fence panel with marigold seeds in the cinderblocks, and host in the blank spots.  I decided that I didn't think the black tub met the look I was going for.

another angle

We had some pieces of old cattle panel that I decided to use as a trellis for birdhouse gourds and small fancy gourds.

same here

Weedeater 1....Me a bloody cheek

Plants Are Going In

 

I've been working really hard to get these plants in the ground before leaving for vacation.  It has been storming and then it turns around to be so humid you can't hardly breathe.  So I have done the best that I can do.  The basil has been joined with tomato plants.

Cucumbers are looking pretty good.

Both kinds are doing well.

okra and eggpalnt

Murph's hot peppers

More calm red, yellow, and orange bell peppers.

zucchini and yellow squash

There are three 'big' tomato plants on the posts, and I have also planted flower seeds that I harvested from last year's flowers to attract pollinators.

I also 'planted' the bike that my dad rode from building to building when he worked at INCO.  I am so excited about it!  I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when the flowers begin to grow and then bloom.

Strawberry Fields Forever And Ever And Ever

 

In my book, there is nothing better than a warm strawberry picked early in the morning and eaten while on a garden tour.

Avery is becoming the best strawberry farmer!

We don't have many days left, and I am so sad.