It's a typical Pacific Northwest day...rainy and grey, but at least everything is green!
I think it turned out pretty nice, hopefully the bleeding heart will be happy there. I chose the front entry way for the plant because I can move it into the shade easily on a hot day, and it can also be out in the rain on days like today.Before I forget, I have meant to post a picture of the newly completed gate to the garden, but I keep forgetting to. The husband finished it on Sunday. Here is the before and after:
The curved cut out was his idea, and a good idea it was.
Today I had a few chores to take care of outside, some not so pretty...our compost bin has been falling apart lately, it is a plastic structure with four sides that snap to a plastic base and a lid that flips up. The sides will pop apart from time to time, and it's been a hassle to keep Bambino and the neighbor dog, Otter, out of the bin. The fence has helped with that, but this morning when I went out to the garden the whole bin was lying in shambles, none of it held together at all. So I decided to move the compost itself to a new area, now that the chickens are out in their coop I will need a place to put their manure when I clean the coop...it's too hot to use right away as a fertilizer in the garden. When I moved the compost I was actually pleased to see that the bottom layer had turned to a beautiful dirt, in the almost two years I've been using the bin I have not been able to get any decent dirt from it yet. That's actually my fault, I've neglected the bin quite a bit...to get good results with a compost bin requires turning it and balancing carefully what is added to the bin. Let's just say I haven't been too vigiliant with my compost bin.
The curved cut out was his idea, and a good idea it was.Today I had a few chores to take care of outside, some not so pretty...our compost bin has been falling apart lately, it is a plastic structure with four sides that snap to a plastic base and a lid that flips up. The sides will pop apart from time to time, and it's been a hassle to keep Bambino and the neighbor dog, Otter, out of the bin. The fence has helped with that, but this morning when I went out to the garden the whole bin was lying in shambles, none of it held together at all. So I decided to move the compost itself to a new area, now that the chickens are out in their coop I will need a place to put their manure when I clean the coop...it's too hot to use right away as a fertilizer in the garden. When I moved the compost I was actually pleased to see that the bottom layer had turned to a beautiful dirt, in the almost two years I've been using the bin I have not been able to get any decent dirt from it yet. That's actually my fault, I've neglected the bin quite a bit...to get good results with a compost bin requires turning it and balancing carefully what is added to the bin. Let's just say I haven't been too vigiliant with my compost bin.The next yucky chore I had was to clean up all of the left over chicken mess - the box that had served as their "condo" for the past few weeks and the cage I put them in when they first came home. The box went into the new compost pile, the cage I cleaned well and tucked away in the greenhouse. It will stay there until I need it again for new chicks next spring.
Speaking of chickens, on rainy days there are often worms that ended up stranded on the pavement of our driveway...so today I picked up a few of those worms and brought them to my chicks. The little hens go crazy over worms, they shriek and run around trying to eat the worm before another chick can take it away...usually the worm is in several beaks before it finally becomes a snack. I hope this doesn't sound cruel, I like worms, they usually do wonders in the garden, but I also want my chicks to be happy. Worms are to chicks what chocolate is to most women. 
By the way, there's no way I could have picked a worm up and held it in my hand a few years ago, it would have made me gag...my lifestyle is changing me for the better I think.
By the way, there's no way I could have picked a worm up and held it in my hand a few years ago, it would have made me gag...my lifestyle is changing me for the better I think.After that I gave all of my seedlings in the greenhouse a good watering - easy to forget to do on a rainy day.
My next task was to transfer my new bleeding heart plant to a larger pot...the pot first had to be emptied of a long-gone orange tree and then refilled with new dirt.
Then I added my "rock garden" - basically rocks I've collected (and one that I've bought - guess which one!) over the years.
Then I added my "rock garden" - basically rocks I've collected (and one that I've bought - guess which one!) over the years.
I posted the picture below a while ago - I took it because I couldn't remember what it was...I have three of these plants and I've been curious what they are. I figured what ever it was I would like it, after all, I'm the one who picked it out and put it in the ground!
Here is the plant today...and I think I may have solved the mystery. I'll still have to wait a bit to find out if my theory is correct, but I think it is an allium globe master.
For documentation sake, I wanted to post a picture of one of our double weeping cherry trees. Of course it's beautiful, we have 11 of them along our driveway. I see more mature versions of this tree on my way to work and I feel anxious for the day when my trees are big. They have already grown an incredible amount. I love this time of year because I get to see them in bloom. There's just something about all of those pink blossoms that just makes me breath deeper and relax my shoulders.
Well, there's lots still on my to-do list, including making another loaf of this yummy bread (I took this picture of the loaf I made last weekend). It will be delicious with the beef I have slow cooking in Italian herbs. The house already smells yummy, perfect dinner for a rainy day!
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