Happy Wednesday! I know you haven't heard from us in a while, we haven't been doing much except watching back episodes of Lost.
Ok, you got me, that's not true at all. We've been BUSY! We built three 4x8 and one 4x4 raised beds, which required four truck loads of compost and one truck load of topsoil. (Thanks to Ryan's folks for the use of the truck.) We then mulched almost everything with another two truckloads of mulch, and most places got the wet newspaper mulch combo. We also chipped up a thicket of sticks that accumulated over the past two years (again thanks to Ryan's folks for the use of the chipper) and used the resulting mulch for the backyard trees, blackberries, and my mint garden. (Actually if it weren't for Ryan's parents, our yard wouldn't look nearly as nice.)
We also decided mid-project to add two new little beds, one for sunflowers and one for the mint garden. I am the only person in the world who can't grow mint. I kill the stuff all the time. In desperation, I purchased 7 different kinds of mint and planted them in a nice sunny spot on the side of the house where I hope they'll invade and cause problems that require my mower to fix. So far (now in week two) I haven't killed the plants. The mint verities are: ginger mint, orange mint, peppermint, apple mint, spearmint, chocolate mint, and I threw in some cat mint. They should all fill in, bloom, and attract some nice critters. I also used some of the mad money I get from my other gigs (babysitting and photo work) to buy some annuals and a few perennials for the front of the house. Everything is all decked out in the most vibrant jewel tones, it looks so lovely.
In the middle of all of this craziness, we discovered that Emma (the rat) was having emotional issues. I know, you're laughing, but she has been really lonely since her sister, Amma, died. She didn't really get any interaction on a regular basis, which was part of the problem, so she has been relocated into the living room where she can be part of everyday life. She also has a new cage with a very stimulating environment. She seems happier and more energetic, although we still have some work to do. 
The rest of the kids are doing well, especially Kismet who now looks forward to her weekly visit at Grandma & Grandpa's house for Sunday dinner. She gets to run around their fenced back yard. Life is good!
I had a BIG event the weekend before last at my top secret government job. They kept me all weekend working like a mad woman. One of the upshots of working for the state is that they have to give you overtime when you work more then 40 hours, so I get an extra week of vacation this year. This means that you must come and visit, 'cause I have a weeks worth of time off I have to use before the year is out. This is on top of my already accrued vacation, personal time, sick leave, and family personal time. Not to mention the community service time I can take. (Geesh, it's a wonder I have to go in at all.) So there is plenty time for everyone to come visit.
We are also just now starting to build the hen house, and the chicks should be at the Feed & Seed this week or next. (I promise pictures soon.) The first round of planting is almost done, too. Currently growing are: flowers, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, lettuce, spinach, snow peas, snap peas, carrots, beets, onions and potatoes. (We have a total of 57 different varieties of edibles that are in the ground right now.) Soon it will be time to put in all the viney plants like loofa and cucumbers. We've had trouble in the past getting any of our plants to thrive, so we're hoping we overcompensated this year and have to give most of it away.
That's about all for this week. I hope you are all doing well, and please email me back to let me know how your projects are going. And, don't forget to check the site for more regular updates.
Hugs,
Gretchen
Happy Wednesday! I know you haven't heard from us in a while, we haven't been doing much except watching back episodes of Lost.
