Tree Removal

While Jake was here, we also removed some shrubs and trees from the front yard. I love the way things look now and have been enjoying how much brighter the tree removal has made our room. Now, I just need to decide what to plant as replacements; maybe a hydrangea or rhododendron?

And yes, we did use the Jeep's winch to remove the trees. It made the job a lot easier.

First Harvest

On Thursday, before we left for a weekend away camping, I was able to harvest some veggies from my garden. I am so excited things are finally starting to ripen.

Perfect Timing

Yesterday when I walked out the front door to get the mail, I saw this:



I am so excited my Rhodie is starting to bloom, it adds so much color to the front yard. And the timing is perfect, since my tulips have just recently passed.

Veggie Patch Planting

Yesterday afternoon, Terry surprised my by bringing home 4 eggplants for my vegetable garden. Now, I have the entire garden planted except for my basil (which I am told it is still too early for). This year, I did square foot gardening. It really helped when I was planning out my garden and I think I got a lot more planted overall than if I did just rows as before. I had a few extra plants that I put into last year's garden. By the looks of it all, if everything grows correctly, Terry and I will be set when it comes to fresh vegetables this summer. I will keep you posted on the progress on the plants.

Mother's Day Weekend

Terry and I packed the car and headed up to my parents' house to spend Mother's Day in Ferndale. We had an uneventful trip on Friday afternoon. I drove while Terry and Zeus slept. We went out for dinner on Friday night to get burgers with my parents and then went back to their house and relaxed until bedtime.

On Saturday, my mom and I both woke up feeling under the weather. My throat was really sore and she had a sinus headache and sore throat. We tried to make the best of the day and headed out after breakfast to hit the mall, several nurseries and the grocery store. I was excited and was able to find all of my vegetables for my garden except eggplant and basil. Apparently, it is still to early to plant basil. We also both got some annuals for planting in pots and added color to the garden. After the nurseries, we had to head home since we filled the back of her Jeep and had no room for groceries.

After a quick trip to the store, we took the dogs for a walk and fed the ducks and llamas. It was funny watching my mom feed the ducks since the dogs would try to sneak in and eat the bread she was throwing. We stayed up late playing dominoes after dinner.

On Sunday, I had made reservations to have brunch at Semiahmoo Resort with my parents, grandma and Ed. The weather was amazing. The restaurant was right on the waterfront, so we were able to watch boats go by as we ate and had a great view. After brunch, we headed back and helped my mom plant some of her pots (by help, I carried the potting mix onto the deck and watched). Terry and I loaded up the car and headed home a little after 3:00. Terry and Zeus both napped on the way home. We had a great weekend with lovely weather. I am glad I was able to spend Mother's Day with the one that it was meant for!

Orchid

Since moving to Washington, I have had horrible luck with my orchids. The move overall was a hard adjustment gardening wise. I am finally getting used to the fact nurseries are not open year round, you can only buy whatever flower is in season, just about everything dies back to the ground in the winter, our veggie season is incredibly short and plants that were full shade in California tend to be full sun in Washington. But anyways, back to the orchids.

I had two and ever since we moved, they have gotten sadder looking by the day. Finally, I got tired of looking at them, but didn't want to toss them, so put them in the corner of my office. It's like having an old pet, I didn't want to put them to sleep, so I just tried to make them as comfortable as possible in a sunny window to live out their last days. I figured death was inevitable.

Yesterday, I was doing some rearranging in my office and I remembered I had orchids. They hadn't been watered for a LONG time, so it wasn't surprising one was barely holding on to its last green leaf. I brought it over to the sink to give it some water in hopes that maybe it will come back to life. I figured the other orchid would be in the same dehydrated, deathly state, however, I was wrong. As I picked up my second orchid to water, I noticed there is a small stalk of new growth. Amazing! I knew they always did better with a little neglect, but I would never have guessed the thing was actually alive enough to produce new growth. I gave it a little water yesterday and will try to keep it neglected for a few months in hopes of the growth ending with a flower. It is back in the same corner as before, however now, I have hopes that it may come back to life and that I won't have to put it to sleep for a long time.

Weekend Yard work

This weekend was the perfect weekend to get caught up on some yard work. We had fabulous weather both days and I think I may have gotten a little color from spending the days outside pulling weeds, digging up ugly plants and planting new ones. On Saturday, I focused on the front yard and on Sunday, I did some weeding in the back. Below are some before and after pictures taken on Saturday afternoon.

Front from street:

After:

Tree Rings in the front, before:
After:

Front Entry way before:

During:

Front Entry After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

While I worked in the front, Terry did some work on the Jeep and Zeus supervised. It was a great way to spend the day with the family.

And last but not least, some pictures of the back yard blooms:

Spring Weekend in Ferndale

Terry and I spent the weekend at my parents' house in Ferndale. We had a great time up there and had amazing weather on Sunday. My mom decided to get more chicks this year and they were adorable. On Sunday, with the sun shining, we spent the day outside. Terry's back was hurting, so he supervised as we filled raised veggie beds with compost and soil. I also helped my dad sink some posts since he has to fence the new garden area. We had a blast over the weekend and can't wait to go back for Easter.