Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Minty Fresh

Today we transplanted many mint plants from my raised beds to around the base of our house on the east and north sides.

I planted many mint plants this spring with that in mind because mint keeps many types of bugs at bay. It doesnt help with misquitos but it works wonders on ants, especally carpenter ants who like to burrow into foam. And it is a tasty tea that is good for digestion.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Hot and sweaty

I am hot and sweaty, and I deserve it. This morning I scrubbed bathrooms, sliced and froze 3 cases of peaches, seeded more lawn and driveway edge ( its supposed to rain tonight, so I didn't water it) made dinner and cookies, hung out to dry 4 loads of laundry. Then this afternoon we went school shopping. The only thing left that we need to get is Galen shoes.

School supplies for 4 kids is a cart full.

Ok- nap time

Ps- i have a computer now- so as soon as I get around to it, and get all the right software and hookups we will have pictures on our blog. Then you can see my 6 gallons of frozen peaches and tomatos and I can show off the bald spot in the middle of our lawn where a bobcat scraped away the the top soil and nothing wants to grow there :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

weekly update

Nice weather we are having, too bad I have no energy to be out in it. I did manage to straw the yard and am enjoying watching my grass come up. My garden is ready to be harvested. Monday I made homemade spaghetti sauce with mostly fresh from my garden foods.

We have hardly had to use our sprinkler, it has been raining most nights. The house (in the nooks that don't get enough fresh air) smells the same as the ground around here does after it rains. It makes me nauseous. Can't wait to get things growing!

On an interesting note, my poor rhubarb plants, that died and then got buried when we moved dirt around the back of the house sprang up.

I need to harvest my herbs this week, plan on how to use the young men to help me move the playground over, and generally just try to survive.

The playground's measurements and space allocation here don't seem to mesh as well as I was hoping, so we plan to move the playground first and then decide how to build the sandbox around it.

I have been using some of the giant zucchini plants, thrust into my arms, this week for zucchini bread/cake. It is really tasty. Meanwhile my family is having withdrawal symptoms from chocolate. My baby won't let me eat chocolate- or this zucchini would find homes in the world's best zucchini brownies and chocolate cake.

We still need to put up a compost bin. The house it self has had no particular challenges to it's self to overcome this week..... let's hope the weather is beautiful for a few more weeks :)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Another hot week

It is August and in a last ditch attempt to get some green around here I seeded and watered and layed erosion mats. There are still more of those to lay.

The front lawn, of which we worked so hard to grow earlier this summer was destroyed when we brought the cat back to stabalize the driveway, take down the dirt piles and grade all the land to slope away from the house.

This week I am hoping to hay our grass seeds and lay some more erosion mats. Then i need to plant a tree or two to shade our yard. The planting will actually have to wAit until it is cooler outside, trees don't like to be planted when its so hot (not that I blame them).

I also need to move forward on our playset. Step 1: measure old sand box and match new location to size.
2. Prepare to and lay down weed barrier.
3. Build sand barrier
4. Have sand delivered and put in sand box
5. Move play set

Any idea on how fast we can get these done?

This house is cooler then yours

With this hot weather we have learned to keep our house cool simply by closing the windows in the morning. The house stays cool all day then at no cost- then at night we open the windows and blow the cooler air into the house.

Sometimes we even turn on the dehumidifier that we got at a garage sale for $5. Then its cooler and dryer then your house (assuming you are in MN)