Our Goodwill Pumpkins…

We want to plant pumpkins for the fun of it and also to give to some of the local neighbor kids near Halloween… so we started them inside and finally got them hardened off and ready for their first night alone in the yard, in the ground!  I almost want to go out and put little snuggy blankets up around them…. we’ve enjoyed watching them since they were little sprouts… and taking them in and out every day, just like a dog or something!

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I’ve already read that pumpkins love to grow in a rich compost mixture, so we decided on this side area of the lot near the empty lot where there isn’t much in the way of grass and all that.   We got 5 bags of compost and spaced them out nice.  I will train them to kinda fill up the bare spots and all on the lot.

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Compost volcanos ready for the pumpkins!   (Maggie thinks they are like little volcanos…  she always sees the world in her own unique way, I love that about her…

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Making the selections of who gets what mound… we ended up with 3 good strong plants per mound…   might thin one out in the days to come… just going to keep an eye on them.   We have 3 individuals left and we might put them on the other side of the Moby just in case something happens to these, we’ll have backups and all.  They are jackolantern and ghost white ones… a mix… should be interesting.  Haven’t had good luck in the past with pumpkins, but I’ve done a lot of reading about them and we’ll see what comes of it this year!

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All ready for their first night in the earth!   We’ll mulch out the hills tomorrow to make sure they keep their moisture and all, plus they will look a little more like we intending them to be there and all.   I hope our bunny friends do not find them and help themselves to our little pumpky babies!!!

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The Wheat Field….

Okay, so some folks have HUGE wheat fields…  ours is 8 x 8… not acres but feet!  haha! I always wanted to try to grow wheat… I just love the look of it… those beautiful little golden heads.  I might just end up decorating with it, but still.. we’ll see what happens!

I ordered some good North Dakota spring wheat online…  3 pounds was the littlest amount you could order!  I gave some to Miss Earline to plant too… and we’re going to plant it…  I already started a cup of it to see how it looks and all!

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Here is my current wheat field!

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Jessy and Maggie are getting very good at making raised beds now!  I just get to watch as they are getting very good at drilling and all that good teamwork to get it done in nothing flat!  We didn’t make it that high, just enough so that the mowing guys wouldn’t mistake it as grass and cut down the wheat!

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Almost finished…..

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We’re hoping that we will use up most of the dirt in the parking spot today or tomorrow…. well, tomorrow since it’s like midnight and no one wants to tote more dirt in the dark…   It’s still a pretty good pile, but we do want to really fill up this bed to the tippy top.  Wheat’s a pretty good digger and I’m sure it will dig down into the lower dirt area and all pretty quick.    Should be fun… we’ll keep you all updated as it goes on….

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A Sunday of Hard Labor…

Well, I’ve had a couple busy days with bluegrass… played two shows in a row and one of them we ran the show as well, so that makes it a lot of busy work.  Had a great time… and then the first part of the week  it was raining for like three days straight!  So this Sunday was the first day that I could really get into some projects at the mobystead….

I loaded up the van with a TON, literally, of materials…. leveling sand for the patio, mulch, compost and some plants that somehow managed to slip into my cart… hmmmm…. not sure how that happened…   but well, the old Lumi made it back okay…

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I got 250 pounds of sand…  480 pounds of mulch…  and 200 pounds of compost!!!

Okay, I guess that’s not really a ton…. almost half a ton though!  And Maggie and I unloaded and spread it all over the whole afternoon!   Jessy was busy working on her final projects and final tests for college… she’s done tomorrow!!!  YEAH!!! Summer break!!!

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Maggie and I worked on the patio project for awhile….  put down the leveling sand and then worked to level it nice and add all the stones we had, plus the 10 more I bought today.

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We got done with that and realized that we need more sand and more stones.   We’re too low.   It’s not very level with the concrete near the steps.   I don’t want people stumbling on the crack, so I guess we need to go and get a few more bags of sand and raise it up a little more.  Plus it’s kinda sloping out at the ends.   Oh well!  HAHA….   we’ll get it right… more sand will do the trick surely.  And we underestimated how many tiles we needed!  This is going to be a $100 patio by the time we are done, but it will look very nice… hopefully we can find a table or something nice to put out there… but if we keep at this patio project the only thing we’ll be able to afford will be one of those wire cable tables!  (ha ha ha….)

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Maggie and I like strawberries and I like raspberries, but Jessy is picky and only likes blueberries… so, she got two nice little blueberry bushes… and they are already blooming!   She might actually get a handful of blueberries this year!!!

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I got plants today to get the two huge planters purdy and actually growing something!  I am planning to get two metal trelises for them… because I got some of those climbing wave petunias, too and I’d like to train them up that.   I think I need a little height in my planters, and next to the Moby…  it seems like everything is small and low around her.   I’d like a little more height.  I haven’t found the perfect structure… I’d like to find something at a garage sale or make something but I need to think about it some…

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I got two contrasting sweet potato vines and some purple salvia, with some daises and a really purply geraminum for each pot.  Should be nice, and then of course with the waving petunias in the back.  Spiffy.  Can’t wait to see things grow up a little bit and fill in and out.

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This bumblebee didn’t take long to find the salvia!   Not at all… he was there within an hour of planting it.   And he came back over and over all afternoon.   Might be a her… are bumblebees in the field mostly hers or hims?

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After I mowed our lot and the ones on either side (they are empty)  I was pretty durn tuckered out… but it was a wonderful exhaustion.   This is the ugly side of the Moby…   and I have some big plans for this side!!!   A couple big raised beds and some fruits trees…   since it’s very unlikely they will ever put anything in this area… I might as well make it look nice.  I usually end up mowing it to make it look nice and I think they don’t mind that one bit.   Less the park has to do.  I just like the nice open feel that it gives me and the girls here…  I realize that not every mobile home park has this kind of opportunity, so I’m going to nurture and enjoy it!

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It was certainly good to finish up… and slip the old shoes off and sit barefooted near our half patio and sip fresh lemonade from Jessy’s stash!   And it’s very wonderful to feel so content and happy with our little home…  it’s starting to really shape up and we’re so proud of it.  We have more plans of course… but all in due time.  Times are tough and we’re definately tight with money, so anything we do has to be watched over and budgeted, but thankfully a bag of compost is about a buck and a couple hours of hard labor is good for the soul and the body!

I showed Maggie how to plant all the onion sets we had and she did the whole bed.  And then she planted radishes from seed.   She’s really getting the knack for gardening and I think that’s wonderful for her.   She loves getting her hands dirty and building things and working to make things neat.   We’re planning a little birdbath/waterfeature for her bird spa and cafe area! Should be interesting at the very least!!!

I’m about ready to hit the sack…  I’m definately ready for a good snooze!

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