Learning to live well on a budget
Follow along while I learn new skills and get creative raising my kids on a limited budget.
Looking forward to our summer trips to Lake Superior where I enjoy walking on the beach and collecting driftwood. Last year I found some unique pieces and I made this decoration for the patio using kitchen twine. It's like a dream spinning in the wind. I might add a tutorial after our next visit.
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That pesky squirrel emptied our bird feeder that is mounted on the tree daily. It drove me nuts! I attached this cover of a bakery cake to the tree and voila, re-purposed magic! The squirrels can see the food, but can't figure out how to get to it. I have a feeling they will eventually crack the code, but I'm saving some seed in the meantime. It took the birds about 24 hours to figure out that they could come in from the front.
The peas are taking off. We have to do a lot of protecting them from the chickens. Broccoli coming up. The whole bag spilled out in one spot, going to need some thinning! More broccoli, had to cover from the chickens taking too much interest. Cucumbers. Most of the originals I planted died, so I started over with seeds. Hope they do better. Red peppers. Doing so much better than I thought they would! A couple sweet peppers and buttercrunch lettuce. The chickens ate the first row/right of lettuce. Ugh, must re-plant! Tomato plants. I barely scratched the surface but the camera battery died. I'll post the pictures of my beds later in the week. Cucumbers love to climb so I built this rugged trellis for them and I plan to make one for the peas as well. I like the look of natural materials, and sticks are a free and a renewable resource. The funny part is that it starts out looking like this! Wild stuff! I just took the sticks and pushed them in along the sides of the pallet raised bed. With a little twine and some bending and shaping, the arches were formed. It will be so nice to see the little cucumbers hanging down. Last year they hid under foliage and got way too large for pickling. Think of this as bare bones, and how much more beautiful it will look when the plants start to climb. I am praying the cucumbers make it. They were looking awfully sickly after transplant this morning, but weren't doing well in the house anymore so I thought sink or swim. It's just a waiting game now. I may need to replace them all and take a trip to the nursery, but I'm trying to keep the faith!
My husband is a genius of the Tom Sawyer persuasion. He talked my son and his friends into tilling up part of the garden to look for worms to feed to the chickens. The boys had fun, the chickens were thrilled, and the garden got tilled. I knew I married him for a reason!
See, reading does pay off! While I am not quite ready to believe there won't be another frost this spring, we are doing all we can to prepare for planting. The soil in the existing garden has been tilled, and we are adding 5 pallet beds to the equation this year. There will be more pumpkins and squash than last year, as well as more cucumbers and potatoes. I'm praying my garlic and onions take off as they flopped last year. There will be peas and melons, strawberries and raspberries, carrots and lettuce. My sage is already leafing out and my thyme survived the frigid winter. I'm looking forward to watching it all come to fruition. I so cherish my morning strolls through the garden looking for blooms and watching the fruits of our labor grow, and this year I will have 10 cluckers following me, keeping patrol as pest control.
As the days grow longer I am getting more excited at the prospect of getting back into the garden and improving on it. Growing more, trying new plants, making raised beds and expanding our wattle fence. We built it last summer when the rabbits were getting into our garden. It has remained strong over the winter and looks practically the same, only it has settled slightly. I would like to make it taller and make a little arch and gate for it. So many projects must come first, but it's on my mind.
While looking at these pictures I am reminded of the little crooked man who walked a crooked mile, as all of our fences are haberdash and wokkity, but I wouldn't have it any other way. We did it all ourselves and there is something to be said for something homemade. It says "I'm trying" and "I'm self sufficient." It may not always be pretty, but like a child's portrait, it contains a beauty on it's own personal. |
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