What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

I weeded another bed/path and was soaked in about 5 minutes. No breeze like yesterday, either...

Our friend with the kidney issue is home from the hospital now! I'm going to be going down to stay with him for a few hours a couple of days this week, so his wife can go back to work. I asked if he'd like to play Trivial Pursuit, and maybe I could extend my winning streak.* His wife said, yeah, but he might fall asleep in the middle of the game.

*I have won every TP game I've played. One.

 

[Sally PB]

I cleaned up about half of the garlic this afternoon. It was a nice thing to do on the porch, sitting in the shade. I was going to do all of it, but my hands got kind of tired, so I did one batch and left the other to dry some more. I have some freaking huge cloves! I'll get pictures when I do the rest.

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Who is coming over for dinner? I made all of these and my daughter already ate pizza...

 

[pennyJo1960]

Be right there @Sooner Magnolia

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

Be right there @Sooner Magnolia

I'll.keep it warm for you. And if he's on the way, grab my brother in Graham, WA. He might be hungry too.

 

[NewBoots]

Looks awesome, on my way!

 

[chickengr]

What did hey die from though? Did you trap them? Is there a predator on the loose? Or perhaps something poisonous around?

I wonder that too. they did not have any wound or blood around their vent as they do when poisoned. not sure if my dog got them first and they escaped and died. but no wound at all. I did use poison for rats so I am not sure.

 

[chickengr]

Who is coming over for dinner? I made all of these and my daughter already ate pizza...View attachment 2774698

if only I could come

 

[gtaus]

Even before lumber prices skyrocketed, materials for galvanized beds were cheaper here. I made one without cutting it, 26" high I think, and it's wonderful. Too high for the critters to jump in and dig for grubs, and easier for me to pick from.

Just started making some more new galvanized metal raised beds today. I got the corner 4X4 posts and 2X4 frames cut for the beds. I cut my galvanized metal in half height, about 13 inches, and screw them into frames that are 16 inches tall. I am just using scrap lumber I have left over from years of project builds and deconstruction. I found enough scrap wood today to make two 4X4 foot metal sided raised beds 16 inches high.

I was considering making my new beds 26 inches high, so I would not have to cut the galvanized metal half height, but I am really happy with the 16 inch tall beds I made earlier this spring. These will be matching sets. But since I will be making hügelkultur raised beds, I could have easily made them 26 inches tall to take advantage of the taller beds. Having said that, I do have some 24 inch tall hügelkultur raised beds out in the main garden. The extra height is surely an advantage if you don't want to bend over to work in the bed. However, the 16 inch tall raised beds are almost as good in terms of not having to bend over very much.

As I was cutting the scrap wood, all aged, some of the lumber had nail holes in them from deconstruction projects, no two boards look alike, ... I was thinking that maybe I should just buy some new boards for the project. But then I thought recycling/upcycling my old lumber is more in line with my current philosophy of living. In some ways, I get more enjoyment out of looking at my recycled wood on those new raised beds than if I had bought new lumber and everything looked maybe "prettier."

My niece and her child were visiting us this past weekend. She liked my new metal panel raised beds and got a kick out of the fact that I had built them all out of recycled lumber. Only the metal panels and screws were new. More importantly, her 3 year daughter got to pick fresh green beans from the raised beds and take home a baggie full of good stuff to eat. She was all excited. Maybe a future gardener?

Also, we had waffles and eggs for breakfast. So the little 3 year old went out to the chicken coop and run and she thanked my chickens for the good eggs we ate. That was cute....

 

[gtaus]

Question for someone with tree felling experience.... We had a strong wind blow in this afternoon for about half an hour. One of my big trees broke off partially at about 20 feet high, and the trunk and branches came down at an angle making a widow maker. The trunk is not fully broken from tree. I trimmed up the lower branches and got to a point where the tree trunk is now hanging down from the 20 foot high break, and all branches were cleared up to about 5 feet high off the lawn. But I still have a very dangerous portion of the tree hanging down from the break up about 20 feet. I was hoping that the weight of the trunk would finish the break and everything would fall to the ground, but no luck.

Just wondering if anyone has a suggestion to this situation. Currently thinking of looping a rope around the hanging tree trunk and trying to pull it with the pickup. Maybe that will pull it enough to complete the break and let gravity work to bring the hanging portion down. Although I have cut down a number trees in my lifetime, I have never had a tree break in half 20 feet up, not completely break, and now have a heavy widow maker hanging down that I have to deal with somehow.

If you have any thoughts, please respond using my @gtaus address so I get notified of the response. This thread moves on so fast that many comments get buried before I have the time to read them. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.