What did you do in the garden today?

[Acre4Me]

well over 30+ in under 48. The wind was up to 50+ here and 70+ on Oahu and the day after xmas a helicopter went down with two families in it. 3 were kids and it made national news, so I thought a few may have heard about it. Absolutely tragic.

Very tragic! It made the local news here bc a woman and her daughter were killed (husband and son did not go on the tour), and the woman was a HS grad in a town to the west. That is A LOT of rain!!!

I just can't get over how much you are getting accomplished on the new garden beds @Acre4Me. Despite being above freezing for 2 days, my yard is still covered in 4 -5 inches of ice.

Thanks! and that is A LOT of ice!!!!!

bee keeping adventure I am getting ready to get into

That is something that sounds so interesting! I doubt we will go this route, but I always think bee keeping is very interesting!.

 

[Acre4Me]

Today - another relatively nice January day! We accomplished a bit more:

We are working on a new nest box set-up for the birds. We will remove the current box, and replace with this one. Floor level for the bottom two (which is what the current ones are at). There will be double doors (with an overlap) on the outside, and a sliding cover on the front to keep out the birds from sleeping (and pooping) inside - that is what the latch is for, to keep the cover up and out of the way. The cat is "Penny" our shelter adoption.

We fed the chickens a treat of cabbage and chopped chicken. They always love meat.

We removed a outdoor swing stand. The previous owners took the swings, and we weren't sure if we would use it. Turns out, it wasn't something we felt we would use at this locations...AND it turns out that the top beam was pretty rotted, so good thing we didn't use it! Pulled out the posts and re-filled the holes.
Here it is last winter:

Here's the disintegrated top beam:

We started to move dirt from the big piles, into the garden beds. Need to move the dirt to place the last few beds. So the dirt pile is in the back, and beds to the left (out of the picture) and ones that will go where the dirt is need to be placed and filled.

Now we get rain for the next couple of days, but doesn't look like too much rain, just grey and steadily wet.

 

[karenerwin]

Good luck on the interview not teaching now?

I retired as of July 1, 2019. In hindsight, I should have taught another 4 years (until my hubby reached 65). That would have made the health insurance easier to handle. That is the problem for us. He is also a retired teacher, but he re-tired 3 years before me.

 

[Farmdog267]

Today - another relatively nice January day! We accomplished a bit more:

We are working on a new nest box set-up for the birds. We will remove the current box, and replace with this one. Floor level for the bottom two (which is what the current ones are at). There will be double doors (with an overlap) on the outside, and a sliding cover on the front to keep out the birds from sleeping (and pooping) inside - that is what the latch is for, to keep the cover up and out of the way. The cat is "Penny" our shelter adoption.
View attachment 1992993


We fed the chickens a treat of cabbage and chopped chicken. They always love meat.

View attachment 1992994

Now we get rain for the next couple of days, but doesn't look like too much rain, just grey and steadily wet.

Cabbage was a treat my chickens preferred this time of year to keep them occupied when grass wasn't always looking great. I'd cut a head of cabbage in half a drill a hole in the top of it. Secure it with weedwacker string and tie it up so they could play cabbage ball with it. A healthy treat that would keep them entertained and also kept somewhat free of insects on the ground.

Looks like you are making good progress getting things together and ready for a busy springtime!

 

[Farmdog267]

I have a job interview on Friday. It's for a box making position at an aerosol factory not too far away. If I get the job it will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12 hour shifts.
I like that it is just 3 days out of 7 and is still full time, but I don't like the idea of 12 hour shifts. I'm not as young as I once was!

Good luck on the interview. Wish I was able to go with a 3 day 12 hours a day work schedule. The nonsense of the schedule would be more than worth it for all the personal time I'd gain and the ability to get other projects and such completed!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. I'm still in the middle of frosty land although the glacier that is my backyard has shrunk to about a 3 inch depth. More thawing today and part of tomorrow. The chickens did get out for a bit yesterday and poked through the leaves and dirt under the eaves of the house. I managed to reach over my fence and feed my compost tumbler, yay! Small victories. I painted my bathroom ceiling, but I still need to fill in the dings and gouges in the walls before painting them. I made home made pasta yesterday. Two meals worth of tagliatelle and 2 of linguini. I made tagliatelle with mushrooms, onions and parmesan cheese for dinner. I'm sorry, I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures. The nest boxes and freshly made garden beds look great @Acre4Me. It's nice to be reminded of what dirt looks like. BTW: I had heard about that tragic helicopter crash in Hawaii, however I heard nothing about the stormy weather they experienced. I hope you get the job with health care options @karenerwin. Even with Medicare it's a struggle for many seniors. I do have Medicare part B, but I really don't use it since I get healthcare through the VA. It's so worth the 50 mile drive and the medical personnel are really great. To all you gardeners in warmer climates like @igorsMistress and @AllenK RGV: I need some garden shots with any color than snowy white. Please! He a great day everyone.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Hey @Farmdog267, can you show me pictures of snow free ground? I may have to get some green spray paint after the next snow storm blows through. LOL!

 

[Farmdog267]

Lol, we can trade! I woulnd't mind some wintery pics of what January is supposed to look like. Granted I'm at work right now... Our 10 day outlook does have some winter weather in the forecast but we will see if they get it right or not.. Here is the view from my office this Friday morning!

 

[igorsMistress]

@Wee Farmer Sarah here's a quick pic with some color. It's all I've got on my phone right now but I hope it helps!

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Thanks for the photo of your lovely Christmas Cactus @igorsMistress. Here's the view from my kitchen window @Farmdog267. My property line runs an additional 100 feet beyond the gas grill. Lots of big trees. Right now the squirrels are annoyed because the birdbath is frozen. So no refreshing drink after cleaning up the birdseed dropped by the birds. Enjoy before it gets deeper.