Yard Work

April is a busy month for yard work and we have been sprucing up the yard, back and front, on the Back Forty.

Early on, we started by raking up the pine straw to be used as mulch around a scraggly hedge of Red Tops.  The hedge, of course, had to be weeded out first before the mulch could be put down.  So it goes.

What do you do first and where do you start?  Somehow, we feel that it is important that the Back Forty present a neat and clean public face which means that the when a visitors, mailman, sanitation workers, and delivery men see a well kept place.

The reason, I added "Park" to my blog title is that so many people said that our back yard was like a  park--a naturally kept park.  There weren't any manicured lawns or well trimmed hedges.or trees in a perfect row.

As you walk along in the back yard, you discover an overgrown pond with goldfish swimming around and greeting you.  They know that you will feed them.  Keep on going and you end up by the small tidal creek where you may discover turtles, a heron or two, and other water birds.

I like the yard to be a surprise to visitors.  It is always a surprise to me because I don't know what I will do when I leave the house.  There is always something to explore.  There is always something that needs weeding, cutting, or trimming.

There is a bench in the woods where you may sit a spell and do a little bird watching.  You are well immersed in the wilderness of the Back Forty.and I thank you for visiting.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

One more time.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping, or water conservation in the landscape, sounds like a great idea if you live in a place where water conservation is imperative or the climate is dry and arid.  In my blog, it is basically smart planting using drought resistant plants and those plants that are appropriate for the area, not necessarily native..

Some time ago, I heard about this neighbor who used xeriscaping and I went to take a look and, indeed, it looked interesting and different from other yards.  These homeowners used a lot of rocks, pebbles, sand and a lot of cedar chips and pine barks.

If you do live in a neighborhood with a "homeowners association," there may be a problem with xeriscaping because it does not adhere to the association's rules and regulations.

Also, it you live in an area that is not conducive to xeriscaping such as Florida where it rains just about every day, the sun shines strong and hot, and it is hot and humid.  It seems to me that no matter how much mulch you use, the weeds are eventually going to make themselves known.

The picture is snagged from Wikipedia depicting a Japanese Rock Garden

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Wind Chimes

Our wind chimes are soothing with no harsh or high notes grating on our frayed nerves.  Sometimes the chime is so faint that we can hardly hear it and other times it is distinct, loud and furious, depending on the wind.

The wind chimes are calling us to slow down and listen to the wind play its songs for us.  It is calling us to our sanctuary that is surrounded by tall pines and blooming bushes and trees.  It's a place where many of God's creatures as well as my true love and I find solace, comfort, and shelter.

Susan Griffin wrote:  "Will we let the wind sing to us?  Do our whole bodies listen?  When the wind calls, will you go?"

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Vegetable: Swiss Chard

The Swiss Chard is a colorful vegetable that is loaded with vitamins and minerals.  "Eating chard regularly has the potential to lower high levels of cholesterol and blood sugar", writes Milo Shammas in Dr. Earth Home Grown Food.  Such a statement will ensure that this vegetable ends up in my garden next fall.

I was not sure about the chard after a failure last year, but I sowed seeds this time and they did well.  But now, what do I do with it?

It is suggested that you tear off the leaves because cutting with a knife makes the stems bleed.  Leave the bulb in the ground and it will continue to produce edible leaves.

I also found out that I could pickle the stems, so I did.  For the brine, I used one cup f white vinegar, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of water.  For spices, I used mustard seeds and coriander seeds and a pinch of dried red pepper.

I heated the brine and then poured it over cut up stems in a jar and put it into the fridge for later use.

For cooking, I treated the laves like any other greens e.g. kale and collards.  After removing the leaves from the stems, I cooked them for 3 minutes as stated in one recipe.  Oh,no!  It was too tough for my tender palate.  It does require a much longer cooking time.  I tried 8 minutes and kept cooking.

The chard is still growing in the garden and I am afraid the huge bulb is going to explode.  

Boom!  Boom!

Utility Shed

Early this spring, we had a spell of warm weather but it was too early in the season to plant a garden; however, the utility shed was in need of a paint job.

It took much longer than I had expected to prepare the shed for a new coat of paint.


We had the shed power washed about a year ago so it was fairly clean and free from debris.

The old spackle needed to be removed and new applied.  The nails had rusted so I sanded them down and filled them in with Rustoleum--a tedious undertaking.




When we first bought the shed, we went all out to have flower boxes and shutters--cute, you know.

A cute utility shed to store our garden and yard equipment:  tractor and carts along with fertilizers and Christmas goats and bucks.

We had some discussion about the color for the boxes, shutters, and doors.  We finally settled for Persimmons.

I had old paint left from another project that I used for the inside of the doors--a hint of lilac.

We removed all the utilities to make room for a chair and my husband helped me hang lacy IKEA curtains at the main entrance just to see what a she shed may look like, if I should get one some day.

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Three-storied Tree House

When my granddaughter visited for for New Year, we found that our neighbor across the so called scenic creek was building a three story tree house.  We were both impressed with it and we began to make plans for our own tree house.

She could play with her dolls in the tree house and serve them tea while her grandparents could climb up to the top, have a glass of wine, and see the sun set while listening to some songs by Prince.


What a lovely view from the top story.  What a great place to sit and see the sun disappear in the west and leave a lovely yellow and pink hue.

Soon after our discovery, all work ceased on the tree house.  What happened?  Did the neighbors on this side complain?  Did they not have a permit from the city?  Did they leave the country?

Like a nosy neighbor, I kept my eyes on the tree house that is nestled among the tall pine trees.

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world."--John Muir

Last week I heard hammering from across the ditch eh, I mean the creek, and I saw workers bringing in cedar shingles and boards.  The building of the tree house is going strong again.

Thank you.

Snakes and Sulfur

Snakes and sulfur are both above my pay grade but to be a gardener you have to be a bit of a chemist, a botanist, a philosopher, or how about believing in old wives' tales?

Yesterday afternoon, I was sitting out on the porch reading a book, minding my own business.  The cat was under another chair in the shade, minding everything that crawled.

Lo' and behold, she was chasing a small corn snake under the carpet!  This resulted in a lot of screaming and yelling on my part (imagine that!).

My husband, the brave one, determined that it was a corn snake and I was supposed to be relieved.


He also told me that he had seen "Snake Away", a granular, at the Seed Store the other day.  Well, maybe we can pick a bag up at Ace; however, the price was prohibitive.  We decided to go back to the Seed Store.

We wanted to protect the Cardinals that had a nest in the Crepe Myrtle.  Snakes are known to curl up in tree branches and bird eggs are certainly a delicacy.

We talked to our favorite and most helpful person at the store and told her about our problem.  She suggested that we dust with Sulfur, mix in ground up mothballs, and distribute in a ring around the drip line of the tree.

Caution:  If you should decide to use Sulfur, please read and follow the direction carefully and do keep away from children.

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Be kind to the environment today and every day.

Happy Earth Day!