Here are some photos of the last stages of construction:
Getting the roof installed was the hardest part because it started to become a very windy day. Since the weather was getting worse, we decided to leave the middle section tacked down with the plan to come back after the rain and secure it permanently.
We had a lot of high winds and tons of rain that pulled the temporary stays away from the structure and left the middle section flapping in the wind. We were resigned to loosing it. The next morning I got a call from my Mom telling me about tornado warnings in the area. (We don't have local, cable or satalite TV, so it's easy to miss warnings in the middle of the night.) It was a nerve-racking morning but eventually the threat passed and the skies cleared up in the afternoon. Aaron went out and finished the job- securing the middle section permanently.
So now all that is left to do is put the seedlings in the system and create the roll-up system for the sides. Hurrah!
And speaking of the seedlings....
Sugar Snap Peas GONE WILD
Lettuces and Broccoli
The week I came home from Florida I was floored by how much the seedlings were growing- especially the sugar snap peas. They were a tangled mess, as you can see in that first photo. So I knew I had to do something quick to keep them from getting so tangled that I wouldn't be able to separate them.
Here's what I did:
My work station
What a root system!
Happy in the window
Happy on the (not working) gas heater stove.
Happy on the table by the window.
What I did was separate all the seedlings and give them sticks to support them. When Aaron and I first planted these seeds, we did what we had been doing with all the others- putting two in the same plot so if one failed, it wouldn't be a wasted space. Well, NONE of the sugar snap peas failed. Every single one of them popped up and started growing big and fast. So lesson learned. Next time, they will get started with a stick to guide them and they will each get their own plot. Even if one doesn't take, the time it took for me to separate them all and re-plant them was wasteful. It took me pretty much all day. I had to be extra gentle and move slowly since they are so delicate.
I've been doing a lot of other gardening around the farm and loving it. My great-grandmother Julia was a very successful gardener and turned her passion into a business selling flowers and arrangements. She even had her own storefront! I am not going to be following in her footsteps in that way, but my love of flowers and gardening is just beginning and I like to think it comes from her.
A variety of flowers and plants from the Lowe's garden department.
Into the ground!
These flowers actually got quite beat up in the recent bad weather. They don't look nearly as cheery as they do in this photo. My Mom assures me that they will bounce back and be fine.
My mini rose bush from Johnson's Nursery. The best place for plants in the area.
Planting in in the plot in front of my porch. English daisies, money plants, zinnias, cosmos and two peonies.
I created a chicken wire cover for this area to keep out cats, dogs and chickens. I'll remove it when the baby seedlings are big and strong and can withstand being trod on occasionally.
The last thing to report is a funny story about Atticus and Wanda. So, to give you a general idea of their friendship... it's only Atticus who thinks they are friends. Wanda is scared of Atticus because he enjoys chasing her. He'll chase any of the chickens that get out of the coop and the guineas too. He doesn't want to hurt them, he's just having fun. Chickens do not share this idea of fun. Once I rescued Wanda from Atticus- he was looming over her and she was hunkered down and not moving. (I was momentarily scared that he had killed her) I shooed him away and picked her up and discovered that she was covered in his slobber. I think he had pinned her down and just started licking her. She was not happy and had much to say about it. This happened about a month ago.
Atticus is getting better and better about not chasing Wanda, but sometimes he just can't help himself. And Wanda is getting better and better at not running away, but sometimes she just can't help herself either.
Anyway, the other day Aaron and I were in the side yard on the phone doing FaceTime with our parents. Wiley, Atticus and Wanda were nearby and just wandering around. All of a sudden Atticus rushes at Wanda and instead of running away, she pops an egg out right there in the yard. After a bit of confusion, she quietly tottered off.
We were stunned. We weren't sure that what we just saw actually happened, but it did. I saw it with my own eyes and wouldn't have believed it if I didn't. Atticus actually scared an egg right out of Wanda.
I love this farm. The weirdness never ends!
I'll leave you with a few random photos I have taken recently from around the farm.
A wet day. Atticus wears his rain jacket while he waits for Wiley to come off my porch and play.
This dog knows how to relax on a rainy afternoon.
Oh the mud! I had to carry him into the bathroom and wash him. A basic toweling off was not going to work.
Gardening is hard when you have a gigantic puppy napping in your flower bed. (Good thing I hadn't planted anything there yet)
Trying on Dad's hat.
So exhausted, he can't even take his head out of a shoe.
I was planting some baby trees from the arbor society (I'd take photos but they're just sticks right now) and when I got up I found these two camped out right behind me.
My dear, sweet, Wanda napping in the tall grass.
