Sunday, Mayday

Hmph, forecast says cloudy tomorrow, maybe rain, maybe rain on Sunday, clear on Monday.
Maybe I won't get a bonfire for Mayday after all. FA sounds clearer, hope that's true.

I pretty much just puttered around the yard today making up wood piles of fallen branches and not cleared cut branches in the yard. Made up quite a few tidy twig piles to gather up and take down to the bonfire pad.
I figure easier to make twig piles, then load em up onto a heavy duty tarp and drag it down.
Noted that the stones in the wall in the back could handle the top layer coming off.. might make the first layer of the fire ring of that. Think I might change the wall in front entirely. It's a single three tier wall now, and I think I would like it better if it was two tier and shaped differently- then I can also give up enough stones for the second tier of the fire ring too!
I'm hoping that I can eventually tie the drainage field problem and probable non use of fire pad due to mosquitos problem together. They lie next to each other by the pond. I'm hoping that the drainage field will be less of a mosquito breeding ground due to plantings of bird feeding self sowing annuals. I'm planning on planting in the firepad area with an immediate area of  no mowing plants. Maybe a combination of walk on me plant, mother of thyme, and stepping stones. The surrounding ring of plantings will be a combination of plants that ward off insects. Already compiling lists of that, lol.
Would also give me a good reason to finish up one of the first gardens. Since the front is mostly shade, I'm thinking a huge planting of spinach. Does great in sun, does well in shade. I got a few types of seed, so I can plant in a nice patch. I think I might dedicate the space otherwise to herbs that overwinter well or are apt to self seed in our zone. Many herbs tolerate shade well, and can be controlled against unruliness by planting in the shade. Perhaps I should allow for some container gardening along the perimeters for those handy tasty weeds I don't want out of control either.
One of the other first gardens will be the area that was used as a dog area. It's situated on concrete pad off one end of the garage. I think I'm going to tear out the dead grapevine on the earth end, and generally clean up, and tear off the solid end of the runs.  Plant in some seriously vining plants on the earth side, and put in containers of lower vining plants on the other link walls.
Hopefully dig up the rest of the area between that and the "fenceline" too for some gardening action. I plan on at least making the first square foot line down a bit too to put in corn for a ways from the garage. If I plant carefully, I can put in beans on my side of the yard, and use squash and pumpkins to kill off the growth on the other side. Eventually that side will be free of anything living, and just the compost trail for the garden.
Yep, I'm hoping for heavy harvests of squash, pumpkins, beans, and spinach to help the winter months. Hoping for some sweet corn action too. If things work well, should have decent carrots, cabbage, cauliflower.. maybe tomatoes too.
Wasn't able to start toms from seeds this year. With the move and all it just wasn't feasible.. Or maybe there's still hope! I have some seed for container varieties that I'm going to be starting out in the hydroponic system :) I will also be testing that same seed in containers too outside, just not this year.
But I do plan on planting toms in a spot in the yard that is still currently underwater and very sunny. There's a section of the square foot line that falls into that :)
Another first year garden action.. I'm going to try to spread the natural moss more across the area that will become the wee folk garden.