Gettin stuff done!

Well, over the last couple days, been getting stuff done.

Got all of the solar jars done. Got over 20 of them now, hopefully they will light up nicely on the day. I want to hang them from trees down the driveway and perhaps elsewhere- all depends on what the weather is like. I posted several entries back what they look like singly, but I'm really hoping they have a nice impact once they are all set out. Most of them are recycled cheese dip jars. They don't seal as well as canning jars do, but in effect they were free and I got better things to use canning jars for. Still need to figure out hangers for them- the rubber band idea didn't work out too well. But I got some tough yarn, I think I can figure out something, lol.

Got all of the corsages done for the wedding party, yay! Still need to figure out how to put my bouquet together. Got half of my armband done too, and I think I figured out my setup for my belt. Still need to figure out what I want to do about earrings and if I want to do a necklace or not. And something special for my loves buttonhole too.
Cleaned up the whole workshop. The storage room is neat and everything put away, the costume room, ditto. The main shop area is all cleaned up too. And once again, I realize I have about a billion little doodas like beads and thread and stacks of paper and cardstock... I looked around and was amazed all over again that I have room to work and I'm not locked away in the dark anymore. It was years that I had to make pretty stuff in the dark, having sunlight makes me a much happier and productive crafter :)

Today it was sunny and warm- I'm really really hoping it's this nice out on the day. So I got the front half of the yard cleaned up of all it's fallen branches, by the time I got done raking up the pinecones, it was such a sticky mess and I had already brought down a few wheelbarrows of debris to the firepit, I decided that was enough cleanup for one day and to do the back of the yard another day. That last wheelbarrow of pine branches and cones went right into the firepit- it should be a rather nice firestarter next time we light it up. So I sat down and peeled two buckets of recycled booze bottles, and got the last two buckets soaking. And I set in all the peeled bottles in the border of the herb garden. Not quite enough to finish the one side yet, but what I got in so far looks great. Or at least I think it looks great, hehehee. At least they all match, I've been putting aside the non-matching ones to put in somewhere else. Where I'm not sure yet, I might just have to suck it up and put them all along the other edge of the border.
And ohhhh, naughty weeds are already popping up in abundance, sigh. But yay, so are some of the spring flowers too, so I can't be too unhappy. I need to do some serious weeding around the pineapple mint to make sure it really is mint there and not the very similar looking weed next to it, heh. The sage and catnip are already showing green, but the rosemary still looks really dead, and where I marked off the other herbs still don't look to promising.
Cleaned out the firepit, that was three wheelbarrows full of ash. Takes us about a year to get one brick deep, so every spring it needs to be emptied out. I dump the ash over the leech field by the pond. I figure since it already leeches all year in the firepit, it probably isn't too harmful to dump it there.

Just need to take a moment to say thank goodness my love bought me a pair of wheelbarrows our first year here. Makes so many chores much much easier. I think I need to get some sports tape or something for the handles though, I tend to stick my workgloves on the handles, hehehe. 

The veggie rows are looking sad as hell. I think this year I will be removing the cover entirely from the living fence stretch and just concentrate on the veggie box area. The raspberry bed needs another year of serious TLC too. Didn't do too badly last year, but I lost the nice raspberries I ordered in, I think that means more work is needed in the area. I know darn well I won't be working on anything serious in the living fence area, so it's easier to leave it open to mow. I have enough to do with getting the veggie box area and raspberry bed up to par. And ugh, kill off the weedy tree shit. I'm so done with that. I tried snipping down, tried spray painting the snipped bits. This year it is full on blackout smothering, after snipping, after painting. I can't use harsh means there because it's the corner of a lot of growing area. But that crap has got to go. I need to trim down the trees there too- they are way getting into reach of the power lines. I should do that soon before too much green grows in- that makes it harder to trim down for a noob like me.
The first year was figuring out the yard, last year was the first mark ins.. This year is understanding what my limitations are and planning for the years to come.

The willow starts I let be last year have now come up into a goodly thatch. This year will be cutting out what I don't want, and starting weaving together what I do want. In a few years, there will be a nice little natural gazebo in the sanctuary :) And where it is situated it blocks a bit of neighbor view, but none of mine. Need to make sure the fenceline is open too. There's roses growing on it, and tree bits that don't need to be.

A few more seeds have popped up, including some of the carrots :) I did most of the seed starts in recycled toilet paper tubes this year. Didn't have the time or patience for making my own paper pots this time. But that's ok, I still need to get the worm tubs set up and all that paper will make for nice bedding for the redworms.

A nice bit of south neighbor news for a startling change. The neighbors showed yesterday in a dark silver SUV. Today the little boy was out and I heard the adult kind of yell at him and tell him to stay on their driveway, and keep off the neighbors property. Meaning my property. It tickled me pink, at least some of that family has a bit of respect, or maybe fear, hehehe. But anywho, it was nice. A darker sedan showed up this afternoon, but no peeps so far, which is nice too.

The FOH garden is just going to be cleaned up and maintained this year. Holy crap some of the moss path I laid in last year held on and is there this year despite the drought. Tons of weeding to do, but it looks like so far the ditch lillies are behaving. The moss mother on the back balcony is flush with a bunch of spongy green too, will need to pull some clumps for the front again. And lift the whole thing and put the mother into a proper box. It's time to really clean that balcony before it really rots, lol. The FOH walkway is flushing in mossy between it's cracks too. It paid off to be patient and shove in moss all the time. You can hardly tell where I repaired the walk and set in the pavers.

As a random yay it's spring note... The wild chives are sprouting in. I think I need to mark those areas off for transplanting. I want to start in a heavy border along the east side of the pole barn and move on from there. And now is the time to mark off where those clumps are. I think the wild chives deter the voles, but even if they don't it will be wise to grow a border that will produce seed and edible goodness for years to come.

The currently potted tulips are for sure going in along the fenceline on the east side of the pole barn. Make it easy to mow, they naturalize, and will bring a wonderful pop of color there every spring. In a couple years patience, Growbox Hill will have bulbs for sharing, trading, and perhaps even selling. I just hope last years clearance buy of irises have some return too. I'm not hugely fond of tulips, but I love irises. The grape hyacinths will be nice for years to come too if what's popping in the pots now is any indication. The tulips and hyacinths are doing so well they are getting moved tomorrow to the ponds edge for their sun so the bench space is freed up for more seed action.
The Green Gauge Plum got potted up too, in a recycled kitty litter bucket. Used up the last of my bagged dirt, I hope I did a good job with it and the tree is living and happy- it's currently along the solarium pond edge.
The horseradish is doing well in it's pot too. In a week or two, Ill move it to the outside corner of the solarium so it can start to flourish- eventually I want to put in it's barrel there, and I want to see how well it does.

The parsley, cilantro, and dill cans for wedding favors are all leggy and weedy as hell. Need to start new cans. And basil too- the current cans are doing incredibly well, so I figure if I start some more now they will be good to go for the day. Even if other starts aren't doing so well. Heh, I can just keep icky ones and grow them here and hope for the best. And heck, I could probably split the current basil cans next week too. So even if none of the other herbs work out for wedding favors, basil will. Time to be kicking up the first of the catgrass cans too.  I have a whole paper bag full of cat food cans for growing catgrass in- I figured that was appropriate. And I can do a ton of them for decor, hehe.

Right now scattered around in the tent, on tables.. bla bla bla.. Several pots of tulips and grape hyacinths that will stay here, lots of herbal cans for favors and will be marked so, lots of garden in a box seed boxes for folks to take home, a goodly handful of flameless candles to light up the tables.
Right now I'm not being terribly hopeful for nice enough weather for true backyard wedding. All the plans are going on under the tent right now. Even if it's nice the weekend of, I'm not too hopeful that it won't be soggy leading up to the date, and that kind of nixes some ideas.

Anywho, enough babbling... Been getting some stuff done, figured I better write it down while I'm thinking of it.