Trying to Pretty Up the Backyard

I am trying to be a better steward of our little patch of earth.  Our backyard is divided into three parts.

• left half of fenced in portion is a big permaculture garden
• right half of fenced in portion is our recreation/play area
• right side of yard outside the fence is more garden, a path down through the trees to the stream, firewood stacks, fort, etc

This post is about our recreation/play area:

Our patio is a little too small.  I regret we didn't make it bigger.  R's huge gas grill (which we use frequently), the bench, the fire pit and now the Big Green Egg which is his Father's Day gift crowd the small space.  My husband is extremely hard to get presents for and usually Father's Day is about a card and maybe a very small gift.  But he asked for the Big Green Egg.  I am excited to see how it works.  Hopefully it will last for years and years.  He hasn't officially gotten it yet but we had to have it delivered and assembled on Wed.  He's being very polite and not mentioning the fact it is sitting out there in full view.  LOL.  Surprise!

We had leftover flagstones from various projects and we just laid them down to sort of expand the patio area.  I like it!  I put two chairs off the patio to help it feel bigger.  It does feel bigger.  It's nothing fancy but I find it makes the whole area more pleasant.

We bought this blow up pool for D.  This summer of the coronavirus means he doesn't have any play dates.  So we are trying desperately to keep him busy.  He has really been loving this pool.  I have never gotten a pool like this before (maybe once a much smaller pool that feel into disuse quickly for some reason).  I had to learn how to clean it.  They get gross!  It took me two days.  We had to drain it which took quite a while, then we cleaned out all the debris that had fallen in, dead bugs, twigs, leaves, grass, dirt.  It had gotten really slimy too all over the bottom and sides with this brown type of mold.  This was after only 2.5 or 3 weeks of using it.  So we dumped all the remaining water out and I sprayed it with a mild bleach solution and then wiped the whole thing down, rinsed it again thoroughly.  Another thing no one tells you about these pools is that if you put them on grass (and that was the only level spot we had) the grass underneath begins to die and lets off the most awful smell, kind of like manure.  Yuck.  So I looked up about how to solve that problem and one suggestion was to put sand down underneath.  Well, we happened to have three bags of play sand left over from two years ago when R built D a sandbox.  So we used two of those bags to lay over the dying grass, then put the pool back in the same space.  And I also bought a pool cover to keep gross stuff out.

The sand trick really worked!  No more bad smell.  However, we have not tried the pool again this week because either the temperature was on the cool side (and the pool area is fairly shaded) or it was raining.  And it's supposed to storm and rain for the next five days!  But I am sure we'll get to use the pool plenty of times before summer's end.  It's big enough that I might dig out my swim suit and spend some time just soaking out there while D plays.

And this is the sandbox.

Ugly sandbox covered with tarp and last bag of play sand. 

Unfortunately, the tarp is an inadequate cover and the box got infested with spiders and toads.  Ick.  So I am not sure what to do with it.  I'd really like him to have a sandbox.  We have an old fairly beat up turtle sandbox that maybe I should try to clean as much as possible and fill with sand.  But that might offend R.  It's a delicate situation.   And then do we want the sandbox and the pool near each other? Because that seems problematic to me.  

Anyway, I am trying to make the backyard kid and family friendly.  It's a pleasant place to be.  We spend lots of time out there and also on the screen porch.  

More Herb Drying

I am just working through my herb drying experiment a little bit at a tim

Yesterday morning, D helped poke holes in two paper bags again.  He actually wasn't in a cooperative mood so that didn't last very long.

I snipped a bit of rosemary:

And a bit of thyme:

And wrapped the sprigs together with old twisty ties, placed into paper bags and then closed with rubber bands, labeled and dated them.  They are also now sitting on the shelf in the study.  It's supposed to rain later this morning so I plan to slip out and snip some more to dry.  I am discovering one needs to harvest a lot of thyme to get just a little of it.  The leaves are so tiny.

I also took some pictures of the garden where I am dissatisfied with the placement of plants.:

In the above photograph, you see the yellow flowering shrubby St. John's Wort to the left and then the thyme with its tiny purple flowers to the right.  Behind them in the back by the fence is my very overgrown oregano (tall green spikes) and then to the right of that a bush of purple sage.  Then there's another taller kind of gangling bush, which I don't recall what it is.  Between that gangling bush and the thyme in front, which is hard to see because the Japanese Stilt Grass is taking over, there are some plantings of rosemary rapidly being strangled out!  I don't know if you can see it but between the St. John's Wort and the thyme there is a gray stone wall.  That bed is slightly raised and has a retaining stone wall.  In order for me to get back to the herbs planted behind the St. John's Wort, I have to hoist myself up on the wall and walk over the plants.  I have several more St. John's Wort planted to the left of the photo, inside the fence.  You can't see it in this photo though. But I really want to get rid of the St. John's Wort shrubs in this photo, so I can easily access my herbs. 

Here we are inside the backyard fence at the other end of the long row of St. John's Wort.  I like the St. John's Wort there.  It's gorgeous, but I hate the tall grassy plants that are behind it.  I just think they overpower the area, are not that attractive and you can't tell from this, but the one on the right is actually shading out a little pineapple guava sapling.   I am really tempted to just cut these bushes way back for now but get them removed and plant something new this fall. 

Mint Drying Activity (Suitable for a 4 year old!)

 First, I found some old lunch paper bags at the bottom of a drawer!  Hooray!

Then D took a wooden skewer and while I held the bag, he punched holes.  Very effective and satisfying!

Then we went out to the mint planter on the edge of the garden, examined the leaves to make sure there were no bugs crawling around and snipped off a few.

He then got bored and wandered off.

I examined each sprig carefully and then using old twisty ties from bread bags wound then together into groups of three or four sprigs.  I put each grouping into a paper bag and then closed the paper bag with a rubber band.

Labeled with name of herb and date and put them into the study to dry.  (The study is located right over our furnace and is always the warmest, driest room and there are shelves in there to keep the bags of herbs out of the way.) 

Ta da!  I'm going to do this with our sage, oregano, thyme, rosemary, lemon balm and lavender.  And if I ever am able to grow basil, that too.  But I have so far this spring killed not one but two basil plants.  I can't understand it.  I have grown it before on my kitchen shelf and it lasted quite a long time.  And basil is my most used and very favorite.  Sob.

This whole process is super simple, which is right at my skill level!  I have been saving old spice jars and plan to store the dried herbs in them eventually.

I also hope to harvest and dry rose hips this year.  I understand that is not supposed to happen until after the first frost though, if I am remembering correctly.  

Drying Mint

Today's plans, besides general tidy up of patio area and some weeding (must be done today because it is supposed to rain for a couple of days midweek), are harvesting and drying mint.

Supplies needed (I don't have anything fancy and my house is in such a state of cluttery chaos, just gathering these things might be problematic!):

• scissors or clippers to clip the mint
• a paper bag with holes punched in it to dry the sprigs of mint in
• something to bind the sprigs together - like a twisty tie or rubber band (all my rubber bands have mysteriously disappeared though, even though we had a dozen of them wrapped around the knob over the sink just a few days ago.  What happened?  Who took them?)
• A dry, warm place to hang them.  The study is pretty warm and dry, maybe I can hang from the bakers rack that is in there?

We'll see what we accomplish today!

Garden Goals for 6/14/20-6/20/20

Two years ago (only that long?) we hired a permaculture, organic garden company (consisting of one guy and 3 or 4 assistants) to put in a garden for us.  I had incredibly grand plans and we only implemented part of them, which is good because I immediately got overwhelmed.  Gardening, especially if you are doing it in a permaculture way, is incredibly interesting, rich and complex. I still don't remember all the plants he put in and I don't know if I like all of them or if I like their placement.

I tried to weed and take care of maintenance but it soon became obvious that my arthritis (and my inconsistent energy levels) were going to rebel.  I have an especially arthritic knee (thanks Dad!  I must have gotten that from you!) and it goes into full rebellion.  So we hired the same gardening company to come by six times a year for maintenance.  I piddle around gently doing whatever I can (which is wholly inadequate) and occasionally I get other members of this household to help me.

I am slowly learning, but because I am easily distracted and because I am overwhelmed, sometimes, unfortunately, I put off dealing with it.  This is crazy because I love my garden so much.  It gives me so much pleasure.  I am thrilled by it!  And it is even a religious thing to me.  Gardening has deepened my faith and is a way of expressing gratitude and praise to my Creator.  I had not expected that!  Thank you, Jesus!

So I am intentionally making this blog more about gardening so that I can really keep a journal to help me along in both organizing and recording information. 

Mint truly is the easiest thing to grow!  It smells wonderful!

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK:
1.  Mint - I planted an old planter with mint last year and it has come back with abundance.  I want to try drying mint the old fashioned way.
2.  Protecting the blueberries.  My blueberry bushes are beginning to ripen.  There do not seem to be as many blueberries as last year, as I recall.  The birds have definitely discovered our garden (also squirrels and chipmunks) and so I want to figure out how to use bird netting.  I bought some but haven't put it out to protect anything.
3.  Continue weeding here and there where it looks the worst.  I plan to employ cardboard a lot to smother the weeds.
4.  Weed and prep veggie beds.  These need a lot of tender care.  I am late dealing with this due to covid 19.  I need to try to see if any seedling/starts are available.  I only have three tomato and one red bell pepper in, 3 sunflowers (from last year), potatoes planted from grocer store ones going to seed) which need some care, garlic which I am not sure when to harvest.  My lettuces have completely bolted and look wild and beautiful but are no longer edible.  I may also plant some seeds I have.  It's a bit late but better late than never.  I may need help with planting.
5.  FATHER"S DAY GIFT! - R is impossible to buy for but this year he actually requested this fancy new grill.  Very expensive - a purchase for a lifetime.  It's being delivered Wednesday.  So we need to dejunk and tidy up the patio area.  We have some leftover flagstones that I want to lay down in certain spots to increase the patio area.  It's just a bit too small for use. 

We don't have a lot of blueberries.  This little bush is the most promising out of the 7 we have.

These tasks may roll over to next and beyond. 

To be continued!

Changing Up This Blog

I have decided to change the name of this blog to one that reflects my two great hobbies as of right now, reading and gardening.  The quote from Cicero feels appropriate too, because  along with reading and gardening, I also love to study Latin, read classics, and tend towards (Christian) stoicism and (Christian) humanism and Cicero fits well there too for me.

I am excited to continue to journal my reading adventures here, but also to include much more about my gardening adventures as well.

Purgatory by Dante - Classics Spin

I am a week late with this post.  I didn't quite finish my Classics Spin in time.  I was a day late (first time!), but I did get it read.  And I am glad I did.  I feel slightly more educated.  I have heard about Dante's Divine Comedy for ages and ages and now I have officially read the first two books, Inferno and Purgatio.  Maybe one day I'll get to Paridisio as well!

I mostly read Anthony Esolen's translation for its ease and clarity; a real pleasure to read.  I found his notes very helpful.  However, I also would dip into Dorothy L. Sayers translation which I also enjoyed.  But what makes her edition so powerful for me were her extensive, clear and masterfully done notes to explain all that was going on in the text.  Really, her brilliance shone through her explanations and she made my enjoyment and comprehension of the story so much deeper.  I think her take on the masterpiece is a masterpiece in and of itself. 

There is so much going on in this story.  Dante was brilliant. He combines references to ancient Greek and Roman literature and history, Scripture and Catholic liturgy, contemporary (to him) literature and politics, (even science!) as well as a deep exploration of theology sometimes orthodox (like relying on Thomas Aquinas) and sometimes a little heterodox (his own sort of theological meanderings). All this written in a particular poetic style that employed so many clever devices such as acrostics, number play, plays on words, etc.

I only glanced the surface.  But what I saw was illuminating and admirable.  I so appreciate the Classics Club because at long, long last I am getting around to reading great literature I've heard about all my life and didn't get to in my years of formal education.