The weather has been good for nearly a week now. Temps up into the 70s during the day, down into the high 40s and low 50s at night.
I've been spending most of my time in the garden and wanted to finish the last of the planting today, but the black flies had other plans for me. Like being so awful they drove me inside. I should have quit earlier than I did (before I got many nasty, itchy, ouchie welts), but I so wanted to accomplish what I had set out to do.
Before putting in those last seeds in the little bare spaces in the garden, I decided to de-weed the blueberry and raspberry patches. Got the blueberry patch done before throwing in the (homemade insect repellent saturated )towel (so to speak) and quitting. Funny, the spray repellent I used today was the same I've used previously when it seemed to work rather well. Not today.
Papa Pea has been hitting the firewood with a vengeance. Yesterday he announced he thinks he's got enough wood cut to fill all the remaining space in the wood sheds. Now all (All? That's ALL?!) we have to do is split and stack it. Fortunately, we both enjoy using the wood splitter together and having quiet time to chat while we stack is nice, too. We hope to get started on that this week.
He's also put a bit of effort and time into designing and then constructing some heavy-duty ramps that will make it easier for him to do the maintenance on our vehicles. Of course, a pneumatic hoist in the garage would be ideal, but that ain't gonna happen.
Today while I was feeding the black flies in the garden (!), hubby worked on removing the dirt that had been in the flower beds around the deck. Lots of shoveling, lots of wheelbarrowing. This all needs to be done before we start tearing off the old deck and begin construction on the new.
We've always had a bad low spot in the yard (that seems to swallow up any fill we've put on it) so that's where he's been putting the dirt.
I sure hope to save that trellising Virginia Creeper by incorporating it into our new design. I don't think I'd have any luck moving it to another location.
I finally made a decision as to the color I'm going to use for painting the house. It's a very dark green and is going to look much different than the gray/beige we have on the house now. I'm pretty nervous to think about starting on that project. No, I'm not worried about the actual painting work but rather how this new color will look. Only one way to find out, eh?
That's all I have to report on this Monday. Hope you all have a good week with good weather for whatever you want to do!
23 comments:
That green will be a nice contrast in wintertime in the snow. Once again I see you are busy, busy, busy.
Your gardens are always immaculate! A weed doesn't dare grow in those gardens and if it does it better hide well. The green will be a lovely color. You can find programs to show you what your house will look like if you take a picture of your house. You may even be able to find a free one online.
Planning of gardening at this time is good. It is nice to see you spend most of the time in gardening. When we start to work in the garden time goes out very fast. It is nice to see your husband helping you. It is very difficult to fight with the flies while doing work. The color chosen by you for your house looks good...
I am exhausted just reading about all you have done!!! Everything looks fabulous and you must be so proud. Wish I could be there to help you stack all that wood. That sounds like fun.
xo, Rosemary
I'm so jealous of your productive days. The rain is delaying everything here. Not to mention Hubby's sister was put in the hospital, so he's spent the last few days there. I keep praying for better weather, but mother nature has her own mind.
Tombstone Livestock - Yes, I gave a lot of consideration as to how the house color would look in winter AND summer. I think it will be a nice complement to the evergreens in snow time!
Sparkless - Regarding the weeds, I really believe in the saying, "It's easier to stay up than to catch up!"
Yes, I've heard of those computer programs where you can try out different house colors. If only I were smart enough to figure out how to use them . . . :o/
Weekend-Windup - Oh, yes, I do find that time flies by when I'm working in the garden. I think that's because I enjoy it so much . . . withOUT the biting insects, that is!
Aw, thanks for such nice words, Rosemary! I would LOVE to have you help stack wood. Not just for the help, but because I'll bet we could chatter away for a long, long time! It would be fun, for sure.
Kristina - It's very frustrating when "life" gets in the way of how we want things to go. Hoping your SIL's health improves very soon. No one wants to spend days in the hospital, that's for certain. And I truly hope you get a break from ALL the rain you've been getting. Too much is just too much!
Green is my absolute favorite color, all shades. I think that dark green will look great on your house. Are you going with white trim? I had what looked like a regular house fly bite me over the weekend & couldn't help but think of you. It hurt too!
Mama Pea,
I love the green color you're planning on painting your home. It's going to look gorgeous!!!
Okay energizer bunny, YOU......your garden beds look amazing with or without black flies, lol.......
I would say that does look as if you have enough wood there for this winter and next winter. Those ramps your husband built, look so much better than the ones you would pickup in the store. Talented man you have their Mama Pea.
Have your berry bushes started providing fruit for you?
Weather here has decided to take a turn back to all kinds of moisture. My garden walkways are flooded, hopefully the plants which were replanted from previous weather will survive.
DFW - The jury is still out on what color the trim will be. I'd like white, but hubby is not convinced yet. He'd like to see it a brown to match the roof, but I can't quite visualize that.
We have what look like big house flies (we call them horse flies) around the lake shores which bite like the dickens. When they are out, you may as well pack up the picnic and call it a day!
Sandy - I so appreciate the encouragement on my chosen green color. I got the last of the seeds in the garden this morning. Whew! Now the only planting will be succession planting here and there.
Papa Pea has tried a couple different designs of the metal ramps that can be purchased, but hasn't been happy with them. The only "problem" with these is that they are so heavy to move!
The haskap berries are still very, very green . . . haven't even started to turn color. The blueberries are dropping their blossoms (looks like big snowflakes) and forming berries. And I just looked this morning at the tiny raspberries starting to form. Oh, and the old strawberries. Just have little green berries so far.
You have had a battle so far this year with your garden. Natural rain is good, but too much is very hard to "work with." Hope it dries up soon for you.
I think the green will look super as a house color. And your garden, yard, everything, look fantastic. I can barely find my garden for all the grass growing up. We don't have black flies but I have to battle no-see-ems every morning when I work in the garden. They're out until the sun comes out but by then it's too hot to work in the garden. It's always something!
Looks like you have a busy summer planned. We painted our old house hunter green ( your picture looks like the same color.) Then did the trim in a wine color ( can't remember name of the paint ) then later on did the trim in a copper color . They both looked beautiful. You will love the green.
Do you know, Leigh, I think of you frequently in the morning when I'm waiting for the chill to leave the air, the sun to come up and the grass to dry up a bit before I go out into the garden? What different gardening situations we have to deal with! With all the terrible heat and humidity (and rain!) so many are having this season, I'm thinking our "cool" summer is not the worst weather to have!
Michelle - "Hunter green" was the color I had in mind when I first started looked. Then discovered there were about a bazillion dark greens to choose from. Whadda range! Thanks for the encouragement that this color I've chosen will work out well!
Green like the color of money. Are you trying to project something MamaPea? lol good luck!!!!
Lisa - Hmmm, never thought of that! Maybe I am subconsciously trying to send a request out to the Universe! (That big paint chip does kinda look like a $$ bill, doesn't it?)
Hey, Mama Pea. Box up some of that nice weather and send it our way! (If it's all the same to you can keep the black flies: We have our own.)
As always, your garden looks great. That deep, rich green will look great on the house, too. Give Papa Pea a little shoulder rub. I know how hard extracting and moving all that dirt is. Definitely makes a body sore.
Mark - I know you've had a bit too much rain . . . and not enough time to do everything when it's not raining. So I will try to send you some of our sunshine . . . just don't expect it to be too warm! Hubby has always been good with a shovel (I guess it's the way he's built . . . or something) so doesn't mind using one. I expected him to be a little sore but he says he wasn't. (I did notice him grunting a little when pushing those wheelbarrows full of dirt though!)
Your garden is beautiful!!
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