Let's Get it Started!

The bare slate. Complete with garbage can.

My goodness, this is turning into SO much bigger a project than I intended.  Doing the work isn't a problem, but getting all the materials together and getting ready to do the work is a real pain.  I'm still not there, but I was determined to get it started, at least.  I guess I spent maybe two hours out there -- no more, although it certainly felt like more.  And no harm done, other than one fingernail broken to the quick and a bit of stiffness in my back at times.

After the layers of compost and dry molasses.  Yes, in a perfect world the layer of compost would have been a lot thicker, but my world isn't perfect.  I only had the 21 gallon bin full of it, so this will have to do.  As I understand it, the purpose of both layers is merely to stimulate microbial activity, so again, this will have to do.  I think I even have enough compost left for my worm farm.  The blocks on the right are locations for the three blueberry bushes, with the raised beds going on the left.  I used my pine boards for laying it all out.  I thought I had it well inside the property line on the right, but now that it's all done, I'm not so sure.  I guess I need to get out there and really try to mark the line -- I eyeballed it for this. I'm also pretty sure they're not parallel to the house, although it looked OK from out there.  Not so much from inside.  I really should have done this right, as I intended.  But, I can adjust it later.  I'll be sure the raised beds are parallel -- there is lots of room around them for walkways and assurance of weed/grass removal, and those can be adjusted.

OK, so it's not pretty.  It's not supposed to be pretty.  In another perfect world, I'd have constructed the two raised beds and let them help anchor the cardboard, but refer to the above paragraph about perfect worlds.  It's all wet down and I can only hope I have enough stuff on top to hold it in place overnight.  I can build the beds tomorrow, and I guess, bite the bullet and get some mulch delivered.  I really hate doing that!  And I don't have a clue when they might be able to deliver it, naturally.  But....we do what we can do.  I sure hope this works.  From the pile of boxes on my front porch, I thought I had enough to do the entire yard -- what a joke that was!  I barely had enough to do this section. The good news, I guess, is that now the front porch looks neater.

There was a garden hose left by the sellers, but it didn't take long to learn that it's not all that great.  Too many old kinks that are determined to stay. And, one of them is so bad it's wearing through the material.  I guess any thoughts that it might have been good were wishful thinking.  The connection to the faucet wasn't all that great, either.  I think I ended up with as much water in a pool below the faucet as I got on the garden area. I need to go back outside and finish re-winterizing the faucet, once the pool disappears.  It only had thick cloths wrapped around it and instead of just coming out from the foundation a short distance, the pipe extends almost a foot before the faucet starts.  Not knowing this, I bought a foam faucet cover which will clearly not work.  Isn't owning a home fun?  Actually, my sense of humor with all this is just fine -- I laugh at both myself and the situation, constantly, regardless of the 'complaints' I write here.

The body is tired.  Not exhausted, not sore, just a tad tired. Once I got home with all my purchases I had to unload the car.  The pine boards are lightweight, of course, but that 50# bag of dried molasses isn't!  My legs complained as I carried it up the ramp to the back porch, but hey, at least I could carry 50# up the ramp!  My hands feel like sandpaper -- haven't uncovered my leather gloves since moving, and I like to feel the dirt in my hands anyway. So, that's my story and my whines for today.  Stick around.