How's Your Holiday Weekend?

The new compost bin next to the old one, after turning yesterday morning and after the lawn was mowed yesterday afternoon. I really should have waited, but wasn't sure when James would get to the lawn.

We have rain here in the deep south.  Not all day, but for the last two days beginning in the afternoon and going through most of the night, leaving the air hot and muggy.  And no, it's not always like that here.  It can be hot, but the mugginess generally comes about after a rainfall.  I've managed a few outdoor chores, but also have plenty to do inside and/or on the front porch, so it's not cramping my style much.

My Saturday began (as always!?) with an early morning run to Home Depot.  I needed more chicken wire, a board for some repair in the attic, and some heavy duty sandpaper.  The chicken wire went into the new compost bin, above.  I came up with what I thought was a clever idea one night recently when I should have been asleep: use the 3-foot bamboo poles I have to close the bins!  I simply weave them through the overlapped ends of the 3-foot chicken wire, then when I want to move them, I can just pull the bamboo out and re-weave the ends.  It's easier for me to move the bin and then fork the old stuff into it, because I don't have to struggle to get the stuff from inside the confines of the wire.  It's enough of a workout as it is.

Found this in the very bottom of the old compost bin.  What is it, you ask?  Tis a Mango.  I toss all my kitchen waste into this bin and it tends to disappear quickly.  I've been eating lots of mangoes because they've been cheap and delicious, never expected any of the seeds to sprout.  Guess it liked all that warmth down there.  Stuck it into a raised bed for the time being -- doubt that it will grow well, but why not give it a chance?

Then, off I went in search of a couple of old cemeteries, en route to a party at my boss's house out in that same area.  I left home a couple of hours early, armed with some Google maps to get me where I needed to go.  Never did find one of them, but the other was easily found.

A small portion of the old section of Spring Creek Cemetery, in the old Chulio District of Floyd County.  Both of my father's sets of grandparents lived out in this area, with some of the Smith's supposedly buried at the one I couldn't find and some of the Perry's buried at this one.  Most of these old stones are unmarked or, if they are marked are hard to read.  I didn't find the exact person I was looking for, but I definitely found some of the right family.

I've had to do lots of sweeping away of water on the black plastic this last week, but that's ok.  It's still easier than digging out the sod! Don't want to leave any mosquito breeding grounds here.

The grass area I sprayed the other day is really dry and dead now.  The green you see amidst the brown is mostly, if not all, cuttings from the lawn mower.  

The Cosmos are about to start blooming -- looking forward to that.

I noticed in the rains last week that this area around the foundation and steps just became a pool of water, despite the ugly brown snake.  In looking at it, I realized that the snake went uphill ever so slightly, funneled the water onto that hillside, where it drained right back down the hill.  Yesterday I dug this ugly trench and tiny collecting pool at the end of the snake, and it worked, surprisingly.  So now, do you think I can transform this into...

this...

and this?

Rather a tall order, I'm thinking, particularly since I'm working with a different yard layout and clearly, a far more limited budget!  But, I'm also thinking that I can approximate this with the area I do have, with a little time and imagination.  I just need to give it some thought, then start planning and bit by bit, make it happen.

In case you are wondering, I really haven't abandoned the window project, have been mulling it all over in my mind and doing a little work here and there.  Most of the inside wood is cleared and sanded, although not quite paint ready.  It's taken lots of time and effort, and this morning I opted to apply one more layer of Citristrip to certain portions that were being very, very stubborn. Later, I'll go out on the front porch and work with one of the panes.  I've found that HD carries molding to replace the pieces Phil had to break in order to remove the upper pane, so no need to figure out how to repair that OR get the paint off it.  Cheap and easy solution.  They also carry moldings that will replace the stops that hold the lower pane in place, and trim both vertical sides and the upper horizontal side.  Again, easier than stripping paint off.  I don't have a solution figured for that upper pane yet, which is probably best simply replaced, if I can find an old one someplace that fits.  But, I'm still making progress, albeit slowly.

Found pine nuts at Kroger this morning (!) so a heavy harvest of basil is on the agenda later this afternoon and I'll be ignoring the 'no grains' aspect of my diet for a day or two.  I have to have pesto at least once a summer, and I have to tell you that no subsequent batches ever taste quite so good as the first of each season.

And also -- I'm really full of news today -- I found a farm in Rockmart (about 15 minutes from home) that sells raw milk, free range eggs, pastured poultry and pork, and grass-fed beef.  Can't wait to go visit them!