big plans rock

thanks to everyone who called or e-mailed with best wishes and suggestions about my back! i didn't realize y'all were even reading this!

so it's that time of year in oregon--the craving for spring starts getting super itchy and rodney is scheming about the tax return money every day! we have BIG PLANS this year.

gardens, gardens, gardens! we're putting raised beds out front (maybe cutting down the big crab apple--but i have mixed feelings about that)...we'll be constructing them and hauling in garden soil from rexius to fill them up with...and i have been researching and dreaming about companion plants, succession crops, where to put the perennials, and how to keep the squirrels and the birds out. i'm planting everything ON TIME this year! i'm even thinking about an early crop of favas--which i've always found loathsome, but my new christmas pressie cookbook has inspired me to try them again. and if they're still awful to eat, they'll make great green manure.
the back garden needs a wall around it for two reasons--other than that i just FEEL like building a wall...we plan to get a doggy (maybe this summer!!!) and want the garden boundary clearly defined. also, the previous stewards --ahem-- of this property apparently used the area around the garage (what is now the southwest concrete slab behind the office) as a sort of bike/auto shop and just drenched the soil with oil--and who knows what else (our neighbor rob informed us)--which explains why thistles are the only thing that thrives back there! i want to mulch it with sheets of cardboard and haul in tons of new soil. hence the wall, to hold the dirt. plus i think it will be fun to play with concrete, creating my own big blocks into which i embed tiles, shells, stones, and whatever other goodies i dream up. i'll mold out some stepping stones at the same time for the girls to create--we'll need lots of them for all our new various paths.

this is only the tip of the iceberg of this year's projects! to be continued....

and my i say publicly: rodney, thanks for not scoffing when i came to you and said "i have to build a wall in the backyard!"--that you listened to and absorbed my vision and found ways to help and support are the reasons i love you and married you. you are kind and generous and you don't poop on people's creative ideas--it's a lifesaver for me. i love you.