New Raised Beds & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  I hope the week has been a good one for you, in whatever ways are important to you.  The sunny days have been delightful.  We even got in a couple of "pond-sits" during the week, which is what we call relaxing by the pond after work is finished.  I made a new recipe, a roasted sweet potato and chickpea dish we both liked, which came from 600 Acres.  From fall to spring, we have sweet potatoes, chickpeas are always in the pantry, as well as homemade yogurt, so I can see this recipe getting lots of use in the future.

In the garden, we worked on raised beds.  J found Trex boards for less than half price on Craigslist, a significant savings.  Though it did take a trip to VA, we enjoyed the day, stopping for lunch in Mt. Airy.   We're trying Trex boards this time, for their resistance to rot and insects.  We pulled out the original raised beds some years back after they began housing asian needle ants, fire ants and termites, but there are some pluses to using them as we age.  We have two beds done, filled with soil, and planted with potatoes.  J put together 4 more beds, and filled one more on Sunday.  After making metal brackets for the raised beds in his shop, he asked if I might want to try listing some in our shop.  The Berkey stands have gone far beyond what I ever thought they'd do, so I agreed to try it.  I took some pics, and listed them.  You never know what people might find useful.

I made pasta sauce with homegrown tomatoes, eggplant, summer squash, basil and rosemary, and cooked a mix of store bought and our rutabagas.  I made yogurt and bird suet.  A couple of days, I worked on another dozen of my friends' antiques/vintage items for ebay.  A cousin of mine passed away last week.  My friends at Whynot Pottery will be providing an urn.  I purchased a beautiful urn from them for my Mom's ashes.  Though they create a multitude of useful objects I love to use on a  regular basis, I appreciate the love and craft they put into their urns.

A few days ago, we noticed the first asparagus up.  On Sunday, J harvested the first two spears.  Hooray for asparagus season!  The bachelor buttons I planted are up.  Though I'm quite late in getting started, I "winter sowed" seeds from a friend, rose campion and columbine.  We are still having some cold nights, with tonight and Tuesday night below freezing, so I hope the seeds get enough cold and will germinate.  I started three types of lettuce, and red chard earlier in the week.  I noticed the first chard up on Sunday.  There was a women's gathering I attended in the neighborhood on Sunday.  Before I left to go, I got the first six of the ebay items listed, and the remaining six when I returned.  For dinner, I made Brandy's Taco soup, which is so quick, easy and yummy.  A salad with some of my newest batch of sprouts went along.  I harvested a big basket of kale, wanting to use it before it bolts.  So many things need to be done, I'll just have to trust that if I keep working on my to do list, anything that is important will get done.  Happy April, friends!