A Quick Update

Here are a few pictures to update you on what's been going on. This is the front of the coop. It will have two clean out doors and two windows and a chicken door. Here is my husband Marvelous Mark painting. We did the body red and the trim white. It looks so cool! And he did almost all of the painting. He's so marvelous.

Another view. The three openings are the nesting boxes. It has a door that will open from the outside of the run so I won't have to go inside of the run to collect eggs.

Yesterday while it was beautiful outside I took some of the girls out for some sunshine. Boy, did they love that. From left to right it was Lucy, Louise, Thelma and Wilma. We think Wilma may be a Wilmer.

Here they are again. Becoming a little more adventuresome.

These chickens have taken over my heart. I really love them. They are so much fun. I would tell anyone that they need to get some chickens just for the pure enjoyment of watching them.

Well, that's all for now. Tata.

March Fun

This cart is what Mark gave me for my birthday. I'm so excited because its also has a dump feature. It will hold up to 1000lbs and will dump 400 and Mark can attach it to his riding lawn mower and take the grand kids for a ride. I love it because now I can haul around all the stuff I need all around the yard.




This is a Drumstick Primula that I just love. I divided it this fall and now have seven of them in the lasagna garden in the front.




This next picture is one my friend Rhoda made me about 13 years ago for my birthday. I just love it and it hangs in my garden room.




Here is a close up of what the picture says. This is picture is one of my favorite pieces of garden art.




This is the sign that is on the door going into my garden room.




This is Scabiosa or Pincushion Flower called "Fama". It has huge blooms.




This is the future site of the chicken coop. Yes, I will be getting chickens this year. I'm so excited. I can hardly wait.

I have had the best birthday this year. My friends and family have just spoiled me. Lunches and presents and cards and calls. I am truly blessed and really feel loved.

I want to say a big thank you to Maury for fixing my computer so that my pictures will once again download from my camera. That's why I haven't been on here much.

Well, tonight we have another birthday celebration with Chris, Jen, Hailey and Landon, Sarah, Jacob and Mark and I. So I must go and at least take a stab at straightening up the house. Ta ta for now!

Birthday Month

So this is my birthday month. I celebrate all month. Its also an extra long month so I get 31 days instead of just 28. I don't get presents everyday but the cards come a little at a time and I just like to think of it as a birthday month not just a birthday day.

The day that my computer got worked on my friend Greg brought me over a load of horse poop. It was very nicely aged so I was able to put it on the garden. My friend Carla came over and got some and I put the rest on the compost pile. Speaking of compost Costco has a tumbling composter that we are going to get. We went to get one this weekend and they were out. Here's the link if you want to see one.

http://www.thecompostbin.com/2009/04/99-costco-compost-tumbler.html

It's pretty cool. They are supposed to get some more in on the 8th or 9th and we will be right there to get one. This is not one of my birthday presents. I have let my family know that I want "Blogging for Dummies". Maybe I can get my blog to look a little more professional.

There are so many daffodils about to bloom and there are also a few tulips getting ready to open. So exciting! The daffs called "Cheerfulness" not "Cheerful" as last reported are still blooming and looking and smelling like heaven. I took some over to my other friend Carla yesterday and she loved them. There's just something about fresh flowers that make you feel good.

News on the chicken front. It looks like I may be getting chickens after all. So excited! The big part is getting the chicken coop done. We also have to put a new roof on half of our garage and that is going to be a pretty penny. So lots of things going on around here. Still waiting on greenhouse plans too.

My camera will no longer download pictures that I have recently taken for some reason. So no new pictures for now. Well, that's about all the news for now.

Ta ta.

The Seattle Flower and Garden Show

Cold Frame

I got to spend all day at the Seattle Garden show Friday and had the most wonderful time. I went with 3 friends. Carla picked me up at 7:15am and we didn't get home until 9:30 that night. What a day!

I hadn't been to the show in about 6 years. A former boss and me used to go every year and sometimes spend 2 or 3 days going to lectures and touring the gardens and shopping. So it was a real treat to go again. It was fun to see all the gardens. There are some talented people out there. Three of them featured chickens. I was glad to see them because it shows how popular they are becoming.

The fragrance when you walk into the convention center is very powerful. It's like a whole room of hyacinths and daffodils and clean dirt and so many other things all together. It's heaven!

I still don't have the picture thing figured out on here yet. That's why there are pictures with no writing. Some day I'll get this figured out. So here are the descriptions of the pictures.

The first one is three Barbies sitting at a patio. They look quite relaxed don't they? I wish I could look that good sitting in my garden. I've never seen Barbie weeding. I woner how Barbie would look after three or four hours of weeding. Hey Barbie, got a minute?

The second picture is of a chicken in the cab of a small truck. They planted the bed of the truck with a vegtable garden and made the cab into part of a chicken coop. Quite clever. In the lower part of the door there was an opening cut out so that the chickens could go into the coop that was attached to the truck. Very cool.

The third picture is of a cold frame that I'd love to have. I know that they are not supposed to be that hard to build, its just finding the right place. And the window and the time, blah,blahblah. (I can make up a long list of excuses.)

And the last picture is of a John Deere chicken coop and chicken. I really like this one because it was what is called a chicken tractor. That means that you can pick up the whole thing and put it anywhere in your yard that you want and leave it there until the chickens have eaten the lawn and fertilized it and then you move it somewhere else. Very cool.

The other cool thing that I saw at the garden show where Sunglo Greenhouses. I have greenhouse envy for anyone who has one. I know there are many kinds out there but I know someone who has this particular one and she really likes it. I hope to get one this spring if possible.

There's so many things coming up in the garden. It's hard to keep track of everything so I walk out there every chance I get. I do have what look like paperwhites coming out by the back walk. Very exciting!

I worked out in my potting area today just cleaning it up. It felt sooo good. I'm always so embarrassed when someone comes over and it looks like a tornado hit it. So, it will look nice till I start potting things up again.

Well, its time to get something to eat. So,ta for now!

The sun is shining again!!!

I am going to plan to have a plant exchange this spring. I will invite all my gardening friends to bring over plants that they have divided and we can all trade with each other. I hope to have at least 11 other friends who want to do this. I know that I have a lot of plants that I can divide and would love to get some new ones.

I am do looking forward to getting chickens next spring also. I think it will be a hoot. I have some names picked out already. But I won't write them down yet.

I scored on three 5 gallon Viburnum "Dawns" on Monday at McClendon's Hardware. They were marked down to $9.95 apiece! Am I excited or what! They are safely dug into the ground in the vegetable garden right now in their pots until we figure out where we are going to put them this spring.

Well, everyone will be home soon and I better go. Ta ta for now.