Looking for Inspiration

I spent a little bit of time this weekend at the the Springtime in the Rockies Quilt Show. If you have never been to a quilt show, I highly recommend it even if you are not a quilter. Seeing all those beautiful fabrics in one place is inspirational and nothing says that quilt fabric must be used in quilts! So gather a friend:

And go look for some fun ideas at the next one near you!

Arbor Day

I hope you attended Arbor Day this year-or at least plan to plant a tree! Spring is an excellent time to plant your trees and shrubs. Not with standing that yesterday was the best time to plant that tree so don't delay. You local Master Gardener or county extension office can help you make a selection if you are not sure what to choose. I attended the City of Greeley's festivities. This fine tree was planted in Sunrise park:

I ate my share of cookies and then took my free seedling Austrian Pine home. It will be potted and nursed along with last years blue spruce. I also helped out this year by reading the Giving Tree to several local first graders. They were beyond excited to get their "first grade" trees at the end of the presentation. It was a great experience.
If you do put in a new tree this spring, be sure to make a nice water well at the bottom for deep watering. The forestry staff did a nice job on this one:

I wish you a long life little buckeye tree!

The Look of Summer

So maybe, just maybe, I got a little carried away. Hey, I was having fun! Kids clothes are sooooo easy to sew! Lots of fun fabrics to use and you can accomplish a complete project in an hour or two! Following are some of my personal favs:

Too bad it was such a grey day when I took my photos! I'm sure you get the idea all the same!

Wheel Hoe

My husband and I really wanted a rototiller to help us keep up with the garden weeds. When it came down to the purchase, we realized we couldn't pull the trigger on a gas guzzling machine for several reasons. 1) You rarely need the force of a full blown gas powered machine 2) pollution 3) gas prices are going up 4) we need the exercise! After much research we decided on the Hoss wheel hoe. After about a weeks wait, the box came in the mail.

There are two types of wheel hoe. The high wheel and low wheel. Everything we read indicated the low wheel hoe to be the most efficient at getting work done. They say you can do ten times the weeding in an hour that you can do on your hands and knees. I'm going to venture to say what would previously take four people 2-3 three hours will be done by one in 20 minutes!

It took a little bit of assembly and the handles are going to need several coats of linseed oil but I think this is going to be well worth it! You can buy several different attachments for this garden machine to make your gardening experience worth while. The investment was a bit hefty but since we don't have to add gas, I think it is going to be worth it. We used the cultivator teeth to till in the compost.

We would still be hand digging 1,800 square feet of garden if we had not purchased it! Maybe this year my garden will look more like Martha's....probably not!

Compost

To begin this garden season we decided it would be best to jump start our soil improvements by ordering four cubic yards of compost. We have a sandy loam soil that lets the water run straight through. By continually adding soil improvements, I hope to increase its water holding capacity and provide natural nutrients for the plants. Since I cannot possibly make enough compost to feed my whole garden, I had to purchase. There are a few things you need to know when purchasing compost. First is to figure out the amount you will need. In general, about 4 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet is good for just about any application. You can add more, but this depends on the product. The picture above, is a four cubic yard pile of compost. It took two of us about 2 hours to spread by hand so don't be intimidated. When you purchase compost it can come from varying sources. You will need to ask. You can buy a manure based product or a yard waste based product. The safest way to go is to buy a yard waste product. This product does not run the risk of being hot and burning your plants if you over apply. It should be dark in color, show no signs of its parent product and smell like rich dirt. A well composted manure product can also be very useful. It should not smell like manure if it has been composted completely and will generally cost more than a product that still needs to break down some more. If it smells like manure be cautious! Not to say this isn't a good product, you just need to be more careful in your usage of it. It will need to be tilled or spade in well and not over applied or it will burn your plants.

Spread the compost evenly over the surface of your area. If you need to till it in you can use a spade, rototiller or wheel hoe. Yearly applications of compost along with tilling in leaves goes a long way to improving your soil the natural way. We went with a manure product this year that needed tilled. Let me tell you, it was a bit stinky! I hope the neighbors don't notice!

This is my garden. Tilled and ready to plant! Happy Gardening!

Being Neighborly

About three weeks ago I drove in the driveway to find the neighbors cat. Dead. Now being the farm girl that I am, I decided the best course of action was to take said cat back to its owners. All of a sudden I find myself standing on the porch of the neighbors I have not met, daughter in one hand, dead cat in the other. I was certain that was not the way to greet the the neighbor that 1) moved in 6 months ago and I failed to introduce myself too and 2) who wants to see someone at their front door holding a dead cat? So, I gently placed the cat that I had wrapped in a towel around the side of the door and rang the bell. It was a most awkward moment. A few days later they dropped off a shamrock to say thanks but I still felt guilty about not saying "Hi" properly. I have found urban living to not be all that neighborly and only but the boldest of urban dwellers will extend themselves to you. I talk regularly with exactly one neighbor. That is a sad state of affairs.

As a result, I put together a welcome bucket for the new peeps on the block. Some wash rags, handmade cards, cookies, pencils, decorated note pads, tea and a onsie for their new baby. Just a few things to say hello, I'm a nice person. Make sure to extend yourself to someone this week. It might just make their day.

Are you getting any feathers?

Its been few weeks so your baby chicks should have put on a good amount of feathers. Be sure you are raising the heat lamp a few inches weekly. This not only encourages them to put on their feathers but makes sure they are being acclimated gradually to life with out a lamp! I don't know about you, but I don't have a heated hen house so they have to live the guest bedroom for now! Watch your chicks closely to make sure they are not huddling and indicating that perhaps you have moved it a bit too high.