Let's Get Dirty!

"Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building."--1 Cor. 3:8-9

Last weekend my hubby and I worked on our yard.  The weather is so nice right now!  I'm doing all I can to enjoy it and soak it up.  I'm looking forward to the warm summer months ahead, and I'm enjoying all of the green that's been appearing over the past few weeks.

We are planning to have the cap on our front porch re-poured sometime this summer.  As a result, some plants needed to be moved.  We also have a bed of shady plants that becomes overgrown with weeds every summer, regardless of the weed block under the mulch and the weed killer that we spray, so I had an idea to move them to a better location and just cover that bed completely with mulch.  Then, we'll keep up the weed spray, and hopefully keep it looking nice!  It's a north bed that remains in constant shade and stays pretty damp, so it'll be a never-ending battle, but at least we won't have to be careful of the plants now.

We moved those plants to a bare area that used to contain an large round evergreen bush.  Our neighbor was kind enough to cut the bush down last summer, just leaving the stump.  However, the ground was bare underneath from years of growth, so I transplanted four day lilies, four bell flowers (which I split from one large plant), and two little tiger lily bulbs to that space, and lined it with paver brick that we already had.  No cost, just a little elbow grease, and we'll have a gorgeous space with orange and purple flowers this summer!  At least, I hope they bloom this summer.

I also transplanted several hostas and a sedum plant that split in two when I dug it up.  The hostas are now against the house, and the main problem will be to keep them watered, because they are under the eave and that area tends to stay pretty dry.  The sedum doesn't have a home right now, and will just have to hang out in pots, along with the columbines that I had to dig up in front of our porch. 

It was a lot of work, but the day was beautiful, and I always love doing projects around the house with my husband.  We make a great team!

Gardening and Spring Fever

How is your garden doing so far?  I know it's early, but I've planted a few things, and they are coming up!  I planted nine potato plants (I think), and I'm seeing some sprouts, and my radishes are thriving.  I planted lettuce this past weekend, and transplanted the broccoli plants I purchased at the local greenhouse.  And the strangest thing has happened with my one lonely tomato plant: somehow, four more have sprouted in the same pot!  I have no idea how it happened, but maybe I'll have more than one tomato after all!  Time will tell.  I am calling it a tomato miracle.  I'll take whatever I can get!

Fresh garden beds.  I'm using stones to separate the spaces in the garden beds (just for my reference).  Top to bottom: four broccoli, three rows of radishes, and a freshly planted lettuce bed.  Potatoes on the right.

The miracle tomato pot.  Five plants.  How...??

Potato plants just beginning to poke through the dirt.

The lone asparagus!

I think we have a pair of nesting cardinals somewhere in our property.  I've seen this guy out and about a lot lately, and the female is usually somewhere nearby.  I have yet to locate the nest, although I'm really not looking for it.  I will leave it be.  But it's such a treat to see the bright red contrasted against the lush green grass when I catch him poking around the yard.  Check him out!

"Hmmm, which blade of grass will be tasty?"

"This one looks delicious!"

Well, as of right now, the doctor doesn't think that I am gluten intolerant.  Removing gluten from my diet didn't make much difference in the symptoms, and the celiac blood test came back normal.  They still have no idea what may be going on, though.  I'm slowly adding wheat-based products back to my diet.  I can't say that I've noticed any difference my overall health by avoiding gluten-based products, and I don't believe that it's a good idea for a body's health to cut out an entire food group from the diet, but I am going to try and cut back a bit.  Hopefully I'll find out some more answers when I go back to the doctor this week: they did an abdominal ultrasound on Friday, and I'll get the results.  I don't anticipate them finding any issues in the results, though.  Time will tell.

Getting Ready to Garden and Date Night

Hubby and I spent an enjoyable day working outside yesterday.  We accomplished quite a bit!  We started out in the morning to buy some manure to spread over the garden beds, along with a vegetable fertilizer for the beds, then we came back, picked up sticks in the yard, cut down some overhanging tree limbs above the garden beds, and split up to tackle our own projects: hubby with weed trimming and mowing, and me working the garden beds and erecting a trellis for my cucumbers to grow upon.  I was also able to harvest our first asparagus for the season! (I later heard from a neighbor that sprinkling water softener salt around the asparagus makes it grow like crazy, while eliminating any other growth around it.  I'll have to try this next year and let you know.)

Asparagus before I weeded

My first bunch of asparagus for the year

The beds after weeding and working--what plant wouldn't want to live here??

My cucumber trellis, made from the tree limbs we cut down

This early spring has been great so far.  I picked up four Romaine lettuce plants at Lowe's, but don't plan to plant it outside until after the possibility of frost has passed.  I need some new row covers but the stores don't carry them yet, since it's early for planting in this area (in general).  So, for the time being, the lettuce will live in my kitchen and grow.  I've read that you can grow lettuce indoors all year long if you want, but haven't tried it yet.  I suppose this is kind of a test. 

Lilacs in March??

After spending hours outside, working hard, I promised hubby that I would go with him to see a movie.  We went to see "John Carter" before dinner, and it was okay.  A little hard to understand if you are not a sci-fi person (which I am not), but a decent story line and great special effects.  Hubby is a big Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, so he desperately wanted to see the movie, and I finally agreed to go.  After dinner, we rewarded ourselves with dinner out at a Chinese restaurant here in town, and we had a good time.  It tasted good to treat ourselves after a week of trying new recipes, not all of which were that great.  All in all, a good day spent with my best friend!

I never doubt my husband's love for me.  It's one of the great things about him--having the courage to be a man who's not ashamed to love his wife.  Ephesians 5:28-33 talks about the type of relationship marriage should really be: "In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."  I'm glad I have a husband who honors God in his love for me!