A Little Of This, A Little Of That

Spring has sprung, at least for now, and I've been spending boatloads of time in the garden. I was excited to see my peas had popped up about a week ago.



They got a few days on them, and then started looking quite unlike peas. I decided it must have been some of my kitchen scraps I had put in the garden bed. This weekend they looked more like potatoes, and so I transplanted them to a better spot. I'm happy to report, though, that my peas have come up nicely, and are awaiting the trellis system to climb on. I made two of these last summer from some of the many tree branches we have on our property. I need to cut some more to make at least two additional supports for my peas, and later some little shorties for the cucumbers. I won't need any extra for the beans, I will be planting them where the peas are now and they can use the same trellis. To make these, all I do is cut a bunch of straight branches about one inch in diameter and six feet long. I use baling twine to tie the uprights to the bottom branch, and then weave the horizontals in, starting at the bottom. It's easy, free, and they hold together great over the winter for the next season.


My niece Patricia is home on spring break. I went to a quilt show with her and my sister over the weekend, and then she helped me with some knitting. I used to be the one to help her with knitting, (back in the day) but she is much better than me now. Anyway, on our way home, we stopped by the stable where she rides, and I was fortunate enough to score some free horse manure. Yeah. I know. I'm still excited. And even better than a load of manure? It's composted, and I can get as many loads as I want! And it's not even my birthday!!