RAISED BEDS

The weekend was billed to be lovely on Saturday and marginal on Sunday. For once the forecast was mostly accurate. On Saturday afternoon we headed up to the patch armed with a brush cutter, several large black plastic garbage bags, felco clippers, leather gloves and shear dint of will. Syd cut brush along the roadside and I pulled Garlic Mustard. I'll add a photo of it later.
It was a 'hands and knees' task! Lots of crawling under branches, clipping MultiFlora Rose canes , etc to give me access to the miserable ubiquitous invasive. Over the course of the afternoon I filled one bag to the very top.

Yesterday I pulled more Garlic Mustard. This time along the roadside opposite Katherine Porter's house. There is plenty more to pull next to where the old barn foundation was located. I'll have to get to it this week as it is in bloom and I really want to get it up before the seeds are set.

On a happier note I took a photo of the Cornus Florida (below) that is about to bloom !! How exciting to have a wild native dogwood growing on our patch !!! Last fall I planted three very small Cornus Florida at the base of the hillside behind the garden. Happily they weathered the winter very well.













Syd picked up a pallet of topsoil & 30 bags of compost at Leonard's. We filled up one of the beds and I'll do the second bed some day this week.

Yesterday I picked up some semi transparent grey stain for the barn. I'm not sure that I like it and will likely pick up a second gallon in a different color ..... more of a mocha perhaps???
Time will tell.








Meanwhile the barn progresses. The roofing material was supposed to be delivered today. The word is that it will come on Monday !!

TUBS ROAD BLUEBIRDS

The Bluebirds have been scouting out the many houses for the past week or so. Let's hope that one is chosen soon !!

Progress

Dale and Murray showed up around noon with the small excavator. The first piece of business was to put the pile of 'saved' rocks next to the old Elm, into the back of Murray's dump truck.

Next they headed up here to the house to load up the two raised beds that Syd built a couple of years ago and take them up to the patch on Tubs Rd. When we left Reading we left our raised beds behind and have regretted it ever since. In essence Dale lifted the beds , Murray secured each corner with a chain then hooked to the bucket. Dale raised the beds and they 'walked' each box over to the trailer and lowered them onto the trailer bed.











































I took this photo of the barn progress yesterday morning.

Brady and Bruce putting up the last few rafters!!












Just found this lovely photo of Sonnet that I took this morning. She is showing a bit of her Arab heritage.

Sonnet's Happy Day

This was a lovely training session with Sonnet and my friend Mary. Sonnet seems so much more settled and trusting this spring. Her ears are forward more often than not !!! WOW