Post MLK day

Classes begin today though I have only two online courses that I can begin to labor on. Both look interesting and work intensive, so the semester should be busy.

I did not get down to Ft. Worth over the weekend. Saturday I toured garden places and box stores looking for supplies for summer gardening. Sunday I went to Lowe's bright and early and picked up the wood and 1/2 inch PVC tubes necessary to build the frames. Monday I cruised around picking up the stuff to create my own soil to fill the boxes, and today I finished them off.

I decided to go with a variant of Mel's Square Foot Garden (link to be added later). I made some changes due to being a cheap/poor student. However, the basic idea is still his. My raised frames are 4x4 squares made out of 2x6 studs. I put in a variety of peat moss, compost, mineral sand, and soil mix to fill the boxes. After putting them together, I planted some onion sets, though I suspect it is still too early to plant anything. But, having played in the dirt all weekend, I could not resist, and besides, it was only 16 of the little fellers.

Right now the boxes are covered with plastic, and are, I suppose, a cheap mans green house. I am very curious to see how well they can grow veggies. Given the alternative, it was relatively low cost. The space out back is limited, the soil is extremely hard, and there is very little space in which to bring in any kind of motorized earth working equipment. A small toro type tiller might fight round back, but I don't know how effective it would be in chiseling through the clay. And given the soil quality, it would have taken a great deal of amendments to produce anything other than crab grass. Later today I hope to have a cost estimate for the boxes and such like, though I may not share that price with anyone. :)

I will put a link to some photos of the boxes later today.

Right now I am sitting outside on our back cement pad soaking in some sun before I have to go in to begin my virtual ref desk session. The weather has been great the past few days and is responsible for my desire to play in the dirt. It feels too spring-like to stay cooped up in the house. I am sure we will get some nasty winter stuff yet, but this is awesome. It reminds me of one winter as a kid, mid January, walking down the lane from the house to the road with Mom and Barb watching the water run along side the piles of snow. If I work hard I can forget that spell of white stuff we had a few weeks back. Denial comes easy to me.

The photos as promised

January 2010

The weather has improved greatly since my last post. Tuesday's forecast is for a temp of 74, though I have my doubts we will achieve that. The long term forecast shows a decrease in temps through Feb, and from what I have read, Feb is a fickle month here in Texas. Some years it is mild and delightful, others cold and harsh. I am sure everyone knows what I am rooting for.

I spent some time yesterday looking into the cost for a square foot garden for this spring. I should be able to do the frame for two 4 x4 boxes for around 60 bucks. I am going to start on that in the next few days. I think it will make a nice little hobby for me to build and prepare the boxes. I think it is the logical, and cheapest, way to put in a garden given the soil conditions here.

In anticipation of planting (50% last frost is March 16 or 8 weeks away) I will begin some seeds in house today. A few heirloom tomatoes and a few pepper plants. I have started purple passion flower seeds soaking as my challenge for the year. The package says germination will take place in a few weeks to several months. A fun plant to start it seems.

I am debating whether to head off to the Fort Worth botanical gardens today or tomorrow. Today would be best traffic wise I suspect, but tomorrow will be a bit warmer. Given the fog that hangs about this am, I won't be leaving for a few hours.

If you would like to see a list of what is currently in bloom at the gardens, you can go here.

still cold

Today I have one week of no Diet Coke. My simple new year resolution was to give up this icky stuff, and I am doing well.

The cold weather from western canada is still here, but we should begin to win the war against the bitter brr.

Check it out!

A great site if you are interested in old postcards from Western Canada can be found here.

A cold front from western Canada has frozen Texas, and I know who is responsible. It is currently brr and will not get above freezing today. Winter really sucks.

I am going to start garden planning/costing over the next few days. I have some seeds (a Christmas gift)that I will need to plant once the weather warms up (who knows how long that will be?). I am really looking forward to tasting some home grown heirloom tomatoes.

I have applied for a graduate assistantship at unt's library, and I am waiting to see if I get an interview. There is one job posted that would be perfect for me. Classes do not start back up until the 19th, so I shall be busy again in a few weeks. Two of the classes are offered online, the third is an in person class that I will go to every Monday night. I am hoping it will be warm enough next week so I can make a trip into Fort Worth and visit the botanical gardens. I would love to see some flowers blooming, even if they are few and far between. I am also hoping our pansies will survive the bitter cold we are currently suffering.

One nice thing about the cold weather is that it offers opportunities for firing up the fireplace. I also enjoy the gas starter, I don't have to find a can of diesel to use as starter fluid.

Happy New Year!

It is a cold grey mizzly day only suitable for sitting in front of the fire place eating some yummy homemade cookies and lazing about. So here I am, doing just that.

The trip to Arkansas went well. We left on the 23, drove around 6 hours through torrential rains and arrived early and hardly tired. Love those interstates for driving. The only problem with all the rain was that I was unable to see most of the countryside.

The next few days were spent with Carol's family, and I do believe she had a good time. Most of the events are what you might expect for the holiday, lots of eating, talking (mostly within the family, all those memories).

The trip home was nice, sunny and warm but windy. Gas mileage was not as good as the trip up, but we still managed to average 32 mpg. We stopped twice on both trips for leg stretches and gas, but neither stop was very long. The country changes quite noticeably from the pines/hills of Arkansas and the scrub of North Central Tx.

We came home to a sick Charlie(sneezing,weepy eyes). Constant medication has improved his condition,though Daph has begun to sneeze so she is whining about the pills being stuffed in her throat as well. Maggie has been clingie since we came home.

Carol's mom gave us a Kitchen Aid for Christmas (awesome machine!), and I have made bagels (with Carol's aid), three batches of cookies (one given to the neighbor as a thank you for looking in on the kitties and one for tomorrow), and some pizza dough. I am struggling to resit baking something more adventurous like a really nice cake. The mixer is a breast cancer machine and painted pink, but I love it anyway!

Tomorrow is hopping John and collards, the usual good luck dish here in the southern part of America. I shall put some hot stuff(remind me to get some hot sauce one of these days), likely chipotle, in to add depth. If the weather is nice we shall walk as well.

Well, it is now nap time, I am sleepy from the grayness of the day.

Oh, yes, btw, Carol and I will be getting married this summer once she has completed her PhD. No date has been set as yet. We plan on getting wed and spending a weekend in a bed and breakfast somewhere nice, maybe on the Louisiana coast?? I am a full fledged suburbanite now--middle class car, middle class home, three cats, and married. What is next? At least I am happy.