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Friday, April 23, 2021

Some Highlights of My Week in Pictures


Using up leftovers from last weekend, one night I made Welsh Rarebit for a quick supper. We had bacon, tomato slices, and cheese sauce leftover from brunch and a bbq. All I had to do was toast some bread and assemble.


Violets are in bloom all over our yard this week. I picked a bunch of the blossoms and leaves to press to use in making a card for someone special. I hope the colors of the petals and leaves hold.


So, this is our greenhouse. I wrote about this a few years ago. It has a tubular frame with 5 shelves, and has a plastic cover that slips over the top and zips at the sides. It's portable and can be disassembled easily, but we leave it up year round and use it for winter storage for patio cushions and empty pots.


One of 5 edible hanging baskets. It contains 1 green leaf lettuce, 3 small red leaf lettuce (hard to see as the red is so dark), 1 thyme cutting that I rooted in water earlier this year, 1 nasturtium seedling, 1 tiny parsley seedling, a bunch of radish sprouts (to use as greens, so tightly-packed), and a few spinach sprouts. They all just need to grow, now!


I trimmed up the rosemary plant on both sides to make room for a couple extra lettuce seedlings. The rosemary that I trimmed has been used in meals this week.


Another free pile yielded 4 of these lime green and white chairs. Yes, they were free. I was on a walk with one daughter, so we had to carry the bunch home.


And finally, one last batch of cupcakes for spring. Yesterday was my husband's birthday (4 spring birthdays in our family), so I baked these up in honor of his birthday.



We had about 10 days of beautiful weather, so I've been working and walking outdoors as much as I could. I overhauled the pumpkin patch, hoping for a better yield this year. My husband built another bed for ever-bearing raspberries. I've been hauling soil and compost to fill it. I moved a blueberry bush into a sunnier location, hoping it will produce better. And I started some seeds directly in the garden. Rain is expected to return over the weekend. I guess it's not summer after all. Oh well, the water will be good for the garden and the bare spots in the lawn that I patched.

How was your week?


6 comments:

  1. That's an interesting greenhouse design. I like that it can be taken apart, but I also like the idea that you use it to store cushions.

    We have had a return to colder weather this week with frost at night and 40's and 50's during the day with a lot of wind--mostly indoor weather as far as I'm concerned. Next up is rain, but by Sunday afternoon it should be clear again. Spring is definitely a transition season.

    And I'm guessing that your husband likes chocolate. Those cupcakes look delicious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Live and Learn,
      And now you'll have a spell of the better weather, beginning later this weekend! It's hard to believe that April is nearly behind us.

      Yes, I do like the design of the greenhouse. It's got a small footprint, but gives me enough plant starting space for outdoors undercover.

      Have a great weekend!

      Delete
  2. We have one of those greenhouse shelves, purchased over 20 years ago after moving to Oklahoma. Problem is, we quickly figured out it's a no-go outside here due to the wind, LOL. We still use the shelf, though, and several years back, my husband installed shop lights under the shelves so I can use it for seed starting. This year, he changed those out for LED grow lights, which seemed to work well so far this year.

    The cupcakes look amazing!

    This week: Monday, oldest child still at home turned 17. However, she had scored a superior on violin at the regional competition a few weeks back, so was slated to play at state on Tuesday. So we drove up Monday night (3 hour drive), stopping near Oklahoma City for her birthday dinner out. We had had her family celebration on Sunday at home. She also scored a superior at state, which was exciting.

    Tuesday, after returning home from a long day in the car, we hustled outside to prep the garden for a past-our-last-frost-date freeze. My husband and boys took down the trellises, and we covered best we could using row cover, spare pavers, and bigger chunks of wood from the woodpile (we keep some for our firepit).

    Wednesday, after the freeze, only minor damage, thankfully! Lost about 6 winter squash plants that I had no way to cover, and had some minor foliage damage to the potatoes, which are 4-6 inches above my knees.

    Also, walking again this week after being "allowed" to start back last week, after some weeks of immobilization due to tearing my shoulder labrum while backpacking about 5 weeks ago now. Feels SO good to be back out walking in the cool, crisp morning air!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cat,
      Congratulations and happy birthday to your daughter! You've had a busy week.

      I'm glad not much was lost in your garden. Maybe you can start again with the squash?

      That's a good use for your greenhouse shelves. At least there's that. The first time I set up our's the wind blew it over. I secured it to the exterior of the house with cup hooks and bungie cords. It's been good since then. I'll remember your use as shelving for starting plants under lights, though.

      I'm glad your shoulder is feeling a little better. That must have been painful!

      Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Cat!

      Delete
  3. Cat, big congratulations to your daughter! Our music program at school has been severely curtailed this year. No competitions.

    We had snow a couple of days ago. It melted quickly but was a bummer after having had so much spring weather earlier this month.

    Lawn furniture is in large demand around here. I'm surprised you found it for free, Lili. I purchased outdoor cushions for our chairs this week to make patio entertaining more comfortable. Seems like that is still the safest way to get together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      Snow in April! Well, hopefully that's the end of it for this season for you. Bring on spring!

      I was surprised and very pleased to find the chairs. I'm guessing this family was upgrading their own patio furniture. New cushions for your chairs sound like a fun improvement -- both pretty and functional. Enjoy your outdoor time!

      Have a great weekend, Kris!

      Delete

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