Rain and Garden

Monday morning is wash day.   After breakfast, washing the sheets, and making the beds we began to sort photos again.  There has been a light rain most of the morning.

We did three photo books before lunch and three more after lunch.  Some of the kids envelops were full.  We started new envelops.  They are all laid out on the coffee table.  The photo of the person or family is placed on the envelops.

The warmer weather has caused some of the pea seeds to begin to show their heads through the cold soil.

The plants in these large pots have died during the winter.  I dumped them in the sweet potato bed.

Wade Lemon, our neighbor to the north, wanted some native plants to plant in Ferrin, Utah.  I talked to him for some time.  I then walked out to see if I had any.  I found some golden current plants in several areas of the yard.  Most of the were in #5 nursery pot.  He came over to take a look.  He probable get them when he is ready.

Some of the dead trees that were cut down last year we cut into pieces.  I took one into the garage to split it.

After splitting it I tried to smooth it up and make something out of it.

I found some 2x12 about ten feet long.  I am making another raised beed.  I had another board that was sixty-four inches long.  I cut it in half for the ends.  I drilled holes in the ends of the side pieces and had plant to nail them together, the holes were to close to the ends.  I used a block keep it square and hold the boards on their edges.  I had to make new holes.  I drove screws to hold everything together.

Here is the finished frame.  I will level it some and fill it with recycled potting soil.  I have lots of pots where the plants have died.  I can empty these in this raised bed.

I found two photos of the black van that we had to carry our plants.  I rolled it over seven or eight years ago and it was toed to Cove Fort.  I went back to get my trailer and get personal things out of the van.

Fremont Poplar Populus fremontii, is found in the Capital Reef State Park.  Miles and Nyleen Batty, and Merrill is standing in front of the tree.


Comments and questions are welcome.

Continue Greenhouse Remodeling

I picked a bucketful of cucumbers.  We took most of them to the post office.  The rest we will take to Carol's sister.

There is a tomato plant by the cucumbers.  I cut most of it away and found several large cucumber.  I gave them to the chickens.

In the north east corner of house two is a composting bin.  I put all the plants that had died in the compost and any soil that went with them.  I don't know how long ago that I built it.  But with the remodel, I put the compost in the new raised beds.

After I removed all of the plant material that did not decompose.  I took them on the compost pile west of house six.

I took off the sides which were made out of 2x6 boards.  What you see in the above picture is the compost.

I started carrying the compost a shovel at a time to the new bed.  I could soon see that I needed to do it fast.  I then filled a large nursery can with the compost and carried it to the bed which I will call bed One, because it is the first one on the left.

The above photo shows all of the boards used to make the compost bin.  I took all of the screws out and ended up with a stack of 2x4's.  I needed to cut some to the length of twelve inches.  These were used to connect the 2x6 by twelve feet.  Most of the boards were redwood.  I will use them for making some stools.

I had to pull up all of the weed barrier that we put down years ago.  I cut it off with a pair of scissors.  I pulled it out the north door.

By now the sun was getting high in the sky on these desert 4 O'clock.  I got a good photo.

I brought over a wheelbarrow of recycled potting soil.  I put it on top of the compost on bed one.

 Here is how it is looks after the load of potting soil.  It looks a little dark because I wet it down.

Row bed two:  There is a strip of weed barrier between the doors.  I cut a strip along the right side of the bed.  I brought in two and a half loads of compost that I have out by the road.  

I then brought in three loads of potting soil.


Comments and Questions are welcome.

Making New Beds

This morning I started working in house two.  The planting beds or raised beds on the west side of house two are oriented in a north south direction.  The beds on the east side are positioned in west east direction.  I am changing all of them so they will be north and west.

I am extending the bed.  I put down one board and will attach to the one to the north.  The table blocks and other stuff needs to be moved.  

I moved this desert cactus.  I broke off some large pups and then cut off the top.  You see the cut edge on the right.

There a large Aloe Vera type looking plant that has been there for years.  I pulled it up and pulled off a small pup and planted it in the black nursery pot.

In the wheelbarrow is large cactus that I haven't watered for a long time.  On the right is the rest of the cactus.

I dumped the one Alloe Vera plant under the Elderberry tree by the far north garden.

A large desert four O'clock.  Not a very good photo.

Deer tracks in house six.  It looks like they came in, and then turned around and left.  No observable damage.   I think that there were two.  One smaller than the other one.

Here are more tracks.  

I needed some stakes to hold the 2x6's up right and in a straight row,

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I dumped a lot of pots.   The soil will be put in the raised beds.

Here is how it looks at the end of the day,  I have put some of the recycled soil in the bed.

Adam Remkes stopped by for a visit.  He asked if I were interested in renting our greenhouses to grow hemp.  He has a Friend that is interested.

I thought that a nice stain would look good on the Viking stool.  It is way to dark.  After stain had dried  I sanded it completely.  It took quite  a while.

Here is completely sanded I have started to put a coat of Urethane.

Here the top is finished.   The wedges are easily to see.   Tomorrow I think that I will sand it and put on more coats.  Also, I will do the legs.


Comments and questions are welcome;

Robert, Frank, & Ceiling Storage

This morning I began working on the hangers, or whatever they are called.  They are built a little like and I beam.  In the picture they are right side up.  The cross pieces are to be attached to the ceiling joists.  The cross pieces rocked some.  The 2x4's were ripped to have one smooth edge.  I took them apart and ripped them again so both edges were smooth.  I put them back together again.  It was hard to the 2x4 centered on the plywood strip.

Carol and I drove to Fillmore for some supplies and groceries.  Robert called while we were there.  He and Frank came to work in house two.  When we got home, Robert, Frank, and I had a discussion on the direction that the nursery should go.

We built another raised bed.  Robert is attaching the end piece to the side pieces.  We then put the other piece on the north end.

Robert is filling the new raised bed with used potting soil.  It took four trips with the wheelbarrow and another four trips for the compost.

Both beds are finished.  Robert and Frank went home.

I put the first track up for the two totes.  Standing on a ladder I was able to hold the track against the ceiling and then drive a screw through a predrilled hole into the ceiling joists.  I lined it up with the line between the two wall boards.  After I got it pretty straight, I drove more screws into the ceiling joists.

Putting the right side up was more challenging.  I put a screw through the piece.  I did not tighten it.. Then putting up the tote it seemed to be right.  When I slid the tote to the south end, it was two loose.  I had to undo the center screw and move the south ends closer together.  After it was like I like it, I predrilled more holes and put more screws into the joists.  

Here is another angle.  

Comments and questions are welcomed.        

   


  
 
  

New Years Day

The following two paragraph were put on my Face Book.  I wanted to express feelings rather than being specific.  

Today, I reached the big eight O, Those in the seventies are now young. Those In the nineties are the old ones. May you and your family be blessed this year.

My resolution: To be a better husband, father, grandfather and, great grandfather, and follow the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. Be a friend to all regardless of their social position, and be more forgiving.

Robert and Jeanne stopped to wish me happy birthday.  They brought a present which was a short stem ladder.  I have a tall one and with this won't have to stand on a chair on a chair to change lights.  We began re-arranging the in greenhouse two.  We worked for awhile and then went to lunch.

 We had one bench on cement blocks.  Actually it was a large box made out of 2x6's with a plywood bottom and a sheet of plywood, which had nearly rotted on top.  All of the cactus plants were on top of it. There is one barrel cactus that we saved with all of its little pups.  We kept starts of all of them two propagate new ones if needed.  We saved the bottom and moved the frame to the north-east corner of the greenhouse.  This will filled with soil grow something that likes winter coolness.

We made a new raised box which is on the left.  We another bench apart to make room for another raised bed.  We quite before we finished with it.

I gathered all of the large extension card that supplied power to the out door lights. There were nine of them.  I tied them with some twine and hung all but one in greenhouse three.

Robert and Jeanne left and I started the dreaded job of putting away the outdoor lights.  I put the strings of lights in a large tote.  I put to strings on the bottom and put a piece of newspaper onto top of them.  I then put a couple more string down and then the newspaper again.  This I continued.  I changed the procedure a little by rolling the strings in a sort of ball.  I was able to get six strings and then the newspaper again.  The newspaper help keep the stings from getting tangled.

It was getting later and the temperature was dropping.  I turned the water on for the Devil's Ice Tower.  I heard Tiger our cat, Climbing on top of house six.  I went out and got several pictures.  This one is the best of all of them.

Comments and questions are welcome.