Monday, July 6, 2020

Our First Garden Plant.....

It rained in the night and this morning the cloud cover and cooler air made it really nice to sit on the front deck with our coffee and reading.
We were listening to the mockingbird sing over a dozen songs and watching the hummingbirds come to the now full feeders of fresh nectar when Louis Dean noticed what he thought were new weeds in his 'garden.' The garden is all dirt right now. Regular ranch soil and then a load of sandy loam soil that was dumped and then Sherry spread it out for him. Next time he will work the two together with his tiller.
So far now he is determined to keep the weeds out.
Funny how all the 'weeds' were called wild flowers before he got his fence up.


I used my plant finder app on my phone and discovered we have an accidental planting of musky squash growing right out of that sandy loam soil!
Dean must have thrown a stray seed over there or perhaps the birds picked a seed up from his garden and dropped it in ours!


You can see it there in the foreground.
Louis Dean  hopes to plant a fall garden in the back corner.
We will be planting trumpet vines along the fences as well as a row of sunflowers.
Can you plant those now?
We need to do some research.
It won't ALL be garden.
He wants a patio with a two seater swing or glider.
We ordered a preformed pond shell which will be in soon.
And he wants to rebuild the fire pit and make a stepping stone path to and around it.


The pond will be to the right of the Crepe myrtle bush.
He will keep the grassy area over on the right.

We accomplished a lot this trip.


I decided to paint the deck boards that show Colonial Red.


I love this paint and have used it for everything I have ever painted red in the last 15 years!
I also bought a can of white to paint around the camper door.


One of Louis Dean major accomplishments was putting up the top part of the wall along this side.
I was thrilled about this as we had stuck insulation and plastic bags all up in there. Not pretty. I had just told him a few days earlier that I was thinking about making a denim skirt to hang up there since I AM the Queen of Cover Up!!! That might have motivated him some. Plus it was too hot to work outside.
He will use his Rock Hard putty which he mixes with the sawdust he saved (that man saves everything but fingernail clippings!) to fill in the cracks, let dry, sand it smooth and touch it up with paint.
I am the clean up crew.
He had a LOT of sawdust on everything along that wall - because - he tried to saw a little off a board to make it fit - and it didn't work but left a real mess! But that's my job!


I cleaned up my art table. I started to leave it but thought it would be best to start all over in setting it out and try to keep it neater since I will only be working on three canvases when we come back.


Another thing Louis Dean did was put down the artifical grass carpet.
I painted the table and two chairs with my trusty red paint.


I also painted that big trunk you can see in the photo.
I bought that for him 3 or 4 years ago at a garage sale in Mart.
It was taking up prime real estate in his work shop and he kept so much stuff piled up on top of it that he never used the inside part. He put rollers on it and now it lives under the ea
ves on the extended front deck. I have my own little corner of plants. The mint is SO hardy!!! I bought the Citronella plant at HEB for $7.99. The one I have at home was $17! Bee and Butterfly seed are in the middle two planters and what I think is a trumpet vine is in the front.

We loaded up and were ready to go.......now where are those kitties???


Hanging from the rafters!


They do love to climb!


These are the best little kittens!
We tucked them in their carrier and they rode home without a single peep!


They were happy to get here though.
They made straight for the food and water.


I went out to see what I could harvest from our garden here.
I didn't tell Louis Dean that you could barely SEE the plants for all the high weeds.
We left here 8 days ago and it rained 5 times while we were gone.
We have very healthy and hearty weeds!

Louis Dean is already in bed asleep as I write this journal entry.
We stopped for Subway sandwiches and ate half on the road home and the other half tonight while we watched Mountain Men. The last load of laundry is in the washer so I have one load to fold from the dryer and the dishwasher to empty and coffee to make before I go to bed.
But I am enjoying some alone time and listening to some beautiful music on the stereo.


I am so blessed to have a city home and a country one!
I am in love with HOME!




17 comments:

  1. Both homes are warm and welcoming! I love your enthusiasm for life, friend.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I simply love...how you both always have a plan! A goal....a project you want to create! It's simply marvelous! Linda, you are the best and taking a plain room and transforming it into the most interesting living space...so much to look at and be inspired by...it's a real talent!!! Hugs!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you both got so much done on your trip to the ranch, Linda. I think you will have an wonderful garden, cause that LD just loves to work. LOL. I think I will get me some of that paint. LOL You have been busy too. Everything will look so good there. Oh those crazy cats. They will keep you laughing. Take it easy in that Texas heat. Blessings, stay safe, xoxo,love you, Susie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love that pop of red you chose Linda. Red is one of my favorite colors. Yes, the weeds seem to grow faster than the plants!! We have had so much rain here this year that we have not even turned on the sprinklers..

    ReplyDelete
  5. ...a cure for weariness! Oh how I love that! Making our homes comfortable and inviting is a joy, isn't it? Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That quote must come from the same book where "the last homely house on the edge of the sea" comes from. I watch that vlog for its homey-ness. I wondered at the "homely" meaning, but it is different from American meaning in Britain.

    Yes, you love home and make things pretty. You really have a gift.

    The gardens are going to be a lot of fun and good eating. I see lots of salads, tacos, and don't forget the countertop pickles! 🥒🥒🥒

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are most assuredly blessed to have a country and a city home. If I had to choose between them even though I like those places I would go with the country because of all those Critters out there. And all the dogs. They're all so blessed to have Gardens that you planted the end that Dean planted and also blessed to have all the honey you can eat honey is expensive. I too am a home lover but I only have one! I love that red and my favorite thing that you painted is the table and two metal chairs

    ReplyDelete
  8. You did a fine job with all that red paint and the table setting looks especially pretty. Nice to have plans you want to accomplish. Had to laugh at....where are those kittens. Glad you made it home safe and sound.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No matter where you are, you do make a comfortable and cozy home for sure. Weeds to thrive in the summer. They grow no matter the weather. Hot and dry or cool and wet. The are pests we can seem to get rid of. How nice you actually have something growing in your ranch garden. Birds do leave us some wonderful surprises, so does the wind. Glad you are safely home and can keep a little cooler there. Your kittens are wonderful travelers and such a delight.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have to say one thing - you two work hard and both your homes are nice. The soil is so different from what we have here - I bet it will be a nice garden.
    I like the red paint!
    So he even uses the saw dust - amazing.
    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. you have made them both such warm homes and i know how much you enjoy them both!!

    the kittens are adorable!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love Everything about this Journal entry.

    I love how you love the Ranch...how you love your home, Your Kitties, LD, the Simple Pleasures of drinking coffee and reading God's Word together and the red door, table and chest....

    You are really making the Ranch so comfy and appealing.

    Yummy veggies and even the "weeds" are blessed to be in your special place.
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your ranch is going to be fantastic... growing all the time. Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  14. Join the City and Country Home club! So much work but pure pleasure! I love all you and LD have done. Gardens are tough when you can't be in two places at once. I use plants that can tolerate heat, and I add a lot of mulch to protect them and save on watering. if you are looking for sunny spaces, I can recommend the black eyed Susans and coneflowers. Daylilies as well. Keep up the good work!

    JANE❤️

    ReplyDelete
  15. That's so interesting that you have a squash plant growing in your garden. We had a potato growing in our compost heap! 😂💜

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. We just love picking from our own garden also. Those sweet kitties are just too adorable. We love the photos of them just hanging out. Have a fantastic day.
    World of Animals

    ReplyDelete