Windy weekend update

Well, it's freezing cold today on the first day of spring break—about 38 degrees with 50-mile-an-hour winds. (I'm guessing on the wind rate, but they are torrential.) And we're gearing up for a helluva rain storm tonight into tomorrow. Awesome. I don't mind rain in the spring, but can't it be a gentle shower in 60 degree weather instead?!

But Hubby wanted to work on the property today, so while I'm inside tending a sick child, he has made some great headway.

1) Trash. Today is town dump day, where the town takes big items and either recycles them or dumps them for a nominal fee. As we have been cleaning up our property over the years, we have found random pieces of crap that has been collecting in a pile, perfect for today's occasion. (When a property is abandoned, as ours was before we bought it, it becomes a collection pit for the losers that want to get rid of their crap illegally.) We have found (and disposed of today) old box springs, toilets, giant pieces of rusted scrap metal, old oil and/or water tanks, tires, and piping, just to name a few of the choice items. Whew! Property clean again.

2) Grass. Last year we planted grass on two patches of our property that was previously overrun with rocks and weeds and pricker bushes. Since we were covering such a large area, we bought the cheap seed. Unbeknownst to us at the time, cheap seed—aka, contractor's mix—is mostly annual grass seed. Annual grass?? Is there such a thing? Apparently there is. And why the hell would anyone want annual grass? Hell if I know, but here we are, one year later, and our lawn is only speckled with returning greenery. So Bret raked out the lawns, bought the expensive, grown anywhere seed, and scattered it in all the bald patches (make that the entire lawn). Big job. Way to go Hubby.

3) Carnations. I received from my mail order source a collection of carnation plants that I need to plant tomorrow, if it warms up/stops raining. Last year, I ordered the carnations in early spring, but they were back ordered. They finally arrived in mid-June, during a week of 95-degree, dry-as-a-bone weather. Needless to say, not the most conducive conditions for planting. About half of them died over the summer, so here is my free replacement collection. All perfectly healthy plants that should root and thrive in our spring weather before summer hits.

4) Seedlings. I have to apologize to my eggplant, zinnia, and portulaca seedlings. You were doing so well and my not-so-green thumb apparently killed you, somehow. I've been trying to harden off my plants outdoors, but the aforementioned babies have shriveled and turned white. That doesn't seem like a good sign. I'll try to direct sow them in the garden beds this week since we are likely past the chance of frost. Maybe they'll do better if they start off in their natural habitat. But on the bright side, my peas are doing amazing! And so are the marigolds. So not all is lost, though any loss is heartfelt.

5) Top soil. Since Hubby build my veggie raised beds earlier in the week, we are now ready for the top soil delivery.  Sixteen cubic yards of it, which is a crap load! I called around for quotes, expecting to pay a couple hundred dollars. But it's an investment for the future, so I can justify it. Holy crap load! The lowest quote was $570! For dirt. This is turning into an expensive weekend: between the dirt, our new computer, and Cavan's new playset (see The Almost Stay-at-Home Mom for more on this), we are now dirt poor. Get it! (I can hear you groaning now.)

Other than all of this, I am expecting a big week in the great outdoors. More successful updates to come after our week off on spring break!