Back Outdoors! : )

Morning temp: 61F
Afternoon high: 74F
Tonight's projected low: 50F
Humidity: 100%
Moon: Nearly Full, at 81%

The rain was gone by midnight last night, and since then the sky has been crystal clear! It's a lovely day, warm sun, cool air and a nice West wind at 8 mph.

This Morning.

1. With the rain continually coming and going, and the bread kneading (ha ha) my frequent attention, I got nothing done outdoors yesterday. In the future, I'll need to integrate the several different stages of bread-making into other Homesteading chores. Yesterday though, I was afraid to leave the kitchen unattended. They say you get more relaxed after you've had your first loaf. It came out very nicely, BTW. I'm off to work outside...

This Afternoon.

1. So far (it's 2:45pm), I've dug about half of the 3.5 X 30' Bed. I love the short width, which makes it much easier to work. With 4' Beds and larger, I always find myself reaching too far too often. About every 5' or so I go back and rake the top soil flat, accept for the sides and ends of Bed, which I rake up into small mounds; they end up looking like raised borders. Then I add layers of Mushroom Compost and Peat Moss into the flat "depression" I've created atop the Bed. Since Tomato Cages 28" in diameter are going in here, the flat surface (~42" in width) will provide stable (and quite fertile) ground. When we put in our first set of cages last week, we really struggled to set them down square on a rounded Bed. Imagine that! "What if I'm not happy with, 'we'll make it fit'," I can still hear M saying! Also, I've been watering the soil just prior to each stage of digging. This seems to loosen and soften the soil considerably. Finally, I'm really learning to slow down, taking long breaks in-between 10' sections. I've brought a book of ee cumings' poems with me, and during each break I'm memorizing one stanza (or more) before I return to work.

Looking to the Future.

1. We've been talking more and more about the kinds of home-based businesses we'd like to develop and grow. In the next few years, we want M to shift to part-time nursing, leaving her many more hours for Homesteading. I am no longer teaching, but I do share a small construction company (commercial drapery installation) with my close friend KP (the guy from the Great Tepee Debacle of 2002). By working together, we are able to take on large-scale jobs (e.g., 600 room hotels) and still keep our work schedule to 2 - 4 days per/week. Moreover, we are able to take one or more months off from work when we desire to do so. This is good for my Homesteading and KP's schooling (he's currently completing a degree in Computer Science). So, what's the home-based-business (HBB) going to be?

This Evening.

Well, what a busy day!

1. The Tree Fellows came today and took down two very large Pines out in front of the house. With my Haddon Lumbermaker on the way, J had them cut the trunks up into large sections and leave them. We helped them roll the very large, enormously heavy trunk-sections over to one side of the yard! With four of us pushing, we could barely move them. Cutting them into lumber will be quite a challenge!

2. I dug about 20' of the 30' Bed, then I developed some pain in my right hand. M loves the long, narrow Bed, and also the raised borders on all sides! I hope to complete the digging Sunday morning.

3. M has been on-call this evening, so while I watered the Beds, she thoroughly weeded and fertilized (with Bone Meal and Dried Blood) the Lettuce, and then broadcast new Lettuce seed where ever there was a gap between plants. We so want to eat fresh Lettuce from the Garden all Summer. We're hoping the Bed it's in will be sufficiently shaded to protect it from the Summer heat.

4. Finally, I mowed the front portion of lawn, which seemed to be up-hill in both directions, because I'm a bit worn out.