Saturday, December 31, 2011

Startin' A New Year!


 Well, the weather around here for the past couple of days has just been drop dead gorgeous, so I couldn't waste any of it by staying inside.  Piss on the pottery, I had to do some gardening!  But it wasn't just for the sake of good weather.  There is a big cold front coming and I really needed to get some stuff ready for that.  They are predicting lows around 18 degrees several nights.  Now, for us that's cold!  Sweetie Jack raked a bunch of pine straw for me and made piles in the garden so all I had to do was mulch around whatever plants I wanted.  So, I pruned and mulched the blueberries (on the left).  I have 4 blueberry bushes now and a few herbs planted between them.



I pruned and mulched the raspberries too.  Yes, I know you can't really see much but some types of raspberries you are supposed to cut all the way to the ground.  I'm still learning on these things.  I also applied another layer of enriched topsoil around them before I mulched.  They did pretty good this past year but I want more!!!  To the right you can see a couple of cabbage plants and some leeks.  They are doing well and in that seemingly empty space above them is 2 new kinds of garlic.  I really hope they do good.  Over to the left is my strawberry bed but I think I'm going to order a new type this spring that is better suited for this climate. 

This is a handy thing I wanted to show ya'll!  Jack put this up for me after I described to him what I wanted.  And yes, I do sometimes let him build things on his own!  I found this old discarded mailbox and had seen in a book how you can turn them into a kinda toolbox for your garden.  It was his idea to add the hose bracket, which also works good.


I just cram all kinds of things in here and it all stays perfectly dry.  Pruners, clippers, gloves, string and so on.  It's very handy to have it right in the garden and not have to keep running back to the shed or whatever to get stuff.

So, I had intended on doing one of those end of the year synopsis kinda things but haven't got around to it yet.  I might still.  I also had a new year's goals post in mind so we'll see!  I wish you all the best for the new year.  May you find everything you are hoping for.

9 comments:

Caddie said...

That mailbox idea is great! Mention of strawberries cause a flash of warm summer mornings and nibbling on my own juicy gems.Have a great year, You and Jack. I'll predict it to be a prosperous time for us all.

Aunty Belle said...

Oooh, Chile' youse got thangs all set up! Hope the cold ain't THAT cold, an' it's jes' enough to stya warm by the fire--not damage yore garden.

Readin' yore prior post--why ya' buyin'a stoneware bread pan? I'se ignorant on the difference a'tween that an' yore own pottery--cain't ya' make bread in EdiRex pottery?

BTW, I still love my pottery--use it constantly an' always have comments on it--it works well, wears well, and is so pretty--an' no, folks, this ain't a commercial, jes' the truth.

Happy New Year Annie!

Pablo said...

I have a mailbox set up similar to that in my forest, but I use it to store "essential papers" if you know what I mean. It does keep things dry, but I've found that the roaches like to live in it.

I hope your 2012 is fantastic!

Aunty Belle said...

Annie...ah, Annie.

Yore Christmas Tree post is really really good. (yes, I'se readin' backwards an' catchin' up on yore doings).

That post is among the best I'se read this year--not in a technical sense (in mah other life I'se a journalist) but in its pure essence--youse communicated an important truth at a visceral level.

Two thangs:

1) I took a huge liberty an' am linking that post at my blog jes' so more folks can see it--I hope they do.

2) may I encourage ya' to keep a journal --much like I imagine ya' do anyway to make note thangs in the garden from season to season, but add in yore reflections--how what ya' do fits in wif' yore philosophy, how it is cross -grain to common attitudes...memories it calls up, an' such.

I reckon some of it would be worth publishin'.

Happy New Year, Sugar Pie, may it be a blessed one.

R.Powers said...

Annie,
First Happy New Year to one of my favorite bloggers.
I am going out right now to plant a new blueberry, a blackberry,a fig, and two new muscadines.

I love that mailbox idea and plan to do the same.

Aunty (who I love too) is spot on with her comments. You are a straight talker.
I hope your new year is super and that your pottery passion keeps growing.

MamaHen said...

Hey Sissy! I hope you're right!!lol! Happy New Year to you also and I got the pumpkin seeds you sent! thank you so much!

Hey Aunty! Well, I think I have stuff fixed well enough I can protect most of the stuff from bad cold.
And yeah, you can bake bread in my pots actually. Most any ceramic material works. I just wanted a rectangular pan for making "real" looking loaves and I don't make square very well in my own stuff. Round or oval I got!
I'm so happy to hear you are still enjoying the pieces you got from me. I truly love it when people really use my work and make it part of their lives.

Hey Pablo! Hey, that's a great idea for the 'papers'! lol! Thankfully I have not found roaches or anything like that living in mine. If you hear a loud scream one day though you may assume they have moved in.

Hey Aunty! Ah gee Aunty, you gonna give me a great ol' big head and I'm already insufferable enough! lol!
thank you so much for the link and yes, I've had a number of extra visitors!
thank you for your encouragement. I've have tried for years to keep a written one and never did well at it for some reason. The blog serves as a journal in a way but I would like to have it written down. I worked really hard on that post and thought it came out okay. I thought maybe it might be worth publishing in a magazine if I refined it a little.. I've also thought maybe a creative writing (or any kind of writing) course might be helpful also. I will give the written journal another go from the perspective you suggest too. Thank you again and a very Happy New Year to you and yours.

Hey FC! Hey, how 'bout that?! you're one of my favorite bloggers too! lol! Happy New Year and thank you for all of your kind comment!

Aunty Belle said...

Annie,
youse right to see O Christmas Tree wif' a possibility fer publication in a magazine or paper--mebbe in a Homsesteader magazine or a Southern history/ culture magazine?

I'd love to see ya published in 2012!

chickory said...

Happy New Year! I have art to do today too -darn it - i want to mulch up before the low 20's hit. we have big wind today...and highs of 34 (maybe). Your garden is neat and tidy and looks beautiful. Let me know what the right strawberries are...my patch needs a kickstart.

MamaHen said...

Hey aunty! Hhmm, I'll see what I can come up with!

Hey chicory! thanks! and will do as soon as i do just a little more research on the berries!