txrose's Blog

Rain Rain Go Away!
Mar 18, 2008 | 4:26 PM PST

On the up side we never have to water our grass all summer. Our house seems to be on a small slope from the other side of the street down to us.

I had yesterday to haul several loads of good dirt from the back yard to to the front and really made a nice little start of outlining my gardens. I dug trenches to channel the water away from the foundation.  Its a pier and beam home so I think it would have worked. I put the concrete funnel thingies under the gutters and the front yard looked promising.

This afternoon the weather guessers told us to expect flash flooding and severe storms maybe even producing tornados.  They neglected to tell me that the flash flood is for my yard only.

So one thing I am resolved to do is not to try to make garden areas. At this time its a waste of time!

There is so much to owning your own home its sometimes overwhelming. Tonight I am making some hot chocolate and getting lists made as to what is the most important first step in getting where I want my yard to be. Though I wish I knew what I know now all the winter long... I could have got the plan down!

I am really depressed that I worked so hard yesterday to see that it did NO good at all. I am glad that though it is depressing that it has made me to make myself get it all down on paper.

At least I have a goal so its off to work more on the details of that. Maybe I can get things ready by the end of summer to think of  a fall garden.

Happy St. Paddy Day!
Mar 17, 2008 | 4:19 PM PST

Did everyone wear green? I saw a guy with a shamrock painted between his eyes and a short lady with a tall furry green hat on today...that's all guess there aren't too many people round these parts run with it. I sure don't understand that because there is a lot of Irish in this neck of the woods.

It reached a high of 84 degrees today.

 I went and purchased a wheelbarrel found out its called a wheelbarrow...dang Texas slang. So now I had to look it up to see the spelling of it . Also got a caddy for the 100ft waterhose I've been lugging from one point to the next. If you wonder how I made it this far without a wheelbarrow I used a old shower curtain to rake up leaves on and lug to the leaf pile. That is how it is when you have a small car and a even smaller money vault. I did however learn you should not no matter how in need you are haul a wheelbarrow in the back seat of your small car. I figured ...well, it hauled an 8ft fence post and a huge tv and some other things like the wheelbarrow "huge" things! but you shouldn't over do it cause it ripped my door a little bit. And as with the fencepost I had to have a window down so as not to break the window and still get the monster home.

Then when I got the "wheelbarrel" home I set about to use it until the rain came. I read on freeplants. com that you could use newspaper as a weed barrior. I did it different than he suggests but I had tested it before and it worked so I did it my way. I laid down 6 sheets of newspaper securing it with garden staples and then took some good loam from the backyard and after wetting the paper I put the good loam over that and it looks really good and since I have done a practice run of it last year I know it will work. Oh, I removed the staples after the soil was in place.

When I am out in my front yard I always feel like I am on stage, I have to try real hard not to look around I just know the neighbors are all wondering what I am up to. Their yards are nicely kept up. This one has not been for several years now.

When I finish it will look wonderful and then I'll look up so funny I know but I am so new to gardening and I am sure I look quite silly sometimes. Like that short little lady with the green furry hat on!

Hope you all enjoyed your day today and I am hoping that grannylee   is feeling much better now.

Hello! Fellow GG'rs
Mar 13, 2008 | 5:59 AM PST

Its so good to be back on here!! I've been away a few days because I couldn't get in here to blog. Something was wrong with my PC and all I could do was see you guys write and game and I couldn't say a word....& that is a biggy for me!!!

I even thought it may be the site having problems and wrote customer support and all MAAAAN!!!  Telling them to help! I'm having wtihdrawls again!! I'm glad I'm back!! At least I had your blogs to read and also your game answers.

We don't know what the problem was but we set time back and fixed the problem for now. Meanwhile I have been digging much like a gopher in my yard trying to layout the additional garden spaces so water (rain) will flow differently (not going up to the border of my porch).  And so there is less grass to mow this spring and summer.

I felt kind of silly there is so much space and its a lot of work to figure it all out. But it was just little ol me out there for 3 days scoping it all out and digging trenches LOL you see my front yard slopes down a bit toward the house so I've been trying by hand to level it a bit. Soon I'll have a man I know come and run a tractor to fix out the old driveways.

I'm sure it will come together but it sure does take a lot of time and work (sweat equity right!)

Ya'll  have a wonderful day and know that this ol gal sure appreciates you !!