It’s been ages since I’ve written a new post. It’s not that I haven’t done anything worth posting about, I just haven’t finished any of it. I could share half- finished stuff that I’ve started and have a few pictures of… SQUIRREL!!!!

…and then I was actually surprised to find the surprise lilies still in the top of my daughter’s closet.

Now you understand the problem. Or part of the problem anyway. My best and probably the most truthful excuse for not posting is Life got in the way. I was going to do an article on winter garden chores, but then our new shower started leaking and I was afraid it was going to rot out the utility room and maybe short out the electrical box and burn the entire house down. So I had to drop all projects and demolish the other bathroom, then get the new tub and surround in ASAP so we could quit using the other shower. This is the shower we JUST put in last spring, mind you.

In the past five minutes, I’ve gotten up twice from this post. Once to exchange Candy Land for Monopoly for my daughter, who is playing board games with the dog (She’s 6. Should explain everything.). Once to check the fire I started outside an hour ago, trying to clean up some brush and the old tub I tore out of the bathroom. In the middle of burning there was a thunderstorm and it’s nearly put the fire out.

Yeesh- my posts are now starting to sound like the inside of my brain.

So we remodeled the shower in the main bathroom. I never did winter chores and I never wrote an article. I’m still working on the bathroom. I haven’t played Monopoly in 20 years or more and now my daughter wants to know all the intricacies of the game. >.<

Rocks kept getting all over the sidewalk, so I’ve removed all the rock and started re-doing the edges of the walk. I’ve faithfully taken pictures and PLAN to do a post on this… when I finally get it finished. I also started constructing and space for a vegetable garden, using the Hugelkultur mounds I’ve previously written about. It’s not finished either. Although we did put together part of a trellis this weekend and I dug post holes for concrete.

Is it even possible to play solo Monopoly? I should probably go put that fire out and get in the shower so I can start dinner.

I can share with you these lovely leaf towers that I put in front of the garden. They were formerly protecting my rose bushes and Japanese Maple’s graft over the winter. I cage the plant, then fill it with leaves. It worked like a charm. No damage to the caged plants at all and it got below zero for sustained periods a couple times this winter. I decided I would put the cages by the garden- that way I have them to use again this fall to protect tender plants. In meantime I can fill them up with leaves, vegetable scraps, wads of dog hair from the vacuum cleaner and grass clippings I don’t put in my composter or on the garden mounds. I’m hoping to just dump the tower’s contents on the mounds at the end of the season- sort of like really coarse compost. We’ll see at the end of the summer how it works out.

What the hell happens to your piece when it lands on Free Parking? /sigh. I’m going to go put the fire out and take a shower. More structured posts are coming soon. I promise.

B

PS. This post is NOT an April Fool’s joke. Although it probably sounds like one.