4/25/11

Yes, I am still here!

I know I've been an appallingly lazy blogger recently and I must thank those of you who took the time to email and check on me. I am fine, just very busy with life and not especially inspired to blog, and I firmly believe in staying stum if I have to struggle to come up with something to say!


Life has just been pretty humdrum day to day and due to being busy, the Hubster and I just haven't done much of anything except relax or work around home and the garden.

The most noteable thing in NW Okieland since I was last here has been the unrelenting wind and the resulting wild fire outbreaks. I know they sing that the 'wind comes sweeping down the Plain' around here, but it has been roaring down now for about a month and it's getting extremely old! About a fortnight ago we had an 18 hour period where the wind blew in straight line speeds at about 50mph with gusts up to 80mph and there was considerable damage done.

Oh and NW Okieland has still had less than an inch of rain since December, so we are rapidly turning into New Mexico, which is fine by me as I love it there!

As most of you know I am an Elementary School Secretary by day and we are now within the last 15 days of school (we have a 4 day week) so work is very hectic right now. I will also have a new Principal and boss after June 1st, whom I met today and immediately liked and am sure we will work well together, so major change is on the horizon.

We have spent all our recent weekends working in the garden when the winds abated enough, and I am pleased to say all our hard work has been very rewarding.


The Hubster built a very nice raised bed for a small vegetable garden, laying cardboard to kill the grass roots left underneath, then chicken wire to keep out burrowing varmints, and a nice trellis at the back.


We planted a variety of Peppers, Summer Squash which will be trained vertically up the trellis to save space, Zuccini (Courgette), Garlic and Cabbage. In the trash can just visible behind it is a crop of Potatoes and then I have a couple of Tomato plants in containers.

We have been busy weeding, clearing, transplanting from one site to another and putting in new plants too. My favourite plant I have discovered in Okieland is without doubt the Crape Myrtle shrub or tree and they absolutely thrive here.


So I placed a repeat order with an excellent supplier I found online last year called Crapemyrtle.com whom I highly recommend, and received 6 excellent plants for $59 plus shipping. They are not as large as you get at the garden centre, but Crapes grow very fast and this company is so much cheaper and very reliable.


This time my order included 3 of the tall Crape trees that will get to 25-30ft tall and the Hubster placed each one in a very nicely constructed tree box.

So this in a nutshell has been our life for the past month, and now I will make an effort to catch up with the rest of you, as my blog visiting has been non existent too!

As for this week, well I am growing increasingly excited about a certain wedding on Friday and will be back for discussion and predictions on this subject before the big day!

15 comments:

Sherri said...

Sarah, so glad you checked in!! I'm glad you are doing fine, just busy. Wow only 15 days of school left-that is really great!

Linda Reeder said...

A four day school week? How, and why?
You are brave to plant in such a windy and dry area, but with water and care, you should do well. That tree is gorgeous; I see why you want more of those!
We haven't decided what to do about that wedding yet. It would begin at 1:00AM here. I will probably record it and then watch it much faster than live later, after I get some sleep.

Unknown said...

Linda our school district just goes Mon-Thurs after March 1st. We are over the hours we need anyway and we only take a 2 day Spring Break to compensate as well. We did this a few years ago and it's very popular with the faculty!

Gaelyn said...

Glad you caught us up. Life certainly is more important than blog. Bet you're looking forward to summer break. The yard and garden look great.

Unknown said...

So great to have you back with us and to know all is well with you and your hubby. Have a great week and hurry back.

Sandi McBride said...

I know what you mean about those winds, we get them like that too and even the woodline doesn't help! We're getting lettuce now and strawberries planting tomatoes!
Hoping you have a wind break soon, good luck with your raised beds, we love ours!
Sandi

Anonymous said...

Sometimes, it's better to have a ho-hum kind of life than it is to have a stressful one. I love that tree, too. Hope yours prosper. Welcome back and please don't be such a stranger.

Stella Jones said...

I think a lot of people have been doing just the same thing i.e. gardening and tidying up outside. After the long, cold winter, we have an early Spring and it has inspired us all to get cracking. Keep us informed as to how your Crape? Myrtle trees are doing. Where on earth does that name come from?
Moi? I planted some carrot seeds today.

Stella Jones said...

I think a lot of people have been doing just the same thing i.e. gardening and tidying up outside. After the long, cold winter, we have an early Spring and it has inspired us all to get cracking. Keep us informed as to how your Crape? Myrtle trees are doing. Where on earth does that name come from?
Moi? I planted some carrot seeds today.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Hey, she is back!

Nice little raised bed. I put in a raised bed for Heather so we are looking forward to some peppers and tomatoes. She devoted one section as a "pizza garden" for SuperPizzaBoy. Herbs and such that go on pizzas.

Take care!

Anonymous said...

I completely understand the feeling! I am like you - if I don't feel like blogging, I don't.

We built 2 raised beds the year before last but over the winter, the neighborhood cats discovered they make nice litter boxes so we are abandoning that idea because we can't see to keep them out. We are tearing them down and replacing the area with sod. Works out because I don't have the energy to keep up with the garden anyway.

Kay said...

I kept looking to see if you'd come back yet and was getting worried. I'm glad you didn't make me go to Oklahoma to check on you. Looks like you've been very busy indeed. The crape myrtle is gorgeous. I can't remember if I've ever seen one. Wow! You planted three of them? You must have a whole lot of space on your property. It's going to look amazing. I envy you your kitchen garden. I can't seem to make anything much grow without the bugs eating them.

Hmmm... maybe I WILL stay up and watch the Thursday (for Hawaii) night festivities with you.

Vickie said...

It's good to see you, Sarah. Glad you like your new boss and I love the raised bed for your veggie garden. Smart of DH to put the chicken wire underneath. We had that issue in California, thankfully not here in Colorado. Just above the ground squirrels who meander in for a taste from time to time.

Brown English Muffin said...

The mail lady at my job just gave us a tomato plant for my daughter to start her garden, last year she gave us zucchini and cucumbers, this year I'd like to try my hand at spinach...

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