I love the winter. I love looking out at the white filled trees behind our back yard. I love that the snow is so high that we can barely shovel more than a path from the house to the garage, even though if we let her, Evelyn would try to do the whole deck...
I've been so distracted by inside projects (and avoiding the cold) that tackling anything outdoors has just seemed like a dream! We've even stopped trying to add to the compost pile and resorted back to just using the oversized bin by the garage for scraps...
But the reality is: Summer is coming and it's past time to start preparing.
Since this is the first summer in our new home, the list of things I'd like to do is pretty much endless.
So in hopes of avoiding the potential picture of me running around mid May hanging laundry on a tree while holding a garden trowel, paint brush, and scraps of barn wood while wearing a half finished dress - I'm picking the projects I feel are the most important/easiest to tackle.
What I Plan to Accomplish This Summer (Outdoors):
- Completely fence in the the rest of the yard (preferably using reclaimed/scrap wood)
- Have a successful garden (more specifics later)
- Put up the clothes line so we can be completely dryer-free
- Build a chicken coop/fenced area
- Clear our the overgrown area on the north part of our yard (and eventually plant berry bushes)
Bonus Projects I'd Be Excited to Get Done:
- Building a sand box
- Replacing seven new windows in the main living area and bathroom (technically this is to benefit the inside of the house, but it's easier to do when it's warm out!)
- Building a big, above ground composting bin
- Getting chickens
- Setting Up A Rain Barrel
There are other miscellaneous "homeowner things" that I'm sure Tommy would add.. adding a few motion-sensored lights, putting up gutters, sealing the deck, etc. I'm thankful he tends to care about all the practical projects I don't think of :)
What I'll Do This Week:
- Order seeds (I've had them sitting in my "cart" waiting to check out for awhile now...)
- Finish researching starting seeds and collect supplies
- Start researching chicken coop designs and drawing up some rough plans
- Start looking/asking around for old deck or fence wood
- Continue enjoying my winter wonderland...
Thank you to the following Link Ups!
I would love to fence in our yard, unfortunately it is definitely not in the budget. I hope you write more about how you find this reclaimed wood! I wouldn't know where to start in looking for that. But, in the meantime, I have decided to plant some sunflowers around the perimeter of our yard. Not the whole perimeter, mind you, but a good couple of sections. My daughter is very excited about having flowers taller than she is :-)
ReplyDeleteFencing ours brand new would be very expensive too! I love the creativity (and any excuse for beautiful sunflowers - they are one of seeds I'm ordering!)
DeleteUnfortunately, with the location of our house, we need to have an entire fence for safety reasons - we are on a major road and don't want any chance the kids could run into it. But also for the future we'll want it closed in for chickens/other pets to have freedom to roam :)
I'm hoping I can find wood from friends, Craig's list, people from church, the side of the road, etc. My husband isn't sure about it how it's going to go but I'm determined to stay in our $500 limit :) I think depending on what style/finishes we have it could look really awesome - but if it doesn't we can always paint it!
I will keep you posted!
Heather, you should check out a book called Sunflower House. It's about planting sunflowers and then tying the tops together making a "house" with them. It's super cute. My daughter and I read that book together, or I read it to her, when we planted them a couple years ago. And those suckers get huge. After they bloomed and seeded, I didn't know what to do with them (they never seeded well) so we had to rip them out, which also proved to be a huge problem because they root as well as trees!
DeleteFollow our adventures at www.sowderingabout.com
You should check out a book called Sunflower Houses )http://www.amazon.com/Sunflower-House-Books-Young-Readers/dp/0152019529/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361422730&sr=1-1&keywords=sunflower+house)
DeleteI read it to my daughter when we planted sunflowers a few years ago. They are amazing plants, but after ours grew and then tipped over from the weight, I didn't know what to do with them so we removed them which was a HUGE issue because they root as well as trees.
Our to-do lists are so similar, it's ridiculous. Build fence, grow garden, clear overgrowth. Hang stuff on clotheslines, compost everything. We built our compost bin from wood pallets and weed block--it was super easy.
ReplyDeleteoh, and I found you through a linkup. Nice to "meet" you!
Hi Beth,
ReplyDeletethank you for linking up this week with Wildcrafting Wednesday!!!
Thank you for linking up with Wildcrafting Wednesday!!! :)
ReplyDeleteAnne-Marie
Thank you for linking up with Wildcrafting Wednesday this week!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful snow pics!!!
Anne-Marie
For the fence and compost bin you can use old pallets, garden stores would probably be a good resource for these especially with spring coming. For some alternative fencing I've seen (willow?) planted and shaped to form one too. The clothes line and garden are on the top of my list too!
ReplyDelete