Spring Lockdown Continues
All in all it was a very busy month of nesting. Some nesting resulted in cleaner pastures. Some nesting resulted in greener pastures. Some nesting resulted in feathered offsprings for the pasture.
First week of the month continued with tree round up. There were invasive trees to dig up and tree limbs to round up, cut up, and stack up. Amazing the amount of dead trees and tree limbs have been collected since Harvey. Seriously have way more BBQ wood than we BBQ.
Dead tree limbs were not the only thing left behind from Harvey. Bits and pieces of the well house belonging to the neighbor across the field behind us. Once you start to look for blue bits in the greenery the more blue bits you see. Collecting is pain as the nifty nabbers won’t grab them and most of the bits are buried within the entanglement of briar.
Week two and seeing that the lockdown was going to continue and needing something for the Kid to occupy his free time, another above ground 8×4 garden was created out of leftover board scraps. This will be the last square garden as there are no more usable boards unless the boxes are going to be 4×4 in size or smaller.
Seeing as the lockdown has all but brought business to a halt, I needed something to occupy my free time. With the need for nesting still strong, 18 eggs were collected over three days and prepared for hatching.
To date, the above ground box #1 contained beans and tomatoes, box #2 swiss chard and mustard greens, cucumbers and pumpkins in shep tubes. Lacking in the yellow and green zuchinni garden department, box #3 was filled with two zuchinni each.
The second week was rounded out with some transplants. The coral honeysuckle outgrew its pot and was stuck in a high spot by the BBQ pit. This poor plant has been through hell. A freeze, Harvey, and a drought. Yet it hangs in.
During the activities the first sign of pollinators were observed. Some good, some bad. Both located on the olive tree and both needed to have a healthy garden.
Week three my nesting urges had subsided with the daily need filled by watching 18 potential peppers brooding in their box. With time available to try new things, I attempted my hand at bread. First it was plain white bread, then it was sourdough bread.
Then I attempted sewing. Both were not total failures as the bread was edible and the welding hat wearable but neither were anywhere close to my standards. Yes, yes, I know. Practice and all that.
Week four started off with yet again more transfers and plant assessments. The weather has been very dry these last few weeks and it is taking a toll on the both the garden plants and natives in the yard. Having planted a dozen or so esperanza seeds at the beginning of the month, Boxes in Fields was surprised to see two emerge. For as many of these seedlings that fly through the air every years, not one single plant emerges.
At the beginning of the month when the invasive trees were rounded up, the Planner had an idea to transplant one in the spray field to see if it would grow. To date, nothing planted in the spray field grows except salt grass. These invasive trees literally grow in the salt marshes and tidal flats across the street. If they grow there then they should grow here. With neighbors moving in behind us, having a spray field with invasive trees is better than their constant security lights. Sadly, they died, too.
Two oleander bushes were moved from behind the Work Box where they receive too little light to grow to the driveway where they will receive almost full sun all day.
Week four concluded with the most exciting of exciting things. First is was edible veggies. Full batches of beans, one tomato, and two pickling cucumbers. The green beans were picked too long and were tough when eaten raw. The tomato was picked too green because a mockingbird was stalking the bright red beauty, and the cumbers were planted too close to the pumpkin and has cross contamination. They all ate fabulously!
Spinach was tender and sweet, mustard greens picked early so as to NOT be bitter, and swiss chard was decimated.
When cleaning the greens on the deck, this monstrosity was discovered hanging out on the oak tree at eye level to the deck. Eeh gawds! Chickens, get over and do your job. Good grief.
Then, on then on the last Friday of the month, a crack in the first of 18 eggs! By Saturday at 4pm, all but three peppers had hatched.
Finally during the last week of the month, the Planner and the Kid developed a rope ladder and scaled the inside of one of the water tanks. Before the ladder could be put to work it had to be tested. Monkey see, monkey do.
Send down the Kid to see what he can see besides dirt at the bottom of the tank. On a side note, this is why Boxes in Fields does not drink the water that is collected. The roof tops of the boxes are not potable. Down he went only to tell us we already knew. With no rain for weeks yet the base of the tank is green and lush. A teeny tiny stress crack and hole the size of a pin head. Damn, 2000 gallons of water lost.
With endless sunny days, the Planner had to make a trip to the Sailors house to buy some water. 605 gallons of water to be exact. Argh, so frustrating. Finished the RWCS in the Work Box only to have the tank bust a seam. Will Boxes in Fields never not have to worry about our level of water?
April ended with an enclosure around the garden to keep the chickens and mockingbirds out. What a great looking garden. I could really get on board of this betty homemaker lifestyle.
I mean what is there not to love about fresh veggies, fresh bread, and fresh fluffy butts pepping in the background? 17 little peepers nested and brought into life in less than a months time. Nothing can cure the Pandemic blues like a little bit of peep peep.