Maggie loves puddles!

 Remember this sweet girl?

 Well, she is still sweet.  And as I type sitting curled up around the base of my feet.  It dawned on me today, as I walked Hubby up to his car as he went to work that parts of me are just not totally into the country living, just yet. 

Like the garden that is constantly under construction....

The second year garden (in the back top of this photo) is nicely level and full of straw that is compacted well into the ground. 

Which to me, means no more dirt zone. 

Well, with the last month of sun and nice weather I took the chance to work on planting and building and getting the new section of the garden ready.  In the lower left is the swiss chard one of the community gardeners planted!  It's doing wonderfully!!  But the mud still needs to be addressed!  Ooops!!!

But it's that puddle that is the culprit that we will soon be talking about. 

 Here's the other side of the path.  Next to the swiss chard is the Kale, planted by another member of the garden and it's doing wonderful!!  But notice the puddle again? 

This area is a long walkway around the hill that I have been digging out for the last 2 years! 

I would like to stop and say I am totally confident that I will be victorious over this hill this year!!!

At least I will give it a good college try!  Since I am doing it by wheelbarrow and shovel!  :-( 

It is also worth mentioning that this pathway has been adopted by Maggie as her personal runway from garden 2, to garden 3!!  Which means, from the front door she has a clear path to run up to the garden and greet, through the fence, someone coming to visit, or a deer of which she has full permission to bark and scare it off!

During the month of sun and great weather, (oh how it passed so quickly) I totally forgot about the rain and that I would possibly be met at the door with this.......

Hi Mom!!! Can I come in?

 And if you really can't see it...... Take a closer look...


 She is literally caked in mud!!!  From the runway that she loves to splash through!  You can't be mad at her.  She was running up to see off her Daddy! 

But, it's a part of Country life that I really wasn't ready for nor did I ever really think of.  Stopping, what ever you are in the middle of, because you have to spend the next 20 minutes cleaning your dogs paws and then heading in to throw the towels in the washer and then figure out what it was you were doing.   And to think I am getting chickens in the near future!!

She wouldn't look at me... 

If I can't see you, you can't be mad at me!!

 I'm not mad silly!  It's my fault, I should have remembered about the puddles! 

Now give me the next paw!

You still love me Mom?

 Mommy's always love their babies!

To which she starts to do this..... While I wash her paws, she decides she needs to wash mine!  

And we both get a bath!!! 

 And I get back to my list.  Laundry, bed sheets, Cupcakes, food packaging, vacuuming, and designing the hall closet!  Because every vacuum cleaner needs a private place to sleep when not in use! 

It's moments like this that make me want to start that cover over the porch!!

How we made a retaining wall out of Pallets and Trash!

Several months ago Hubby and I went for our trash dump ride.  We don't have trash pick-up where we live so we go about every 6-8 months to take our trash to the dump.  Well, for me, going to the dump is like a shopping event for most women. 

I mean really!

So, on this last occasion we are pulling up to the weight station and he chooses this time to tell me, "We are here to dump, we are not here to buy anything!  This isn't a hardware store." 

To which I am in shock!!!  "What?  Seriously?  This is better then a hardware store!!! Everything here is aged and FREE!!!!"

I mean it's not like I ever abused the FREE situation here ..... 

Ok, maybe there was a few times that we left with a little more then we came in with.

But it's not like it happened every time!  (Ok, almost everytime!!)

But the look on his face was loving and telling.  I was not going to be bringing anything home from here today.  :-( 

What I should mention about now is that this is the main dump site.  There are several smaller sites all over the county that are 'drop off' site's'.  So as the months went on and I was driving by a local 'drop off' site' I decided to stop.  Knowing the person that was there and having looked around for a bit it dawned on me.

Hubby said I couldn't 'shop' at the other place.... He never said anything about 'THIS' place!!! 

To which I zoomed right in on this pretty little item....

To which the guy said... it doesn't hold water! 

And I proceeded to beg for it!  And plead! 

My plan was to use it as a planter down by the cottage.  You know my constant struggle to cover the white?  It would be perfect. 

Till this... 

Now, you may be looking at this and wondering... what's the problem? 

So I will point out the issue's.  I posted this photo, on facebook for my friends to help me.  

I mean, you stare at something long enough and it starts to just look like mush!  I couldn't make heads or tails out of the situation.  I needed help!  How the heck do I hold this area up and transition it all???

Then it hit me!  There isn't going to be just ONE thing that will bring me to the solution!  There will need to be several things to bring in the fix! 

This started it all.... I have the terracing already started with onions planted! (back right of the photo below)  Thanks to a friend for all the onion starts!!!  Then, to help with the corner, I built up the base with rocks from the yard, then brought in the trough that I got from the dump!!!  Filled it with dirt and then planted 2 of the rosemary plants we got from a really good herb sale last year!

Then, so as not to disappoint my pallet loving friends, I grabbed 2 pallets from the pile and proceeded to measure and cut them, almost in half!  My thinking is I could screw these together, create a strong fence and then use the dirt as mortar. 

This is where I show you how much dirt I moved today!  Even on a cloudy day it was hot.  Notice the fleece and hat on the fence post!  It got hot!!

So this is what we came up with..... An herb wall.... 

 For now I just planted sage and oregano in the tops.  But next trip to the store when there is a good sale on herbs... I want more. 

I covered the opening in the pallet slats with landscape cloth for now.  Till the dirt settles in, then I can cut an opening and insert trailing herbs.  The whole thing could end up being a wall of green herbs!  With rocks used to hold dirt in place.  Rocks are everywhere there is a potential for a hole!

 At the front of the walkway I planted the Peppermint in a container.  Ya, I'm not stupid enough to plant mint in the ground.  I learned the hard way 20 years ago.  It took renters that killed everything but trees to kill it!!!  So this time around, all mint, goes in a container!!!

A little clean up of the walkway now, and some gravel, and It's going to be an awesome area!

Not to mention just walking by and smelling the pineapple sage and the lemon oregano is an awesome smell!!!!  

Maggie 'helps me' garden in the wind and the Combat Turtles finally get a home!

 We are going through a heat wave here on the northern coast.  I know, it should be cold and raining and I should be staring out at the garden with my seedlings in hand begging for a break in the rain to go and plant them. 

Nope!

I am sitting inside with the curtains drawn, ice tea in my insulated cup (so it will stay cold), wishing I had A/C just about now, reminding myself that the bill for the A/C would be in the triple digits and getting ready to get my head lamp out and go plant in the dark.  Once the dark comes!

Our only saving grace is it cools down at night!  Usually into the 50's.  So I just have a few hours to go.  So I thought I would show you what we did yesterday after the weather cooled of, and I got over from being scared of the snake. 

Ok, I didn't get over being scared of the snake.... But.... I have work to do out there!  So I am making do.

Remember the corner of the shop?  Pretty isn't it? 

I know, it's so boring!!  It was actually the location of a stack of wood till I moved it yesterday morning.  I am determined to make it pretty! 

Don't ask me why!  Sometimes I just need to make things pretty.  Today is one of those days!

So I had to dig out the gravel.  Just a small section I just want to hide the ugly electrical conduit and soften the corner a bit.  So I just need a big enough space for a few plants. 

So Maggie, being scared of the wind, won't leave my side.  I dig, she is literally no more then a few inches away!  

 The whole time!

I take the wheelbarrow full of gravel (several trips back and forth) over to the little road to Hana.

I stop and weed the area first, since I am putting gravel down I at least want to clear the weeds that have literally taken over!

A gust of wind comes and Maggie is in between my legs and leaning against me.  She won't leave my side.  Almost as if she expects a table to fly across the road.  (Not like that's ever happened to her  here before! ;-)

I pour out the gravel and rack and compact it down.

 Maggie is on my foot the whole time!



So the next step is getting dirt.  I grab some from the hill (several loads) and dump it in the hole I dug. 

 Maggie is next to me the entire time I am loading up the dirt.

Then we go to the special pile and grab some cow poo for the top 4 inch layer.  Nothing like a good solid layer of cow poo to make everything green up! 

 Maggie doesn't leave my side the whole time! 

I know, I spilled some poo!  I have to live with that!  I blame it on the wind!

We stop and take a quick hydration break. 

And you guessed it!  Maggie is up against my leg near pushing me over!!!

I pull up all the plants I am going to plant in the hole and start laying them out.  Then planting them.  Finally, I put the rocks that I dug out of the whole and place them around the edge to be a boarder.

Yes, all of those rocks came out of this little planter area.

I know!  :-(

I look at the plants and they all bring back memories.  The Hydrangea was from my nieces wedding last year.  The Viola's came from the rock area near the house, the Naked Ladies, came from Nancy a friend in Fresno whom also shares my love for them.  And the Daylillies came from our house in Fresno.  Then the climbing trellis I made out of old mother boards that came out of Police cars.

The Clematis that is climbing on it was started from a single little cutting off of the plant my mother is growing in her garden just a few miles away!

And then there are my combat turtles!  

They finally get a home after being homeless for all these years up here on the coast.  Welcome to your new home!  We actually bought those in Cambria, CA from a man that made them.  25.00 a piece I believe and worth every penny!  I love the look on people's face's when they see them.

And if anyone ever runs into the man that sells this type of stuff near cambria.... get his name and number!!!  I want more of his art work!!

All in all, I am happy!  And my Hubby says if I am happy then he is also!  So it's a win! 

I love the way it softened the corner.  As the Hydrangea fills in and grows into the whole corner and the Clematis overtakes the entire mother board trellis... The Naked Ladies will multiply and it will grow up to be a wonderful little place of green!

That is if they can live through this heat wave!!!!

One last photo!  The day has come to an end.  All is, almost calm, and we are curled up in the chair, windows open, cool breeze blowing across us and guess who is stuck to me like glue?

Yep, you guessed it!!! Maggie.  That is, till the washing machine went off balance and I was running towards the laundry room to hold it down! 

Life is good and God is great!

I got hit by a bird!! And Hubby learned I don't do well with snakes!!!

Yesterday I was burning the trash.

I love the fact we can still burn our paper trash around here.  It feels like I'm getting away with something illegal.

So yesterday, I was burning the trash and walked around the corner when I was sideswiped by a little yellow finch type bird!  I backed up against the shop wall and was like "What just happened?"

Following the 'thing' that was still in flight it rested itself nicely on a branch across the driveway.  I swear it turned and looked at me as if to say, "Watch yourself?"

But we both shook it off and on to work we did.  I finished burning and went about my chores with no second thought about it.

However, I did wonder when I saw the bald eagle flying above what the little bird was running from.  But, I move on.

So today, I head out to plant some more plants and make some more flower beds.  I planted one of the Hydrangea's we got when our neice got married and added some Naked Ladies around it, with ground cover that a lady in Tillamook gave me.  It doesn't look like much now, but when it grows up, it will be pretty!

I finish the one bed and move on to the other up by the shop.  I move all the wood, trying to be careful and not wake up Hubby.  

 I plan to move the gravel when again I have a near miss, this time, with a Stellar's Jay.

It literally did a backflip and a few rolls in the air to miss me and the wheelbarrow.

Now, what's up???  It's not like I am so tiny that it's easy not to see me!

Maggie was standing near me and saw it also.  I would like to say she stood up to the bird and showed it who was boss....

But, I would be dreaming!  She actually ran faster then I could back up this time.

The bird stopped and rested in the same tree as the other did just the day before.

I went about my business.  Till I heard, through my headset something crying!

So, I take my headset out of my ears and listen.  I am hearing what sounds like a baby bird crying.  And so does Maggie.  We both hover around the rusted firepit and I start weeding the area to see if we could find something that needed our help.

Maggie is on the other side of the firepit bouncing back and forth and ready to play or bounce or maybe both?

That's when I saw the rope that Hubby must have dropped and the wind blew through the yard and great, I really am becoming 'Sanford and Husband'.  There is junk everywhere!

I started to bend down to pick it up and then I thought, who cares, and as I started to come back up, the rope started to move!

And I backed up!!!

And Maggie looked at me and then the firepit, and then got excited.

I leaned back over and peered carefully to what I thought I was seeing and praying, 'that's not what I think it is!!'

Then I see the head.

AND IT IS WHAT I THINK IT IS!!!!

And I revert back to my High-Heel City Girl Self in the fastest fraction of a second that anyone could ever imagine and stand frozen!  Screaming, "Hubby!!!  Hubby!!! (Louder) HUBBY, ITS TIME TO WAKE UP NOW!!!!"

You see, my Hubby was still asleep from his normal shift work.  He was due to wake up any minute but as a rule I don't usually wake him up!

BUT THIS WAS A TOTAL EMERGENCY!!!!

I could either wake him up now, or he could find my body eaten inside the snake later when he came to find me to make his breakfast!!!!

So, since he wasn't waking up from me calling out to him, I slowly pulled out my phone and very carefully, as to not make any major moves, I called his cell phone.

He answered!

And I bet he totally thought I would be calling him early in his morning saying, "I need you to come and kill a snake for me NOW!"

"Huh?"

We must remember he is just now waking up.  It's not everyday I ask him to kill a snake.

In fact, this is the first time I have ever asked him to 'kill' a 'snake'  So I repeat, "Get up here now and kill this snake for me!! NOW!!! Right now!! I need you to kill this snake!!!!  HURRY!!!!!"

There are some moments in my life I am not really proud of.  This isn't one of those moments!

He must of literally ran down the hall and out the front door because it was no more then a second that he was coming up.

But what I didn't expect, after he got the flat head shovel, that he would literally stand and stare at it while it looked at him and he looked at it.

And then he watched it slither away!

"I said, kill it!!!!  Don't let it get away!  It's gonna come after me!!" I am pleading for my life here.  "You're letting it get away!!!!  Kill it!!!"

You need the visual, I am standing a few feet back, with the rounded shovel in my hand and reaching out into the weeds trying to move the debris, while looking for it.  All the time while I am pleading and doing the 'ick factor dance'  (us High-Heel City Girls know what that dance is!!!)

And Sleepy Hubby that just 2 minutes earlier was warmly tucked in the bed is trying to understand exactly what is going on.  All the while with the expression of  'Oh pretty snake!' on his face.

It was at this precise moment I realized, He likes snakes!!  And I got the whole lecture on how wonderful they are to have in the garden and how they will eat the mice I hate and all the slugs I have declared war on.

To which I interupt and ask, "Will they eat the deer too?"

And I got the 'no' that let my hope's down.  Interestingly enough, the high pitched cry that we originally heard... was gone once we saw the snake.

Lucky for me we have a heat wave going on.  It's too hot to work outside right now.  And I suddenly don't need the garden bed I was building over by the shop!  So I have some time to get used to the fact that I have a snake on our land.  (Sssshhhh  don't tell me I might have more!  That is why God created bushes!!!)

Nope, I am inside now, building myself a belt out of paracord.

Oh, come on! You would totally expect me to say that, right??

Terracing till the cows come home or it starts raining!

 Maggie loves flowers!  She is so precious when she is smelling them and caring for them! 

She discovered paper whites the other day and can't stop smelling the little one I have growing out of the plastic grocery bag that was shoved in this planter. 

We live on hill and we have split it into 3 levels.  The upper level has the shop, driveway, garden and future mini barn and forever home.  The middle level has the cottage, future greenhouse and BBQ area along with the future outdoor kitchen. 

The lower level has the studio, the future chicken coop and most likely a large hoop house greenhouse! 

Since everything is on a slope, I need to find a way to garden on them.  That and weeding them has become a problem.  As they are so steep I literally slide right down them when I pull a stuborn weed, which is nearly all the weeds. 

So, I started terracing them!  With simple 2x6's.  Yes, I could have used pressure treated, but I can't afford them at this time, and I don't like the chemical's in them.  I also could have used cedar or redwood, but I can't afford them right now!  Since we needed so many.... we started with 100 for now, we can replace them as needed. 

I also, have a friend that built her beds out of simple 2x6's and they are still perfect.  I asked her how long she had the planter beds.... well she said it's been decades and she couldn't even begin to tell me! 

So I am hoping we are safe...

I started next to the 'little road to Hana' It was falling down all winter long and I wanted to push it back up.  I also was building the raised beds for the top of the property and needed to get them level.. which means I needed to build this part of the land up.

The goal is to have the terraced part on the left (where Maggie is) to grow vegitables on.  Probably Melons or Tomatillo's for this year. 

Then this set of terracing will eventually meet...... 

 This set of terracing... Which means... over 100 feet of terracing long!  At 8 rows tall... that's a lot of terracing for the first section that I am doing!! 

Every third row will be gravel.  This way I can plant on row on the other rows and always be able to walk down a path and get to each side of the rows!

So far, I have strawberries in the first row planted... and up a few rows I will be planting the blueberries and then in the next set of rows I transplanted the raspberries.

I love berries!!!!

My guard dog wanted to say hello!  This is pretty much how she looks at me all the time while I am working.  Really, you can't take yourself to seriously when you look at this sweet face all day! 

Let's play where's the litter box?

Seriously Mom, my poop doesn't stink!

 I have 2 cats.  And in this small home it is easy to tell.  Where do you hide a liter box and food for 2 cats in 693 sqft?  Every inch is priceless real estate! 

We started off in the living room with the automatic litter box.  While it worked ok, we had company and they slept in the living room and the liter box went off all night!!!

And with the redesign, it just didn't fit in the room anymore. 

Then we snuck it in the corner of the office.  When our daughter came to visit she slept on the floor in the office and had to keep the door open the whole time for... you guessed it!  And it was going off all the time.  That and the office is now my closet... so, really, I can't have clothing smell like a kitty liter box!

Well, there was the hall, and it was to big for the bathroom, and it wasn't about to keep us awake in the bedroom!!! 

So, we lived with it in the living room.

Then, the day came that it broke! 

It was actually a sad day, because now I had to actually clean this thing every day instead of every 4 days!!!! 

Yuk!!

But it gave me the opportunity to change things up. 

So I first started with it in the bathroom under the sink....

I just cut a hole in the side of the cabinet.  

Mommy, where do I do my business now?

Then, not liking the trail of litter that happened constantly!!!  I found a place that I wanted to change anyways!  So I went out into the garage and started up the saw!!

I was literally using left over pieces of plywood and built up a section in this alcove of the bathroom that was useless!!!  It was 17" wide by 30" deep!  Who could keep anything in there and actually reach it?

So, I took an extra Billy Bookcase from IKEA that was 49.00 and left over plywood and built a frame on the bottom.  I used left over carpet to cover the bottom of the floor and have it come out as much as possible.  I scooted the litter box ALL THE WAY to the back of the alcove (30") so they literally have to walk on the carpet when they come out and hopefully get the liter out of the paws. 

 

 Yep, someone likes to hide there now!

 I took strips of plywood and ripped them down to fit and wedge into the sides of the bookcase.  Then screwed the bookcase into the strips.  So it is anchored to the wall on both sides!  It's not moving!! 

Unless I take it apart!

In the end..... 

 I have a nice shelving unit to put my Bath and Body collection on, and they have a nice liter box hideaway to do their business in. 

Cleaning is easy, you reach in and slide it out!  Clean it up and slide it back. 

While it has worked on keeping 80% of the liter at bay... I may need to add a little more carpeting to the area to really finish the job!