Sunday, March 22, 2009

I'll Huff, and I'll Puff, and I'll Blo-o-o-ow Your House Down!

Ha ha! This makes 35 posts! I am very proud of myself. I never thought I'd ever, ever post more than maybe five on any single blog. It's not like I'm really good with follow-through. On the things that matter to me, I do fine, but on hobby-like things (such as this blog), I really don't do much cuz even though they're fun, I don't make me do it and neither does anyone else (not that anyone really could make me if I didn't want to...).

When you have some really nice days of spring, you forget about the other half of spring. The part where the wind is blowing so hard that you feel like everything is going to blow away. If I were a flatlander (Kansas and other places with similar terrain), everything really might blow away in a nice tornado. As it is, I've only ever lived in the Arizona desert as well as the nearby mountains, so a tornado is very unlikely. Allthesameanyhow, it feels like we're all going to blow away like the nannies in Mary Poppins.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Agrarian Times

One of my favorite bloggers, Phelan, has a letter to the President that I think people should read. It's really great, and while you're there, go ahead and poke around the rest of the site.

I'm including the definition to make this post longer. Click on the little sound icon to hear how it's supposed to be pronounced.
a⋅grar⋅i⋅an [uh-grair-ee-uhn] –adjective
1. relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property: agrarian laws.
2. pertaining to the advancement of agricultural groups: an agrarian movement.
3. composed of or pertaining to farmers: an agrarian co-op.
4. rural; agricultural.
5. growing in fields; wild: an agrarian plant.
–noun
6. a person who favors the equal division of landed property and the advancement of agricultural groups.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.

Spring is in the Air!

I have decided to stick to Blogger when it comes to reading other blogs. I have a very difficult time reading back entries on places like Wordpress. It doesn't make any sense to me and I end up getting very lost.

A friend of mine has stayed over every night this week except Sunday night and Wednesday night. Normally I love having visitors and everything, but these specific friends think they don't have to knock on the door when they show up or ask if they can have a specific item of food before they eat it or ask to use the computer. Instead, they just do. I'm not being stingy. I just like people to ask permission. Most likely, I will give permission, but I still think it's good manners to ask and to knock instead of just doing it because you know that the answer would probably be yes if you asked.

I am starting a compost pile. So far I have only found two designs that I can make. For the first, you make a wooden box with three sides. The fourth, open, side is made so you gradually add board as your pile grows. For the second design, it is just chicken wire arranged in a circle.

The chicken wire design would be easier to make but the wooden box might be more durable. I just don't know. I have considered a free standing pile, but I've decided that the drawbacks (like animals messing with it and the vast quantities of wind we have around here) far outweigh the positives (i.e., no time spent breaking my fingers and cursing the building materials and my idiotic mistakes). So the free-standing pile is out. I suppose something like stacked tires or cinderblocks are also options except then I am faced with the daunting task of finding supplies, while the board and chickenwire ideas I already have the supplies for.

Also, my garden is about ready to be mixed up with some nice, tasty mulch. After laying fallow all year and with no one walking on it, the mostly-clay that is my soil is NOT compacted and is, in fact, quite loose and therefore will be at least a little less backbreaking to till by hand (by hand, rather than by rototiller because this spot has never been gardened and probably has more than a few boulders waiting to munch on a nice, expensive machine). I can't wait to plant!

I've cleared out the tumbleweeds that have grown up right next to the fence and I have yet to pull the weeds that are just starting to grow. I also need to start some of the seeds SOON. It never frosts after Mothers' Day around here and so I have until sometime in May to get my garden ready. Some things you plant a few weeks before the last frost date and so those will go in sometime in April.

Now for some celebration. Since today is the official first day of spring and spring is in the air, I am celebrating. As much as I love snow and cold, I am ready for a change, and so I am celebrating the nice weather for a change.

HAPPY SPRING!
(and Equinox...)
Pictorial Springfest with images from Photobucket (a few of the pictures are of my area):
Spring Pictures, Images and Photos

Spring Fairy Pictures, Images and Photos

Spring Pictures, Images and Photos

Spring Fairy Pictures, Images and Photos

Spring Pictures, Images and Photos

10632 Pictures, Images and Photos

spring flowers Pictures, Images and Photos

innocenceweblarge Pictures, Images and Photos

Spring Pictures, Images and Photos

Flower Fairy Pictures, Images and Photos

Dandelion

The_Fairy_sicus Pictures, Images and Photos

Shade and Grass

spring_Fairy Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket

Spring Fairy Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket

untitled381 Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket

springlady Pictures, Images and Photos

Photobucket

spring Pictures, Images and Photos

Oh guess what! I've noticed that a lot of people are frustrated with how slowly Blogger uploads pictures. I have high speed and it was slow for me, so I can only imagine how annoying it must be for those who have dial-up. I have since found a better way. Photobucket uploads faster than Blogger, so I upload the photos there and then copy and paste the html code into my post where I want it. And the pictures stay online in case you want to use them again in other posts. You might try it and see if it works for you.

We moved our trampoline from the back yard to the front. Tonight, we're having a movie and game night with everyone. I can't wait for the fun summer will bring!