Another Setback

Well digging up the papers and typing up the pages needed to prove my income for the past two years proved a daunting job and took until late Wed night. I finally finished about 2am and then discovered I had an order for lip balms. I grabbed a bit of sleep and got up early to try and catch the mail with the balms. She runs anywhere from 9am until 1pm. Of course she was early today and had already run by 10am.

I finished packaging the order firguring I would run it to the P.O. later today. Right now it was cool and shady outside so I thought it would be a great time to get some work done. I hadn't done anything since last Fri except that little bit of watering so I am slipping further and further behind. Still sore and tender, I was not looking forward to moving concrete blocks but I thought I might manage a few at least and to get the pots filled with dirt.

I was able to get the cucumber seedlings and cherry tomato seedlings transplanted but there were only a few and they looked rather sad so I am not sure how they will do. I put them in hanging baskets so I can hang them up later in the season.

Now came the job of moving the blocks. I moved the first two and rested. When I went to move the next two I slipped and fell again. This time I did something major to my right leg. I am not sure but I think I tore the calf muscle. I was stepping up from a hole the dog had dug and my foot slipped backwards. The foot bent forward like a "V" in line with the shin. I can't even begin to describe the pain of trying to walk, took me 20 minutes to crab walk my way the 30 feet to the front door. I crawled in bed and stayed there all day. I am slightly ambulatory but the pain is awful.

Anyway this may set me back to the point that I will stop bothering with anything new until I can put in a fall garden in July and August. It will depend on how well I can get around over the next few days. I know if I don't get my melons, pumpkins and corn in by next week, they won't have time to finish. I will update you in a few days.

Seedlings and Rain

Well, the rain finally moved out and I thought I would get some work done Friday. I needed to move some blocks and am still trying to find places to stash the skirting and deck parts until I can get them installed. Silly me I figured out a way to slow things down even more. After all the rain I have lots of rainwater collected so I wanted to move the buckets over by the garden area (I know, I know, should have put them there to begin with). I was pouring a few together when I slipped on the muddy/wet deck and fell. I managed to catch both knees, my right shoulder and right cheekbone. Everything is black and blue, swollen and extremely tender so I have spent the weekend in bed. Oh well, it gave me a good reason to goof off and watch the Open :)

I got a call Fri afternoon and need to chase down some paperwork for my Social Security claim tomorrow plus the forecast is for more rain. I am hoping to get back to work Tues. The seeds I planted recently have produced some sturdy looking cucumber plants that are ready to transplant but nothing else has come up. Also the heavy rains last week washed out the tiny bits of lettuce and carrots that were trying to come up. I will have to replant them.

Not Much Progress

Monday was hot again and I was running out of water but managed to scrape together enough to dampen all the plants. Tues the rain came in and we have had continuing thunder and lightning storms so I have stayed indoors. The good news, with the cooler temps I have been getting a little bit done inside.

The Week in Review

Well I worked when I could this past week but I didn't make much progress. I spent Sun, Mon and Tues weedeating the area for the dogs and garden. As mentioned before, I can only do very small sections then I have to rest for 10-30 minutes so this is a long process. LOL several times I fell asleep in the chair while sitting in the shade trying to cool off.Wed I transplated the only 3 cherry tomatoes that had grown from seedlings into individual cups. I also reseeded parts of the flat with newer seeds for cucumbers, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. A few are already popping through so maybe I will have something besides tomatoes and onions LOL.

Thurs I finished transplating the tomato plants I purchased from Walmart, 2 Big Boys and 2 Romas. I soaked everything with water with Miracle Grow. I also took pictures but so far have been unable to load any of them. The giant pots to the left hold the tomatoes. You also see about 8 medium white pots in the middle. They are hanging baskets that I filled and will, hopefully, eventually hold cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and a few other goodies.

Way over to the right is a bright blue blip. That is the water well. It is wrapped with insulation, an ugly blue tarp and some steel skirting around the bottom. My mh is only 50 ft long but the one before me was around 75to80 ft so there is a long flat area back there. I need to clear out some weeds but that area gets great sun all winter long. I would like to either buy a small camper and put it there or put up a small green house. You can see the corner of a 3 shelf plastic bookcase back there and I also have one of those large Rubbermaid brand storage sheds. I can't decide if I want to set up this stuff out back or put them on my deck when I get it installed.

Friday I filled the two large rectangle containers in the front left of this picture with dirt and manure so I can plant watermelons and canteloupes in them. I added another set of blocks and two long boards to make another planting row like the one behind it. The back row has lettuce and carrots in the large long green container. The 2 dark green containers and the round white ones have not been planted yet. I am still trying to figure out what will go in them. The 2 long green containers on the ground are both planted with onions. One has bulbs and one plants.The reddish bowls sitting in the foreground are going to have peas with teepee stakes. I haven't tried this before . I will be moving the tomatoes to the end of the row in front and try to place some containers with peas and pole beans where they are sitting now.

The area in front of the blocks was just weedeated so you can tell how hot it has been because everything is grey and dead where I cut.

The heat has been almost unbearable since Thurs, in the high 90's with humidity putting us over 100. Normally we are in the 80's this time of year so no one was prepared for this heat. In addition it is causing a problem because we have not had any rain in over a week. I am running out of water and what little I had has been evaporating. I have stayed in bed until late evenings and come out and piddle for an hour or two then play with the dogs and head back inside just before dark to fix dinner. Sometimes I come back out after dinner and sit with the boys and watch the fireflies. They are just beginning to thicken up in our area.

Did you notice the totes filled with soda bottles behind the back row? I have plans for using them as planters and will show you soon :) And all those pieces of wood? Those are for that deck that I am still trying to get installed :)