So close...

The fence is so close to being done! The 4x4's need to be trimmed down to be level and then we need to finish adding the chicken wire to the bottom.We are making 2 more raised bed boxes too. Ignore the mess...

So the other news is our local compost facility is not selling compost right now because they are waiting for the test results they do with each batch to get back... they told us 2 weeks until it's ready?! Which as you know is forever in summer garden time. Hopefully it's happens sooner than they say. But for now we'll make sure we finish the last of the to do list. I'm super excited to get my hands in the dirt again and enjoy fresh veggies!

The fence building begins

We finally got the start of the fence up this weekend. It has required a ton of planning time and of course some unexpected bumps along the way but it made me so happy to see it finally taking shape! It's nice I have a handy hubby too. I pretty much sat back and watched him work with the occasional verbal guidance from me and help holding this piece of wood or that. Sweet job right?

 Posts are in the ground. After some research we decided to use pea gravel instead of concrete to anchor the posts. Pea gravel helps the water to drain away from the post so it will last longer and according to some forums we read will be just as sturdy as concrete. Hopefully it's true :)

 Cameron's job wasn't all bad because he got some new tools out of the deal. One was a Kreg Jig. We definitely think it was worth it.

He also picked up this angle grinder from the pawn shop. It worked beautifully for cutting the cattle panels.

We didn't really realize how sloped our little garden spot still was until we started putting up the panels even though it totally looks level. It's a good thing because it will drain well. However, it forced us to do a step down with the panels because I don't want a 20" gap between the wood and the ground of the lower panels and a 3" gap on the other side if that make sense. We did opt to keep the wood off the ground by a few inches so it doesn't rot as much. I will be adding chicken wire at the bottom up to the wood and burying it a foot to keep out rabbits, moles, ground hogs... and any other animals that are looking for a snack. Hopefully all this work will be worth it :)

  (Ignore the skewing of the camera. The posts are straight and it is level. Promise!)

All the wood is Cedar. One of the biggest reasons I garden is so I don't have to eat chemicals on or in my food. So untreated cedar was the only way to go even though it's pricy! I don't think I'm even going to stain them because of the chemicals in that even though it would look pretty.

p.s. I drafted this post a while ago and forgot to post it. We are almost done with the fence now. Just a few things left to do. I'll be sharing pictures soon!

Front Landscaping taking shape

It was finally warm enough that I got some shrubs for our front bed. Keep in mind it's still a work in progress but I'm happy with how it's coming along. There is a frost in the forecast so I'm waiting another week to get a few more things- a knockout rose which will go right by the entry, some lavender, and perhaps the strawberries (still debating this because of the deer, although I'm leaning towards just going for it since its so close to the house).

 Before

 Progress

The background bushes are wintergreen boxwoods, around the tree are crimson pygmies, and the tree itself is an emperor japanese maple. I'm really hoping it survives in this sunny spot because it's so pretty in person. Once the other plants go in I'll add mulch which I'm really excited about. All that mud keeps getting tracked on the walk and into the house from little toes :)

Getting ready for a fence

The garden area is finally filled and level. 

 Here we staked out were the fence will go. In case your wondering the upper area of grass is slightly sloped and we will eventually level that out by adding some dirt and maybe sod if the bermuda doesn't grow through. Its kind of hard to describe in words but it will be a more terraced look.

 To dig the fence post holes we rented an auger. If you are familiar with the area and our soil you know why! All was going well until we ran into a little problem...

If look close in this picture you can see it. The auger made a nice hole in our septic leach line. Major bummer! Thankfully it's just in the drain field and was completely dry inside from what we could see. Cameron just ran to the store to grab some more pipe and couplers to fix it. Got to love those unexpected surprises!

What's been happening lately

Last week was a hard week. Cameron's boss was in town which means he is gone all day and doesn't make it home till after the kids are in bed during the week. And then he left Friday to go to a Boy Scout camp out and made it home Saturday at 9pm. Normally, I would be able to handle it okay. But I was sick several of those days. And it was spring break week so Cruz was home all day and Kian and Dax didn't have preschool on Wednesday which equals zero Mommy time. So long story short, nothing extra got done last week.

And then Monday morning I was making breakfast and Dax quietly sneaked into my room and did this...

I was sad. But luckily he only picked a few little seedlings. And they are just little plants that got hurt and thankfully not little people. So I reminded myself of that and moved on.   You want to know something crazy though? I attempted to replant a bunch of that basil he picked and it survived. A tender mercy.

The kids go to preschool today so I can paint and I woke up to a note from Cam that said "I got this. Go back to sleep".  He woke up early took Cruz to school and then hung out with Kian and Dax for an hour at his work until he took them to school. Definitely helps make up for last weeks miserable days :)

We are going to stake out with string where the fence will go this weekend in between Conference. Hopefully even get some fence posts in. I'm excited to make some more progress!