Hello All!
So I know its been a few weeks since I have posted. This last few weeks have been so beautiful
outside that I have spent most of my time out there! But never fear, I have been thinking about
this post the whole time :)
(These hens have also LOVED the weather but they stalk me until I feed them.....freaky.....)
Spring Cleaning…..usually the topic brings up dreaded moans
and groans from most everybody. This
term normally refers to the deep dish cleaning of your home (which some should
probably consider….including myself!), BUT around this time of year, we always
start cleaning outside first. It helps
to lift our spirits and yards out of the doldrums of winter blues.
There are several ways you can start or finish your yard
spring cleaning. Below are just some
thoughts of how we do it:
#1 - Pick up all the trash
I’m not sure how, but this year, we ended up
with almost a whole trashcan full! Our
trash included actual trash blown in throughout the last several months and random
piles of weeds and things we left over the season. Luckily today was garbage day!
#2 - Clean up yard from debris
We fortunately have 2 giant sycamore trees
and a massive maple tree. Its a love/hate relationship....great shade, but bad debris. We usually spend a week or so picking up branches and leaves that appear out of nowhere during the winter months. In the past we have just stacked all the “stuff” in piles wherever we
want (which means they usually blow back around the yard...smh). This year we decided to build a
wood shed and actually cut the branches up to burn. It feels so much better and less cluttered!
(Aren't those mountains BEAUTIFUL!?)
#3 - Start the prep projects
Now we get to the fun part :) Throughout the winter, Jeremy and I cruise through Pinterest and come up
with ideas and plans for the next summer.
Right about now is when we start to implement those plans or finish up
old ones we didn’t complete before the season changed (happens a lot). This year, our plans are very logical and
have tremendously helped our garden/yard!
- Front fence – I LOVE a good picket fence. We will be putting pickets on this one, when
we can afford it. This year we are
cleaning up this fenceline and transplanting rose bushes and planting flower
seeds to make things much more pretty!
(Yep this is a project started last fall)
- Strawberry Borders – We have found that over
time our strawberry plants stretch out beyond their bed borders, so this year
we are digging in 2x4s to help curb (pun intended!) that problem. (We’ll see how it works.)
(also another slacker project! man we got to get it together!)
- Raspberry Trellis Things – Our raspberry plants
have a tendency to fall over to the outside when they are super heavy with
beautiful berries. This is an idea we
have been pondering on. First we dug in
the posts for each section and now we are adding 2x4s that will hold
grating. Once the raspberries start
growing, we will direct the stalks into each grate. This will prevent them from falling
over. It is pretty ingenious......lets hope it works!
(I spy a handsome guy!)
- Fire Pit! – We have wanted a pit for years and
finally we have one! I may or may not
have been out there almost every night last week :) This pit is a sewer manhole we got from a
local construction company. We dug it in
the ground about 2 feet and will eventually cement and rock/brick around the
face, but for now we LOVE it! It makes
burning our pruned branches and weeds so much easier and who doesn’t love a
good crackling fire on Spring/Summer nights??!
This may not be all of our projects this year, but this is
how we start our spring clean up!
Over the next few weeks, I will post about Pruning your
Fruit Trees, and planning for your garden.
I can’t wait but first, let’s hear from you!.....
