the and more

Paul and Ian and Max and Ian enjoying a sunny day

Garden Pictures and more

These are our garden areas. The flowers are cyclamen and the other plants sticking up are romaine.

Udate on Garden

It was a very busy weekend for us. We (Paul really) spent a good chunk of Friday rototilling 3 garden plots. He used a Mantis to break the grass and dirt up. We then went shopping for seeds. We ended up with a lot of seeds! Including a red sweet corn, red carrots, red sunflowers and Easter egg radish's. We also got romaine lettuce seedlings. Then on Saturday the work started on getting the plots ready to plant. This involved 2 trailer loads of really really nice soil. It has compost, potting soil and other goodies that plants like. Paul unloaded it and I spread it out in the plots. Then came the dog proofing. We put up a small garden fence around each of the 3 plots. The grass was mowed, grass was planted to fill in the bald spots, really interesting flowers were planted in one of the plots, and sunflowers were planted. Most of Saturday's work was done in rain. I have not been that wet, cold and dirty in a very long time and I loved it! So that brings us to Sunday. Thankfully the rain stayed away. That allowed me to get out there and plant some garden! I planted all of the romaine plants, French Marigolds (the petals are edible!), Nasturtium's (again the petals are edible), Anaheim pepper, spicy mescalin mix, Grand Rapids leave lettuce, Peas, some red corn, pickling cucumbers, dill, chamomile, carrots, walla walla onions, red carrots, Easter egg radish's, more cilantro, sweet basil. There is still come planting to do, bell peppers, chard, spinach, oregano, mint, garlic chives are all on the list. I also left enough space that once this crop pops up we can plant more to ensure a crop summer and fall. I will post some pics soon.

Ian

I took Ian to Coquille today to get neutered. Yes it is a little early at just barely 3 months old. Normally they are spayed/neutered is 6 months. He was a walking mass of hormones though, so we opted for sooner rather than later. I worried about him all day. I HATE when any of our kids goes under anesthesia. There is always a risk that they won't wake up. I was relieved when I finally saw him wagging his tail at me when we picked him up. Now the second part of the neuter comes into play; keeping him from running around like crazy and licking the sutures. He has already tried licking so we got him an e-collar. He HATES it! It didn't cost a lot to get him fixed, $56 with $50 off for his adoption fee. Not to bad. I am thankful for that program. They also have a program that you can volunteer and get your dog neutered for free. I like that idea as well. Ian is doing pretty good, sleeping peacefully. In two weeks his sutures come out and he returns to his normal puppy activities. He does start obediance on April 4 (10-12 under Coos Bay city hall). That will be good for him, to gain doggy social skills and reinforce his obediance. I have been a bit lax on his training.

Garden

This is the first year that we have been able to a decent sized garden. In fact when we are done planting we will have four! Three are containers. One container is planted with strawberries, this will make the third year for them. Hoping to get some nice ones this year. Another smaller container is planted (today!) with green onions and cilantro. Yummy! The last and biggest container (about the size of a small kitchen table) is freshly planted with yukon gold potatoes and roma tomatoes. Then we have a chunk of ground that will soon be rototilled and supplemented with a bag or two of potting soil and a bag or two of fresh horse poo for fertilzer. On the list to be planted here is: Corn, Peas, Carrots, Lettuce, Onions, Spinache and not sure what else.

Winter, Spring and Gardens!

Well we have made it through another wet, cold winter! Whoo hoo spring is here (well officially tomorrow). This winter brought a lot change in our house and family. We said goodbye to our dearly loved Aunt Joan do to breast cancer. She was the glue that held our little Zyta family together and is much missed at family gatherings. We also bid goodbye to our big black girl, Ishie. She is greatly missed as well, and I think of her often. We also lost our Grumpy boy. Not sure exactly what happend there. Shortly after Ishie he just never came home. We are very sad at our losses this winter, but winter also brought new people and a new family member to us. The winter brought new friends as well. Most of the crew at theater have become more like friends than Paul's coworkers. A few stand out more than others, Brandon, Nathaniel, Chelsea, Mike. Also the new manager, Marty and his wife Jolene. Its nice to have a lot of people around (even if I normally only see them at work) to joke and talk with. Winter also brought our little guy, Ian Marley. He was a suprise really, but has become a welcome member of our family. He is endless entertainment. He started as a beagle (30lbs max) and is now (pretty sure) an English Coonhound (70lbs). He also has a really cute hound bay that hes not afraid to use when he gets excited or is chaseing the cat. I am debating on getting a tracking dog title on him. He does have a heck of a nose for a 3 month old!
So what does spring have in store? Working with and hopefully riding the horses. Spring will also breing a Garden! This year I get to dig up a portion of the yard for the first time. I am so excited!! This will be my first real garden! Corn, Peas, Carrots, lettuce, and Onions are on the list to plant. I also have a container that I can plant in, which is usually where my garden is. In fact I am so excited I think I might go get started on breaking ground it now!