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Wednesday, June 26, 2019

The Mother of Invention

Since moving to our "new" place, 
I have had a bit of a learning curve.

I am used to having healthy soil that has been tended to and
added to on a semi regular basis.
I am used to having the freedom of envisioning a project
and not having to ask permission to procede.
I am used to just planting things in the ground knowing we will be here
long term and knowing I'm not good with potted plants.
As a result of healthy soil, I am also used to being able to water and
having the ground stay damp for a while.
I am used to...... you're catching on right?
Weeeell, things are a little different when one is renting.
This is not our property.
I get it.
The thing is, we are living here.
It needs to work for us and our way of living.
Truth be told, we would take better care of it than what it is reflecting.
As a result, I have had to get a little "creative" in how I go about things.
We spend most of our waking hours at work or outside.
In the evenings, we like to sit outside
or meander around checking the progress of our favorite food plants.
It's been hot this past week or so.
In order to sit outside, we have been using our spare chairs and following the shade out front of the summer kitchen.
Then when I go to mow, I have to move things.  Erg!

Our outdoor patio/dining set has been stashed around the side of the house
where weeds have grown under and around it. Another Erg!
There wasn't a good spot for it.

There is this odd corner behind the summer kitchen 
where they dumped the extra asphalt (without leveling it, :-/) 
a pile of river rock, and misc. garbage items.
(I can't believe I'm showing you this.)
This spot gets direct afternoon sun making it like an oven.
Yes, Ripster's dog house is back here, but he seldom is.
We just needed a place to park it and 
a spot where he knows there will be food and water.
A while back I saw an idea on Grandma Donna's blog using cattle panels
so that she could grow beans vertically due to limited space.
(gdonna.com March 9th post)
I loved the design and the idea of a green wall 
but wasn't sure how or where I could use one.
About a week or so I got sick of looking at the mess of weeds and rocks.
I pulled weeds like a crazy woman and began the slow hot process of moving river rocks with a bucket.

I might have ended up a little sun-burned,
but I did get enough of the rocks moved to bring the table and chairs over.
We had 3 birthday's and Father's Day to celebrate at our house Sunday.
We got the panels up Sunday morning.
That wasn't exactly enough time to grow a quick wall of greenery,
so I hung sheets over them.
It worked wonderfully.
Instead of cattle panels, I used a panel called "high-five."
It was 5' X 16' and is a consistant 4"X4" grid 
rather than the graduated grid of cattle panels.
It did require the trailer to haul as opposed to a pick-up bed,
but worked out price-wise and look wise.
I think I've just seen too many panels used for critters 
to get used to seeing them on end.
(Or my OCD, pickiness, non-conformation, and..... kicked in.)
The plan back here is to get a few fruit trees and
keep them in large pots.
I will amend the soil at the base of the panels 
and plant spaghetti squash to vine up since I have 
a couple started in pots.
I have been working on getting better at growing things in contaniers.
So far, I'm still subpar, but improving.
If I can turn this space into a little outdoor oasis, I would love it.
I don't mind amending the soil and leaving it better than we found it,
but plantings and structures can be expensive.
We can easily pull this up and take it with us.
Our plan (big wish, hope for the future) is
if we have fruit trees in pots even if they are small now,
they can add greenery for now and be ready for a perminant place
by the time we figure out where we want our forever house.
It looks pretty Shanty-town-ish at the moment.
(I love making up my own words :-)
You wouldn't believe how much garbage I've already picked up,
and there's still more there.
Do people not know there's a place for garbage besides the yard?
Anyhoo, I am hoping to be able to show you considerable progress
by late summer - we'll see.
For now, the project at hand is moving the rest of those rocks and
picking up and disposing of the remainder of the garbage.

PS~ We can't do anything about the wheelline 
until Farmer Ted decides to move it to a new location.





11 comments:

  1. Renting is never good. I hope you find your new place soon.

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    1. We are actually liking the place and saving money being here which is part of our plan:-) Hoping when we find our next place to be able to pay outright - no interest. Makes certain things more tolerable I suppose.

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  2. You are going to have a silk purse there. I think you are being so creative. When Farmer Ted sees your intent he will surely move the wheel thing. Either that or plant something to grow on it. ;) It has been so long since I have rented I wouldn't know just what the protocol is when wanting to make a few changes around. Good luck.

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    Replies
    1. It's been a couple decades or so since we rented too. Things sure have changed, but it's not forever.

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  3. My straw hat is off to you for choosing to leave the rental better than you found it. Not many people will do that. Can't wait to see the green wall-to-be.

    I wish we had sometimes used those high five panels instead of cattle panels, but no, we bought cattle panels
    every.last.time.we.bought.panels. We even covered some with chicken wire for the chicken lot. Sigh

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  4. We are in metal fabrication so I knew they existed. The tough part was figuring out what they were called so I could ask for what I wanted. That's part of why I mentioned what they were called - High 5, who'da thunk it? - heehee.

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  5. Great job! I am super impressed. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

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  6. That corner will look so nice once you add plants. I like the idea of a plant wall.

    I still find trash like broken glass, pieces of wires, nails, broken pieces of cement etc when I dig my backyard.

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  7. It sounds like you're getting a lot of work done. I'm sure the garden will be beautiful.

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  8. One of the joys of renting is often to be left with things of great puzzlement - why wouldn't they deal with all the asphalt instead of just throwing it in a corner. We live in an apartment and right now we're waiting (and I suspect it will be a long wait - if ever) for the powers that be to come and paint our balcony walls & railing. The paint is peeling off in sheets and it looks dreadful - bad enough we don't want to even go out there. So much so that the chairs and table haven't even been unearthed from their winter storage. We'll see if they come and fix it, but we're not holding our breath.

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  9. -sigh- They just dumped stuff, in back of your rental? Instead of at least taking them to a real "dump." Or, don't they have those places, any more??? Today's humans are dumping so much stuff, that the old dumps, are overflowing.

    Another part of the "Disposable Society." It's 2 years old? Throw it away, and get a new one! That's the mentality. And no one remembers that "there is no Away."

    I wish you well, with making your place, a source of Joy, rather than a place for old trash to remain.

    Gentle hugs...

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