Dirt and rocks

Saturday evening I watched The Edible Garden with Alys Fowler from the BBC.  I loved it- so inspirational.  It made me re-think how we were planning to arrange our garden.  Then, today, I saw that free dirt and rocks were being offered on craigslist.  We went and shoveled dirt into our pick up truck, unloaded it (after we put cardboard down), and then we went and loaded the truck with river rock.  We have plans for it, but no pictures, yet.  We were too tired to unload it tonight.

Laying the cardboard down

The pick-up truck full of dirt, and our new wheel barrow on top.

What we have still to do

Ryan laying more boxes down

Unloading pick-up

The making of a garden.

More to follow!

Chick update

Oh, how quickly these chicks have grown!

Ruby

Ruby, again. 

Sapphire

Topaz

Beryl's beautiful feathers. The white is actually silver in person. 

We just put a perch in for them. Some have the hang of it, others are taking their time. They are all getting along well, and enjoy treats of oats and greens/sprouts. Later on this week we will need to start putting up their fencing, as they are getting close to being big enough to be out in the coop. 

Tidbits

An update on what has been going on in our world: 

I made sprouts for the first time! It was super easy. I followed instructions I found on Mountain Rose Herb's youtube channel. I found a set of sprouting lids for my mason jars at a health food store, and got some alfalfa sprouting seeds. They are good, and it was fun to watch them grow.  It is definitely something I will do more often, especially over the winter when local greens are harder to find. 

Next to the sprouts- raw, local goat milk! I have been eliminating cow dairy from my diet to see if that clears up some health issues I have been having. The goat milk tastes great. 

I have been finding all sorts of things on our local yard sale page on facebook- the chives pictured here are from a lady a few miles away.  I got two chive plants from her.

Speaking of the yard sale page, we picked up quite a few bags of free mulch, bought a small wood chipper, a zoku popsicle maker, and we will be getting a puppy in a couple of months (she was born yesterday).  It has been great to find all this for a good deal, and not have to buy anything new.  It has also helped us get to know people and get to know our community.  I have learned so much already by talking to people.  We dug up the big shrub in the middle of our yard yesterday because we have other plans for there, and someone in the area wanted it.  She and I talked for 2 hours, and she told me all about the best hiking, gardening classes, canning, herb walks, etc.  We had a great time, and our plant is going to a good home instead of a dumpster.  Plus, we now have a big hole in the middle of our yard, which is a great start for what we have planned for there.

Well, that is enough of an update for now.  I made some coconut rice krispie treats (gluten-free!) that I'm going to go enjoy with my love.