New Year's Resolutions?? Or a To-Do List....?

I Love, Love, Love this greenhouse design and I think it would fit in perfectly on my property....now to convince the husband...

I like the idea behind this multiple rain barrel system, just wish it wasn't so....ugly  :(

I would love my prairie to look like this some day!

Gotta love the prairie look!  and it is good for the environment too!

My husband makes wine and so he needs his own vineyard!  I want to do this for him....

Purple Martins are such lovely birds, live in groups and eat TONS of bugs!

I miss my chickens and other poultry, but I vowed to not start another flock until I had both summer and winter housing for them....I also want to hatch my own eggs - so this is a big project!

For most people Ringing in the New Year is when resolutions are made but for me, I make my resolutions in the summer...I don't know why this is, it just is.  Maybe it is because I am a teacher by trade and so the summers are the time when I plan and dream for me instead of for a classroom of America's future or maybe it is the time that I feel most connected to the land, nature and my family.  But I have to say that my resolution lists always look more like a To Do List...see what you think.

1.  Work towards planting a fruit orchard...fruit trees, raspberry and blackberry canes, grape vines.

2.  Build an outdoor chicken coop, with covered outdoor area and maybe one of those cute chicken tractors I keep seeing in the farming magazines I get.

3.  Start the arduous process of creating an Ohio Native Prairie remnant on my property...this one will show up on my Resolution List for many, many years since this is how long it will take to accomplish this one....a labor of love I suppose.

4.  Build a greenhouse.

5.  Put out several gardens:  one for canning and freezing, one for immediate picking and eating and one just for salads...

6.  Become more self sustaining energy wise....solar panels, wind turbines, anything that will reduce my reliance on 'the man'.

7.  I need a rainbarrel!!  Wait, I need several rainbarrels!!  lol

8.  I want a Purple Martin house!!!

9.  I want my family to eat as close to home as possible – locally grown produce, meats, cheeses etc. are so much healthier and are eco-friendly choices.

10.  (This is a big one this year...)  My husband and I need to find a way to ease into this 'empty nester' business....For the past fantastic 22 years our hobby and focus has been on our kids, but now one is 22 and leaving college and the other is 18 and entering college....sigh...time to turn a new page....

Landscaping 2011

Same area as next picture but after the weeds have been removed...

This is what we started with....who woulda thought that a jungle could exist in the Midwest???

The Final Product

With summer brings To Do Lists longer than I am tall!  This year is worse than normal as we prepare for our youngest son's graduation party.  The planning for this event begins in February with choosing a date (June 11) and the start of planning out changes to be made to the house and property both inside and out.  In March, I painted the kitchen cupboards and walls.  In April, I refinished an antique stand that acts as a sink in my bathroom and in May I began working outside in my landscaping beds. 

Unfortunately Mother Nature also chose this time to dump a record amount of rain on Northwest Ohio.  It rained, and rained, and rained, and...well you get the idea!  I went from window to window looking for a dry land, but alas, none was in sight.  Each day of rain meant a revamping of the 'To Do List' and prioritizing what was left on it.  Finally, when it stopped raining in late, late May, it took about a week for everything to dry out enough to be able to slop through the mud to get to the landscaping.  The lawn couldn't be mowed because the mower kept getting stuck and all my plants that I had nurseried over the winter had to be patient.  But that was only the beginning....pulling weeds when they are growing in mud is more difficult that one might think.  I mean when pulling a weed from wet soil, you get the whole root (which is awesome) but when pulling a weed from mud, you get about 10 pounds of mud along with the weed and the root!  So, I spent a lot of time pulling mud off of the roots of the weeds I was pulling.....it is as exhausting in real life as it sounds in writing!  This really slowed me down and wore me out.  Next, the sun turned up it's wattage and I quickly went from living in a swamp to living in a jungle!  I mean the weeds were now knee high and growing fast!  So I did what any mother would do....I recruited my soon to be graduating son to help.  What this really meant was I did about 2 feet of work and he did about 8 feet of work.  Ah, to be young and strong!  Together, we were able to tame the landscape, put down weed barrier and spread mulch!  But instead of taking about a week, it took a full 2 weeks to pull together!

On top of that, everything we touched broke....let's see there was the power-washer, two weedeaters, tractor, lawn mower, tank sprayer, rototiller and a flat tire on the wheelbarrow!!!  How is a girl supposed to get anything done when everything is broken???

The day before the party, the shrubs and trees that had been waiting patiently to be planted finally made it into the ground and the plants that were already established began to bloom – the yard looked beautiful!

Part of living in the country is Hard Work and Working Hard. The best part though is sitting on the front porch with an iced tea and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment at a job well done!  Oh, and my newly defined biceps are a nice perk too!