Oh boy, gardening...

The edge of the pond isn't complete, but under the guesthouse it is raked and there's a bench under cover for enjoying rainy days.

There are now plantings in place at the SE corner of  the main living building.

Pathways are being carved into the land for the front door approach and a berm has been built so there's no direct approach to the covered patio.  (Note:  The porch gets cleaned off and then we start another project.   Please excuse our mess!)

The pathway to the front  door is getting ready for gravel.  Monday Blue Star is delivering gravel so all the pathways will soon be firm, safe and cleaner.  Then too, we hope, we can keep our floors a little cleaner.  Right now sand and grit are tracked in with each step. 

Annie

Annie's thinking our new window seat is dog perfect.

Our Returning Neighbors

Dianne is just back from Alaska where she's been working for the past five weeks. Fred just returned from two months in Mexico and Laurie, also recently returned from Mexico, catch up on what's happened with our construction project.

Our inside out greenhouse

Brad and Josh put old Island County Fair Ground roofing up in the greenhouse for paneling.  Then, a piece of welded wire mess for tying vines.  Behind the paneling, the greenhouse is fully insulated, using scraps from our building project.  Next winter the greenhouse should be  perfect for winter gardening.    Now, with the interior almost done, I'm anxious to get my seed starts going.

Josh's comment about the greenhouse paneling was that it was like the greenhouse was inside out.  The tin on the walls is like one would usually see on a shed's exterior.

Ah, spring.

Yesterday Ed and I went to Lynnwood to order our closet system and Brad went skiing. When we returned home, Ed looked out the window, and burst out laughing. Our pond had an air mattress floating on it. Gretchen, our neighbor, and I have been talking about floating on the pond come the warm days of summer. There was the tool. Not quite warm enough yet, but Gretchen's moving, so she left us a going away gift. I can't wait for enough warmth to put it to use. The days are now getting up into the 50's but the nights are still very cool. Last night it got down to about 34 and there was frost on the ground this morning. Nevertheless, spring is in the air. I have my peas plus some lettuce and kale planted. Potatoes are cut, the eyes are sprouting and soon they will be in the ground.

Recycling the leftovers

The old glass that leaked and was replaced needed a home, so became a screen at our entry.  The wood holding up the glass was recycled as well.  Then, the wire mess, also recycled, was added because just the glass and wood wasn't quite right.  Huge improvement.  Then  (you can see a sample piece of gutter in three of the pictures), Brad had the idea of trimming out the edges with leftover gutter.  Each addition make the "experiment"  better until we are now quite pleased with the overall look.   Sculpture, screen, art -- who knows -- but fun!

Finishing the Front Door

The glass for the front door had a broken seal, so finally a replacement arrived and was installed.    It also now has hardware and works beautifully.   The door is huge -- 8x4' -- plus Brad built it out of exceedingly thick recycled wood with steel glass stops.  It is, perhaps, the heaviest front door I've ever opened or closed.   The "thud" of closing is a reassuring sound.