Promises

The problem with having so much to blog about is I'm too busy to actually blog about it.

I know I've been scarce lately. It started at the end of April when Frugaldad went to Singapore for 12 days. Since I'm not crazy enough to announce to the internet when my husband is out of the country, I kept my mouth shut. There were no major medical emergencies (one of the girls kicked the other in the mouth the last time he was gone and I almost had to make an emergency trip to the dentist) and no major catastrophes (I even started two irrigation turns all by myself), but by the end of his trip I was really tired of being the only responsible adult around here. I was mostly tired of doggie duty.

I have some great pictures of the stuff that is starting to grow in my yard, and I have spent the last couple weeks working in all my spare minutes turning my garden from a weed-infested wasteland into a beautiful plot of seed-planted goodness. I tell you what, it is a crying shame that I didn't take any "before" shots, because it was almost too depressing to even start the job. Thanks to a Mantis, and some carefully placed sprinklers, I was able to get all the weeds out.

I hate to toot my own horn, but this is the first year in seven that I have had my entire garden planted this early in the season. Usually something gets pushed to the bottom of the list and either doesn't get planted until mid-June or doesn't get planted at all. This is also the first year that I did ALL of the work myself. Frugaldad usually helps with at least the bed prep, but between the trip, the illness that plagued him when he got home, and taking Frugalboy on the Father/Son camp out last weekend, he wasn't available. So I did most of the work during the heat of the afternoons because that is when I was home. I got all the weeds out. I raked all the beds smooth. I put hay down on all the pathways (well, I guess Frugalgirl2 helped me a little one morning with the hay) I spread all the mulch (minimal kid help there, too) and I planted all the seeds (I guess the girls helped a little with that, too. But in all honesty, it would have gotten done faster if I had done it myself, so I ought to get extra points for letting them help me.) And in seven years of gardening, for six of those years I have started in either new ground, or rearranged the planting beds enough that it was like starting over. We decided to change the direction of the beds again this year, so I was starting over. Again.

I have worked hard, and I am proud of myself! And I know I will be even gladder in a couple months when I am able to start eating beans and squash.

Tuesday was Frugalgirl2's birthday and she is quite a beautiful ballerina.

Stay tuned for pictures!