Redo..........................

Right now the garden is a complete mess. We are taking (well Gerry is) the shrubs out from the side of the deck. They are a depository for all kinds of junk. Due to this some have died and the others thinned out. More than that they seem to harbor white flys in the summer months. Those destroy things. So..............they are coming out.

It will leave quite a big area and we are hoping to make a vegetable garden there. I am not sure we have enough sun, but I have cut the hedges lower. We have to put a new fence in. It will connect the deck to the other garden fence so the poodles cant escape.

That is not the difficult part, getting the roots out is the hard part. Then we will dig it all up and I want to make boxes to plant the veggies in.

The trellis on the deck can act as a frame for peas and green beans to climb. This year will be an experiment. I have not had any success ever, with tomatoes or peppers or anything else. So if this doesn't work then it will be flowers next time.

All the stones and broken blocks I will use as edging for the back gardens. The area at the top by the garage/shed will have to be redone too. Tristen's sand box will be moved to the drive by the new fence. That should be easier to keep cleaned up. Right now he doesn't stay in his area but moves his sand into my gardens. So, now it will be based on concrete and he has the space under the deck to keep his heavy equipment haha. It will give him more space to play.

That is the area I need to replan also. Now I have all that extra room what will I do with it. I am thinking I will get some Boxwood shrubs as they seem to do well in my garden. That will fill in the hole in the hedges and will stay low. We got some higher new fencing the same as the old. Bud doesn't want a real fence.

The poodle trails show up this time of year. Once the plants grow again they are hidden from view


They have their regular paths and I keep them open for them. Its an adventure for them. I love having secret pathways through the garden and keeping things interesting.

I make little corners and things to discover

I like to use pops of colour

Meanwhile Bessie is still chasing squirrels.

The Blue Jays are still at the feeders



Mr Cardinal is still singing his heart out

Brea is enjoying the garden

The back fence needs to be updated. I like the extra trellis that makes it higher, I have to convince Gerry to get another piece.

It's hard to convince him of anything. He just does not get my garden at all. He is only interested in this project because he thinks we may get some vegetables. He won't like having to prepare the dirt. I will have to do that all on my own so he has no idea what goes into it. I just need him to make the frame. I am not up for cutting two by fours. I would if I had to but, well he can at least do that part. I want to get peas in as soon as possible. One of the earliest veggies we can plant.
Brea is like, why are you taking my picture. Well she looks cute with wood chips on her ears.

I hope that the next set of pictures will show some progress. Right now I figured I would show how it looks now so that maybe we will have some good before and after pictures. Wish me luck.

The joys of March in Michigan.............................

Old man Winter raised his head again, smothered my lovely Snowdrops with a foot of snow.

Then it all looked like this.

It was actually a very pretty day, it got warm and the snow began to melt. Now you must know that warm to me is not warm to most people. I mean, the sun was out and felt strong on my skin. I thought I could sit and get a tan in this. I have done that some years. Sit in the sun and watch the snow melt.
Mr and Mrs Cardinal came by. Rare to see them together.

There were also some Grackels among the Starlings.

Mr Cardinal was looking splendid. Soon it will be moulting time and then he will be looking less dashing. I am sure there is a nest close by. We have had several pairs the last years who have bred and stayed around.

The sky was so very blue, and on several trees one could see the buds popping

It took me years to realize that on some trees it is obviouse that the buds form in the Fall. They look like they are ready to pop in the Spring but it takes awhile for that to happen. These have begun to open.

Our street looking fresh in the new coat of snow, today its almost gone again and the Snowdrops survived.

The snow made some nice snow sculptures



The fountain looks like an icecream cone

The Poodles were not thrilled, but we did get them out a few times. Look at Bodicea with a snow flake on her nose.



The cats were both put out. Boots loves to be outside, she doesn't go far but she is not keen on the snow. She went, took a look and came back inside.

This Squirrel is taking a cold nap, she came down and fed a little later. Apparently didn't want to miss anything so didn't move far




The Mourning Doves sit around in the trees or under the bushes, they too stay where the food is for as long as possible.
Well at least it's melting, almost gone. We should be able to get back into garden work this week if it doesn't rain. Lots of tree trimming to do yet and garden prep before it gets too warm. At least we got an early start this year. Have to remember that March is not usually as kind as it has been this year. We had a great Winter, mild for Michigan. I love that.

Spring....................

Today its raining, is it Spring? Well it's still the middle of March and the weather man says it's going to get cold again real soon. We had two good days working out in the garden this weekend and got a lot of clean up done. I also found I have a lot of plants already that I didn't plant last Fall. Yippeeeeee because I can't afford to buy much this year. I have to get some good ideas.

Things are breaking through, the earth is still hard and somewhat frozen but the plants are stuggling and pushing up.



Bessie is enjoying being outside. She explores the garage quite a bit. She discovered she does not like rain. When I am out there she pops up now and then to see what I am doing.

Boots still has her nose out of joint and ignores her.

So far they both hang out around the immediate area. Although I did see Bessie having a face off with the cat across the alley that Boots does not like.
I got the wood chips down and they sort of stand out right now, they will soon blend in. I need a lot more to finish the back, and have not even started the front yet

At this time of year everything looks so bare. I cut all the hedges down in the hope they would thicken up. I also want to give a bit more light to everyone else.


Snowdrops are happy and the rain helped them to Pop. The Cardinals showed up and enjoyed the seed on the ground.



I am sure everyone is nesting at the moment. The feeders are left alone at for now. Time to clean them all up for later. I am hoping that the nasty pile of snow will melt by weekend with this rain so that we can really work on that area and decide what to do with it.
Some plants made it through winter so a few less to buy.

Rain stopped play

The poodles are enjoying being out and yelling at everyone who goes by. Wish we could afford that fence we have wanted to put up for years now. certainly wont happen again this year. So yap on poodles

Will the sun come out today? It was foggy this morning. It's cold though. If it would just warm up just a tad more..............but think the weather man said its going to get cold again. Brrrrrr...........come on Spring.