Springtime Activity

 Hey everybody!  Long time no blog!  If you don't follow me on Facebook then I'm sure by now you're probably convinced that I've been whisked away to the witness protection program, or that maybe all my fingers were broken in a freak accident and I couldn't type.  But alas, no...I'm still around, with all 10 fingers in good working order, I just haven't had time to blog lately.

I have some posts coming up in a couple of weeks that will be fun before and after makeovers.  I was going to share them before they were finished because I didn't really have anything else to blog about, but then I just procrastinated and got really busy and it never happened.  But now I'm kind of glad I didn't because I'm all set to add the finishing touches!

In the mean time, I thought I'd share a bit of what's going on around the "farm" that's been keeping me busy.  Of course homeschooling my kiddos is a big thing, my Etsy shop orders keep me hopping, and I'm still teaching a kids' class at church, but besides all of that here's what's been happening lately.

We got our winter garden tilled up and the summer garden is off to a good start.  We've planted 5, 50' rows of corn.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be doing as well this year as it did last year.  I don't think this new variety we tried likes the sandy Florida soil very much.

On the other hand, the peas seem to be doing really well so far and we're pleased with their progress.

We've also got 4 rows of bush beans planted so far and they're starting to pop up.

Hubs built these trellis contraptions with scrap wood so that we can try out some pole beans this year.  I'm sure the kids will love playing in the shady tunnel once the vines start growing well.

We bought a big rain barrel at a yard sale for $5 and it has become our compost bin.  It's about 3/4 full now and so heavy I can hardly flip it anymore to keep it mixed up.  In the background you can see the tree swing Hubby built for the kids last year.  They spend SO much time playing on it!  They love to twist it all up and then just spin like crazy all the while throwing their heads back laughing with gleeful abandon.  

I keep this enamelware bucket under the counter in the kitchen so that I can toss all my fruit and veggie scraps into it while I'm cooking.  I also add eggshells and coffee grounds, then once it's full I take it out and dump it into the big barrel.  The lid helps keep the smell contained and we change out the grocery bag in it each time to help with the smell also.  Our neighbor brings us plenty of manure that we mix in to the big barrel, as well as ash from our firepit, and leaves and grass from the yard.  We hope it will make a big improvement in our sandy soil once it's ready.

In other news on the "farm," Hubs built me a clothesline!  Yay!!  I LOVE using it!  He used limbs from a tree that fell during a storm and I love its rustic look.  He made the lines low for me since I'm such a shorty and it makes it nice for the kids also because they love to help.  Even the 4 year old likes to get in on the action, thus the little red chair he drug over there so that he could reach.  I love my little helpers!  :)

And this little uniform is a sign of another thing eating up my time lately...T-ball!  With games and practices a few times a week it keeps us hopping.  But it's SO much fun to watch them, and our lil' guy is having a lot of fun with it.

Hubs has taken on some side work.  A man in our church is paying him to get this old thing running again.  That keeps him busy in his spare time.  Thankfully he has it parked behind his workshop so I don't have to look at it much.  :)

 Over the winter months while the grass wasn't growing he also rebuilt our mower deck.  As you can see, it was completely rusted out.  It had been welded and patched to death and just wasn't going to make it one more summer.  The sand here just eats it up.

We have 5 acres to mow, plus we'll now be mowing the 5 acres next door to us so a good mower is essential.  This zero-turn Dixie Chopper is 20 years old, but Hubs keeps it running and takes good care of it.  He ordered all the parts to make the new deck and now it'll be like having a brand new mower I bet!  I don't know how men know how to do these things.  I think they're born with the knowledge of engines and construction already ingrained in them.  It baffles me how he does it, but I sure am thankful for his skills!

And that's a little look at what's been taking up our time around here.  I hope you haven't completely given up on me, I haven't given up on blogging that's for sure, but I have needed to take a break from it for a bit so that I could juggle everything else I've had going on.  But like I said, I'll have some decor posts coming soon.  I've been saving up my money to order some things to put the finishing touches on the kids' bathroom, and an unexpected cast-off coming our way will make a huge difference in our kids' bedrooms.  I hope to be able to share all of that with you soon.

Don't give up on me, I'm still here!  :D