Sunday, May 16, 2021

HOME MADE WOODEN GARDEN BENCH - EAST TEXAS LIVING - GUINEA HENS - ONIONS/POTATOES - MANY DAYS OF RAIN AHEAD

We could not find a good garden bench for her to work her flower beds. After a rolling fall off of a bucket, it became apparent  the "now" need for this daily use tool. Best I get to designing/building.

I used an indoor bench made of plastic as a model. Light in weight, but not suited to outdoor use. Dimensions and general design were written down, a ten foot 2 x 12 was purchased and a quick layout and build (of two benches) followed using all power hand tools. 

Garden bench for her prototype. Proved to be good design, over-built on purpose and sturdy. In this form, too heavy and cumbersome to move about. Worthy of build #2.

Final bench. Lighter in weight, easy to move, sturdy, fully functional and good looks. 

 

I have covered my mistakes here quite well. Garden bench(s) three and four soon to follow. I will make a YouTube video of the building process and share.

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Early morning weeding


Yellow squash bin and tomato buckets growing area free of weeds. Goal was to get the whole area completely weeded, but pooped out after the time to cut, scrape, rake and shovel all into the side by side. But boy oh boy does it look great. Hate having to weed with a passion. Finally purchased a good hoe and sharpened it for weeding. 

The sharpness makes all difference in the chopping of weeds and scraping others clean from the top of the soil. 


Bringing this tool to improved function. Razor sharp!

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RAIN SOAKED FIELD


I think long walks in this field could become daily habit. A dog or two to round out the experience. 
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GUINEA HENS


A half dozen Guinea Hens live about a mile away from us. On one of the main roads we travel to and from local towns. A farm road. They hang out on a blind corner in the road and we have learned to slow down because of them. 

We look for them every time we come and go. A welcoming site. Country living. 

They are a weird sort. If one runs they all run. Seemingly without purpose or understanding of cars passing by on the road. One will start running right in front of the car and the rest will follow with out issue. 

We stop and wait. Have to see them all somewhere ahead safe before we move on. They are chatting in GH talk and always stay together. 

Guinea Hens are a wonderful alert system. Anything that comes near them unfamiliar causes them to start to sound off. We understand though that clean up after them near the house and on a patio is a mess. Regardless, we are fond of these little creatures.
 
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"Life's like an onion; you peel it off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep."Carl Sandburg

...a process of discovery. 



But no weeping here.

I have heard this quote quite often. Never given it much thought. Refers to some level of discovery in times of our lives. BUT, mid week I started to harvest more of our onion crop. Applied the quote to harvesting.

Pulling from the ground with a gentle tun, the roots quickly let go. The greens are leggy now and lost the tenderness and flavor. But the onion!! What a wonderful treat. 

From the ground they come out dirty. I cut the roots off as close to the onion bottom as I can with out damage. Washing in a small bucket of clean water removes the dirt, then the onion needs to be peeled one layer at a time. Maybe two and usually no more than three layers. And in this peeling back of the layers indeed reveals a discovery. Brilliant small white onions. Fresh to the touch. Never given the sensation of feeling a linking to freshness. But the onion has a way of notifying me that I need to go no further though touch. This backed up visually.

Each little onion was set on the cloth as if an individually finished product. Dried for a couple hours and then bagged and set in the fridge. 

They are going to seed now and are at peak flavor and growth. Leaving a couple in the ground, but harvesting the rest.


First red potatoes dig test



Baby red potatoes, string beans, parsley, onions, bacon and melted butter. 
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 MANY DAYS OF RAIN/THUNDERSTORMS AHEAD starting today.

Local growers concerned about this forecast. May is apparently the wet month, but this month is above normal.

Potatoes could rot in the ground. Tomatoes need hot sun now. So it is wait and see. 

We will be seeding for grass over the days ahead to see if we can improve the front and back yards.  Maybe gain on that.

The rain has started and within 15 minutes the front and back yards are puddled and soaked. East Texas garden is now on its own.

Thanks for the visit and have a blessed week.


 

1 comment:

  1. Guinea hens are great entertainment.
    Can you build that bench for under $200 these days?

    ReplyDelete