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After a week like what we just went through, I needed some serious R and R and with the beautiful sun shining and a bright blue sky there really was only way to get it. Be Outside.

And so I pruned trees. And I pruned trees. And I pruned some more trees. I’m not sure I did it right but I did look some stuff up online first. I have two apple trees that produced poorly this year that I’d like to stimulate to do better next year. And there are several bush-tree thingies that I can’t identify that probably bloom on old growth. So I wanted to cut them back to a manageable size without destroying my spring show.

We’ll see. One pulled elbow muscle and plenty of time to think later, I think they look pretty good.

My lasagne beds are coming along well. I have no tiller so I lasagne is the way to go. It’s much less-labor intensive way to garden too. I started with cardboard over the grass, everywhere I plan to plant this coming spring. Then layers of grass clippings. In fall we heaped on leaves. Now in winter we are adding ash. Always coffee grounds. The neighbor had a tree fall on his house and the stumps are getting ground to sawdust, which we’ll put on top of the beds. And then in early spring I’ll top it all with a load of dirt.

Plant, then cover with straw and maybe I won’t need to weed.

We moved Das Chicken Haus away from  Herr Pit Bull’s fence line and up to the top of the Big Hill. The owners come and get the brute every time he barks. I hope he’s gone soon! The girls seem to like their new hay-filled nesting spot and Hercules is strutting so as to work his way right into the pot. Twice he’s chased Rowan and as far as I’m concerned, that is the fastest way to become stew.

The evening was spent in town, a christmas parade Wartburg style. This means lots of vintage cars, ATV’s, firetrucks, and church floats with people throwing tons of candy at the sidelines. One of the santas was smoking, the lit semi-trucks could have honked Jingle Bells” with just a little more coordination, and we learned that shouting “Merry Christmas” is the key to getting a handful of candy thrown your way. It was a fun night that the kids thoroughly enjoyed; maybe they’re getting easier to please with country living! And along the way, we had a surprising chance meeting with another couple of “transplants”, who used words like “alternative energy sources” and “growing independent thinkers”. Refreshment I tell ya.

I’ve got all the good aches and pains a day in the yard can bring. Somewhere in there I cut everyone’s hair (the baby has a short hair cut!), made Lentil Pecan patties, and did a fair amount of housework. There were no emergencies today and that’s fabulous.

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