Green Thumb In Action.

So. Friday is the big day!

What's so big about it, you ask?

Well, this next week is going to be crazy with traveling to Boston mid-week, so I took Friday off to take care of some bidness. I'm going to give myself my Mother's Day presents (a massage and a pedicure), and I'm going to FINALLY plant my garden!

I am so frickin excited -- my garden is all I've been able to think about for over a month. And now, the danger of frost has passed and the ground is primed.

I've got it all planned out. In my main garden next to the house I'm going to plant carrots, beans, peas, spinach, and lettuce. And then I'm going to create a plot somewhere out back for the creepy viney things like pumpkins, cukes, canteloupe, and watermelon. I also bought two Topsy Turvy Tomato Trees. Once those arrive they will house my tomatoes and bell peppers -- both of which are already started and in the basement awaiting planting.

I'm such a nerd. If you'd asked me two years ago if I would ever be this weird about growing things, I wouldn't have believed you. Ha!

Anyway, so I have a few things to do in order to prepare the garden to receive seeds. The first is, I have to buzz up to the horse farmer up the road and help myself to his pile of FREE horse manure. I bought three Menards 5-gallon buckets for the occasion. I just need Shawn's pickup truck -- no way are three buckets of literal horseshit going in my car. The manure will be used to fertilize the garden, and some will go in the composter.

I also need some new black dirt. Lots of new black dirt. I could buy it in 25-lb bags at Home Depot, but I'd rather my hubby call in a favor and get a couple yards of it for me.

Past that -- I have the seeds, I have the cages -- all I need is some time to get it done.

I've also been enamored with my birds. I bought a new seed feeder this spring, and my yard is most popular with the local avian population. I fill the feeder every day, and I've seen all kinds of birds out there -- mourning doves, various woodpeckers, nuthatches, goldfinches, robins, cardinals, even a rooster pheasant (he ate seeds on the ground, and completely dwarfed every other bird around him). The resident squirrels are feasting as well -- far be it from me to stop them. I got plenty of seed to go around! No hummingbirds yet...I think I'll have to plant some flowers to attract them.

AND, did I mention that my 170 tulips came up as planned this spring? When I planted them last September I wasn't sure I'd get them all. But I did, and early! They're almost done now, but they have been a joy, and really brighten up the front of my house. As do my new hanging baskets.

Aaahh. You know, I think that telecommuting has given me the chance to finally take an interest in my house and its curb appeal. No commute means more time! And I'm glad for that.