The Garden Shedde

Like many, I got some much wanted Christmas presents that now that I have them, I don’t really know what to do with them! The dehydrator is one such gift this year. It’s not that I have not had some success with it, it’s the fact that it takes so much time to cut stuff up, dry it and then you have to eat it pretty soon before it spoils because you’re not using preservatives, which is the reason you get a dehydrator.

Once you look at it you think that’s cool, I’ll be able to do quite a bit at a time but the reality is you need a lot of rows of racks to do any amount of drying at one time and they cost a pretty penny. In fact, at close to twenty bucks per set, after you buy five sets you could have bought another dehydrator. So after you realize that’s how they make their money, you have to decide if the time and effort is worth the overall cost (I find that with most things these days you have to count the costs) and for me that’s still up in the air.

Several years ago I owned a house that went through a tornado and damaged a lot of the house. One of the major repairs had to be done to the kitchen. Once we got everything that had to be done, we looked at the space and decided we could use a pot rack and my friend and roommate almost croaked when I told him I could build one out of aluminum. His statement was something like this; “right.”

I had worked in a company that made security cages out of aluminum and one of the things we did was built the jigs to create the right bends in the material. So I measured the space and designed the pot rack on paper, built the jigs, drilled the desired holes where I wanted them, took a round file and cleaned the holes up and made them smooth before I bent the aluminum strip to form the design I had decided on. I joined the two ends together with a couple of simple small bolts, nuts and washers. I hung the rack from the ceiling with nice chain and the pots and pans with s-hooks. What I built for less than $50.00 was going for $350 or more at cooking stores. Simple, easy and done.

I was recently thinking about gifts my mother has given me. I have a great mother and she has fortunately given me several wonderful gifts, but one gift that I sometimes overlook just because it is almost so obvious, has really had a profound effect on me is the gift of travel. If someone were to ask me where I got the traveling bug from, it would be a no brainer – my mom. We were exposed to new cultures and new environments early on in life. As a child, I may have not been the most receptive and excited about all the trips, but in retrospect I see how they have influenced my life and taught me so much about the world and those around me.

First hand exposure to new places and people are the best way to learn about them. I believe everyone should have that chance. In a world where so many people can be so close-minded and ignorant, the opportunity to interact with different cultures and people enlightens us. Traveling is a tool we can all use to open up our minds. One day I will have the chance to spread my love of traveling to my children. I can hardly wait!

In this day and age when the economy is getting hit hard and we are getting hit harder with bills, it just pays to start thinking green. I recently got a notice in the mail that the water department was going to start charging extra if we went over the allotted water limit per household. I guess at that moment, my beautiful green luscious yard was a curse although I had never seen it that way previously. How was I going to stay under my limit when my veggies and grass need its daily watering?

Thank goodness for the internet and searching for ‘green gardening’ because I found a couple things that have worked wonders for me. First I ordered a collapsible rain barrel that could easily be set up to catch runoff from the gutter and be hooked up to the lawn hose – a simple way to recycle water! And why stop with just recycling water when there is so much that I was throwing out from the fridge that could be used in a compost bin. I’m glad to say my yard has been able to stay ‘luscious’ even in these hard times thanks to these products.

I’m not sure who came up with the term stay-cation and I will let you know once mine is over with if I think it has the same relaxing factor as a real life go away somewhere different vacation. From the sound of it, it won’t but I am willing to be open to the possibilities.

Now if our intent was to go visit somewhere different each day where we live it might be different. What we are doing on our stay at home vacation is re-painting the inside of the house and part of the outside areas such as the doors and porch. This requires me to work during the time I would rather be playing or relaxing. However, since I am a bit of a workaholic, it may end up being right up my ally. On most vacations, I tend to read a lot because there is not enough going on to suit me. Anyway, I will let you know in about two weeks how it ends up.

Not everyone has the money to spend on getting laborers out in the yard to dig, tear out, rebuild and modify the landscaping, flowerbeds and patio areas even though most of us would love to do that.  The truth is that, right now, many families are hurting for money and do not need to go into anymore debt.  For those families there are alternatives that can get you through until you can do some of the major things to your yard.

Many people want a pool.  This may sound lame but get a small baby pool so the kids can play in and around it and you have a place to soak your tired feet and sip a beer or glass of wine in the evening.  Make some planters out of things around the house that you don’t need anymore.  For example; five gallon bucket make great patio tomato planters or you can turn an old fishing tackle box into a delightful planter of petunias!  This is a great way to be creative without feeling like you have to spend a lot of money or get left out this year on having a beautiful garden.

With the spring there is rain and sometimes, lots of it!  One of the last things you might want to think about is your gutters and downspouts.  If you didn’t clean your gutters last fall, then you will need to get them cleaned in early spring to allow for the water to flow through the gutters and out the downspouts with ease.  If there is blockage, there water has to go somewhere and that somewhere can be your attic and your house!

What I have never understood is why the downspouts stop right at the bottom of the run beside the house?  This is crazy as water can deteriorate a foundation in no time.  Look what it has done to the Grand Canyon!  It is imperative that you add extensions to your downspouts and move that water away from the foundation at least 6 ft.  There are several different downspout extenders you can buy and I like the flexible ones because I can bend it around in the direction I want the water to go.  Get it done before the rainy season arrives and you just might avoid a much larger problem in the making.

That’s right.  It is time to clean out the old and get ready for the new in more ways than one.  I really took a look at my yard yesterday and I did not like what I saw!  I have been so busy, unlike any of you… right, that I have completely let my yard go this year.  There are dead plants that need to be pulled up and put in the compost pile that needs to be turned and leaves that need to be cleaned out of the gutters and put into the compost pile that needs to be turned and sticks and debris that need to be picked up and put into the compost pile that needs to be turned.  Did I mention the compost pile needs to be turned!

I am behind and if you are like me, you have to put these things on your calendar or to do list in order to get them completed and off the list.  So today, I got all those little things listed on the calendar so I can be ready when March comes roaring in like a lion.  Spring is almost here so I am determined to be ready; are you?