Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Garden and Coop Scrounging

Today it was a balmy 52 degrees here in Southern New Hampshire.  I for one took a long deep breath and prayed for spring to stay...though it's not to be as we're predicted to get 6+ inches of snow of Friday...today, I was focusing on the moment at hand.  I have posted an ad on Craigslist to ask if anyone had a construction dumpster or such with scraps that might otherwise be going to the landfill.  We got one response from an older couple with a farm in Salem, NH.  They had some odds and ends in the barn they were wanting to part with.  Music Man took a drive over and loaded up the roof rack with a few goodies like some 2x4's, a couple sheets of plywood, and something that looks like they were supports with big hardware on them.  We'll take those apart and use them for supports in the coop.  So awesome! 

I also discovered that this box was sitting in the back of our property.  At first, we thought it was a cabinet that was left, there is junk all over the woods here, so we didn't give it much thought.  Until, I saw it with new eyes today.

It is not pretty, and one end of it is all rotted and was infested with carpenter ants, but the rest is actually useful.  I dismantled it and found some of the wood will be usable in the coop.  Score!


Music Man and I tried several places on the property to place the garden.  We mulled over our options and decided to put it up the hill from the back of the house. See, I'm one of those weird garden people that find the garden beautiful.  Trellises full of peas and beans, tomato cages bursting with red orbs, pepper plants in full fruit and flowers planted to ward off bugs are all works of art for me.  I like to have the garden viewable from the main living spaces of our home.  So, we chose the location we thought would be not only great for the sun exposure, but the aesthetic beauty of the flora and fauna and food for us to soak in daily.  After two years without a garden, I'm very ready for that loveliness to grace my light of sight again.

Music Man pounded in some markers to determine the best place for the gate (the first picture is the gate just waiting for some fence posts to hold it up!).

Yep, that's a maul, nothing works to pound into rocky ground then a heavy wood splitting maul. Nothing whimpy about my guy!  After getting the markers in, he rounded up the fence we had rolled up in the shed left from the previous owners.  Just about enough to do 3/4 of the garden, and it even has the posts attached!  How convenient!  We're going to do something a little more decorative with the front that faces the house, not sure what yet...I've got my eye on a picket fence that's in front of a restaurant that's being torn down in Derry to make way for a road expansion...if I can only find out who to ask if we can have it, it'll be the front of our little garden of Eden.  I'm nothing if not resourceful!

Wishing you all some spring plans for your mental health, ~Peacemom

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Great scrapping! Love how you are using salvaged materials. I think we could all do that for a very long time and not need to create anything new. There is just so much stuff everywhere! We think gardens are absolutely beautiful too. Can't wait to watch yours grow.