A Cold Sunday

You can sure tell we are on the tag-end of winter here.... 50's one day, and 30's the next!  Kansas temperatures!

It was a blustery, cloudy day today, with some spatters of rain this evening.  The weatherman says possible snow flurries, but the prediction for Tuesday is 60 and above, so it will not be here for long. 

Keith spent all day yesterday working on the new garden beds.

While I was at church this morning (after we gloriously slept late), he worked some more on the first bed, then left to play a little golf. 

This afternoon, he cut the posts for the new chicken house.  Good man that he is, he got up at 2 AM this morning to go out and check on the peeps.  We moved them yesterday evening, into this:

Gertie and Abby are checking them out, too.

We had put them in the nursing cage in the big henhouse, but yesterday morning when I went out, one was almost lifeless, and the rest had piled in the cold.  One light suspended above the cage was not doing it.  We moved them into the shop where it is less drafty, and Keith fashioned a barrier out of rabbit wire on a frame to top off one of the old poly horse troughs we aren't using right now.  We put KEITH put a second light on them, and by last evening they were all doing well, including the baby that appeared dead yesterday.  When we checked on them this evening they were running around the tub, eating and drinking, and they have just enough space to get out of the warmth if it is too much.  Tonight will be cold out, so the double light will be needed. They kept Keith company with their cheeping and peeping while he worked on the next frame for the garden beds.

These:

Farm Dog Abby is giving her approval.

This is the first of numerous beds. 
Four years ago, Keith built smaller frames that were lower, not as deep. He did not put preservative on them, and they were a PAIN to cut around (speaking as the chief grass cutter).  After several years, we pulled them up.  Last year our neighbor Troy came over and plowed for us, but since we both work, soon the garden got away, and we were wading through weeds to get the tomatos.  Keith decided we would go back to deep beds, and not so far across, so that maintenance is easier.  These are lasagna beds, with a layer of paper down (that will degrade) then straw, manure, and other amendments along with shredded leaves, dirt, and peat moss.  Keith planted peas (sugar snap and English) and in the middle, lettuce.  We are still stunned at the price of lettuce at Walmart and the commissary. 

This view gives a better idea how deep the frame is.

Lettuce was planted in this section, but will be followed by flowers for the summer.

Here is a view from a distance of the work area.  There will be no grass paths between frames, but mulched paths for walking, so we won't have to cut.  There will be four more frames to the right, and another four or five to the left.  The beds are short enough across that we can reach through them to weed, etc. The posts will have cattle panel pieces attached (in this bed) for the peas to grow on.  Cukes or tomatoes can follow them.  We will be rotating vegetables. 

Keith is actually going to make some smaller beds (single boxes) for tomatos.

He also planted potatoes yesterday in this bed:

This was meant to be one of my new flower beds, as it is on the other side of the fence from the deep bed established last year.  However.... it is now the potato row.  Keith planted Norlands and Dakota Pearls.  We will keep building up the bed with straw as the potatos grow.

I am going to grow cypress vine on the two arbors and across rope strung between them.

This evening, before dinner, Keith got one of the posts for the new chicken house measured and cut in the shop, so we are making progress towards it. 

I also got my order in to Burpee for the flower seeds I wanted.  I know you can buy them in all the garden shops this time of year, but I wanted to be sure to get ones that I truly wanted. 

It's 8:30 already, daylight savings time has us disoriented today, so I am going to finish on here and get to sleep early tonight to meet the new week.