it's been a long long time a coming...

How long has it been since I last wrote? It should be called the small planet whenever I feel like it. or the small planet monthly.

I've been busy since my last posting. I've had my first few nights of blissful, uninterrupted sleep, and strangely I am more tired than I have been in years. It's like my body suddenly realized I've been working on such an incredible sleep deficit, that now it's saying, "whoa! slow down lady. We need some SLEEP!" and so, that is what I have been doing, in between taking classes on organic gardening and naturalized landscaping, planning out my vegetable garden, and setting up rain barrels in my yard.

Actually, Mike is in charge of the rain barrel portion. We have 4 rain barrels connected by a series of tubes and hoses and it works! We are only watering with rain water that we have collected from the sky! It's amazing. In fact most of them are full just from the rain and snow that has fallen in the past week. If you don't have a rain barrel get one, get four, or six...

I have planted some native wildflower seeds, that I got for free from the Bow Point Nursery, in my front yard. The nursery is quite unique and environmentally friendly too. They specialize in native, drought resistant plants, shrubs, and trees that grow in right here in Southern Alberta. Imagine planting something that will naturally do well here! So smart. There is a reason that cedars don't grow here, they are meant for a moister, warmer climate. (like the west coast) It makes me sad to drive by the superstore and see all of the half dead cedars standing outside.

Next I will be transplanting the tomatoes that we started from seeds in March. They are quite big now and are taking up half of my kitchen table, so it will be nice to get them outside. I am planting them with lots of basil to confuse insects and make them taste better. If it would only stop snowing... Then I'm planting lots and lots of peas. I am going to build a structure so they can climb upwards, saving space and creating a windbreak for the rest of my garden. ( a little trick I learned in my class.)

We bought a truckload of compost from Bow Point as well. We filled up the back of Mikes truck and it only cost $10. That we dug into the vegetable beds so they are ready for the organic seeds that I bought at sunnyside market. I wish I would have bought more seeds on seedy saturday.