Changes

I though this iris was a lovely, new color.  Reminds me of pink lemonade for some reason.  Oddly enough, I don't ever remember planting anything this color and there are only 2 in a large mass of the common purple/ blue combo.  I also have a couple of bunches of the pure white iris about 10-12 feet away.  Could they spontaneously intermix??  I have no idea how that works.

I have been working very hard on clearing a bit more land down below the garden and chicken run.  this is the area off to the right and you can kinda see where the grass stops, just to the right of the yellow iris blooms.  This area was just a huge mass of privet, poison oak and other nasty vines.  I should have cleared it long ago but just didn't get to it and it was growing up so it was crowding my 2 plum trees, plus just looking terribly unkempt.  In the newly cleared area I might plant a nice Japanese maple or another fruit tree.  Something that won't get too big.  We still have some more clean up to do in this area though.

The cursed damned fire ants were eating the crap out of my rhubarb in the garden, so I moved 2 of them up to a big pot on the deck.  (their gnawing is why these look kinda rough) This way might be better anyway as I can keep them shaded and cool much easier.  I am determined to find a way to grow this stuff.   I still have 2 others in the garden also, so we'll see.

And I finally put the finishing touches on the east end of the chicken coop.  Unfortunately, the rest of the coop looks like hell, but I'm getting there.  Yes, that horrid swatch of blue in the background will go away.  I was also proud that I finally found a place to install that black planter basket on the left.  I know I have carted that freaking thing around for 10 years or so and never really put it to good use.  Well, I think it finally found a home.

Many other changes are going on in the garden now also.  I've got about half of the crops planted and hope to get the other half in today.  I'll post more about what I'm growing this year a little later.
I also finally poured the hearth slab in the house!!  Yay!!!  I used a new formula and was very pleased with how it came out.  Well, I haven't wrecked the edge form yet so....I think I'm pleased with the formula.  Ha!  I'm sure it will come out fine.  I was able to get a very nice, tight finish on the slab but I will also buff it with those diamond pads to finish it out.  I'll post about all that also.

Well.  Lots of work to get done today!