Herb Garden . . . Oh, My Aching Hands

Today my chow alarm went off at six in the morning, so I was up early and at the stables down the road by 7:30 am for much-needed manure.  I prefer to make my own dirt rather than buy it, but it takes time and lots of compost.

It's been a year since I started my first pile, which should have been three times as much because I only have a small space to plant veggies this year, and most of that has been taken up by heirloom tomatoes, which I started from seed and are now planted.  I still need to find room for corn, cucumbers and gourds.

After a couple of trips to the stables, something came over me and I decided to tackle the area outside my kitchen window which I would like to have an herb garden in and some hollyhocks, but it is covered in old ivy and layer upon layer of metal fencing.

I had thought earlier of hiring a couple of guys to rip this stuff out.  I started at 9 am and was completely exhausted by 3 pm,  so six hours for two guys at $20/hour saved me a lot of $$$!  

The ivy was grown all through the layers of wire.  I pulled, hacked, clipped and finally got it up, cut back the ivy and cleaned out the leaves, which went in my new compost pile.

I guess the previous owners felt like it was easier to stomp the old fencing into the dirt and put up new each year.  The green was on top, and you can see the rusty one underneath.

Once I got the fencing and ivy out, then I found rebar and these metal pieces that were for who knows what.  

One-half of the area cleared and ready for planting.

I put up a trellis and planted my morning glory seedlings.

I knew this would not be a good night for my hands.  I may have to wait to do the other side, we'll see how they feel in the morning.  

Down in the pasture white wild roses are blooming everywhere.

                                              The thistles are also in full bloom. 

Being a Tourist

Top on the list to tour with my brother and his wife was the Biltmore Estate, which I hadn't been to in over a decade.  As beautiful and interesting as ever!  Other things included hanging at the boathouse and hiking to Pearson Falls.  Cooler than normal weather made walking and touring that much nicer.

The dresses from Downton Abbey were on display adding more to the attraction.  Loved the dresses and jewels!

Hard to top the gargoyles, though!

Blooms in the Garden

A profusion of blooms everywhere from wisteria to dogwoods, saucer magnolias, viburnums, ajuga, phlox, kerria, and lots of old-fashioned azaleas with more to come!  This spring is full of surprises plant-wise.

This week I also made a trip to Atlanta to pick up Zorro who spent the weekend and Daddy wanted a personal meeting.  

I drove two hours north above Charlotte to get Zorro on his transport to NJ and picked up Walker, a Great Pyrenees who needed a home and through contacting my goat peeps, found him a home on a farm in Greenville, SC.  Very busy week for sure. Gearing up to get started on the outside painting.  Our painter "Shaggy" was here and gave us an estimate and we are ready to start.

George, this post is for you!

On Easter we decided to drive to the Gorge Zipline at the top of the mountain nine miles from our house to watch the people zipline.  Getting prepared for when my brother visits at the end of the month, lots of fun things planned.

Very nice place to hang out for a few hours and drink coffee.

Next we went to the bottom, the gorge, to see kayakers and look at moss and wildflowers.  I must say the road up and down reminded me of  the road to Machu Picchu.

Hope my city boy brother can handle some adventure in the great outdoors!