Springtime

Finally spring has sprung! We are so excited that it is starting to green up outside, the temperature is generally over 60 degrees in the daytime, and our gardening plans are starting to come to fruition.

Currently we have many plants that we have started from seeds. They are not doing so well. We have learned that seedling plants must have 16 or so hours of daylight in order to grow healthy and not tall and spindly. We purchased a grow light to hang above the plants and hopefully they will take a turn for the better. We will make sure to keep you posted on the progress of the plants.

Curtis has been doing countless hours of research on mulching and producing very proliferant plants. We are growing non-hybrid plants and are going to let some go to seed so that we can save the seeds for next year. I never knew that the majority of seeds we buy now days will not produce fruits from their seeds. Too much of cross breeding and genetic tampering cause the seeds to be sterile. Good thing to know if you ever plan on saving seeds to replant in the future. I am not saying we are dooms-day people but we feel strongly that we need to become as self-sufficient as possible because the days are coming that we will need to provide as much as possible for ourselves.

We are working on clearing the back 4 acres of heavily wooded land. There are so many trees that very few are growing strong and healthy. As we thin them out we are gaining our firewood for the next year... or few. There is sooooo much wood. We shouldn't have to worry about firewood for quite some time. Our chainsaw is not working so well, the chain keeps falling off and in spite of the constant tightening, still isn't helping cut the trees. The neighbor suggested using our generator and the sawzall. We bought some new blades today and will be trying this out tomorrow. I am excited to see if this will work well. Let the falling begin!!!

So much to do here at the homestead and not near enough hours in the day, or dollars in the bank. We have come to the conclusion that instead of being able to put the porch up this year, we need to focus on finishing the basement. Last summer we shored up two walls that were starting to fall inward. We still need to finish the other two walls of the foundation/basement. Luckily, the two walls undone weren't near as bad and could wait until this coming summer. We have to dig the dirt away from the foundation about 3-4 feet deep to access the correct depth. At that point hydraulic jacks are placed inside the basement. The floors are elevated and I beams are then placed inside against the foundation. This helps secure the foundation and provide extra support. We forgot to lay drains on the two sides we fixed last year and the water is coming back inside the basement. Looks like we will have to dig that up again this year and place drain pipes to pull the water away. Always something... I am choosing to remember we are just in the learning curve. By the time we are done we will have a wealth of information to share with others.

I am pretty bummed about not being able to work on the porch this year. Hopefully we can come up on some money to do it anyway. Frustrating that we have finally come to agreement on what we want it to look like and no money to do it. On the bright side, it is all paid for - the house and every improvement we do on it. If it can't be paid for in cash it has to wait until we can afford it. It is nice to lay down at night and know that regardless of the economy we OWN free and clear our home. Life is good...