Thursday, August 22, 2013

What's that line about Old Dogs and New Tricks?

finished bed

We finally finished my raised bed today. It has turned off so hot this last few days, we had to take a few small hitches at the building process. Heat and heavy work do not mix for Pop nor myself. Small doses of either is plenty for both of us,and even then we need lots of breaks and plenty of cold drinks.

We did take one day off to go shopping, hoping to catch a few bargains.The Kroger Store has Senior Citizen's Day on Wednesdays, plus we have a Kroger card, so we figured we should do OK  doing our shopping there.We are both so fed up with hearing tales of the Wealthiest Chain Store Family and their greedy ways, we thought we'd try our luck at another grocery store. We mainly buy staples anyway, and not necessarily name brands,either. We stopped by the Tractor Store and picked up a new cylinder for Ole Rose. You know us. We need to have at least two tasks lined up each time we go out. You know! Two birds with one stone. Truth is,we really got four birds with this stone.Pop needed new clothes and we ate at the newly remodeled White Castle. It had been closed for awhile and we had been waiting patiently for it to reopen.

Nevertheless, I worked up more fried apples and tomatoes and corn relish, while Pop put the new cylinder on Ole Rose. We had worked on my raised bed for a few minutes earlier today, finishing up the walls. Now that the tractor was back together, he decided to put in a layer of the mulch,as a test for the new cylinder on the tractor. The cylinder was not near heavy enough to dump the bucket the entire way, but being the tightwad he is, he settled for the lesser cylinder, and swears it will do all we need it to do. After all,we do have another tractor with a bucket.

Now we just wait until Pop mows the fields and I'll bring in a layer of the clippings for my bed. I'll be adding compost and woods dirt along the way,and then some good top soil as the new garden season grows near. I even suggested planting some winter wheat in the bed. Pop hasn't said yet if we will do that, but it sounds like a good idea to me.

With all of the work that has gone into my new raised bed, and having it to turn out so nice, I think Pop is gradually coming around. He is talking about using the extra ties we have left to make a second bed closer to the bee hives. I'm all for the idea of building another raised bed. Maybe it is possible to teach an Old Dog new tricks. Pop may end up liking the raised bed idea better than he thought.

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