Dirt and Plants and Soaker Hoses - Oh My!

Even though I initially said I was going to write a new post everyday, I did not update yesterday. Somehow life (and gardening) seem to stand in my way, which is perfectly fine with me because I love them both.

So, we did not make it up at the first hint of dawn yesterday like we'd hoped, but we came really close. We got up at 7am and worked for 2 hours before I drove Channing to work/school. It's amazing how much you can get done when you get out of bed early. I started out tilling dirt while Channing gathered more horse crap from the field behind our house. He got back when I was about half finished with the garden and started planting the tomatoes.

I was going along at a good pace, contemplating life, enjoying the feel of the morning sun, when Channing started shouting my name over the roar of the tiller's engine. I stopped, thinking something was wrong (of course), to see him holding out his hand in my direction. He was smiling. A small, white marble. Now, the normal person probably wouldn't view this as an exciting occurence. However, Channing knew what the marble would mean to me. You see, when I was a little girl, following my Daddy in the garden (see first post) he used to find marbles all the time when he tilled up the dirt. He always gave them to me and I kept them for years in an old Mrs. Buttersworth jar. In fact, I still have them. Those marbles are one of my dearest childhood memories. Now, my husband found a marble in our first garden together. Hopefully, the first of many yet to come.

We finished tilling the garden, planted the rest of the tomatoes and the peppers, and then Channing was off to work.

Today, was another day of good times in our garden. However, we didn't start in the morning. Our gardening today took place after school and work. We went to Lowes as soon as we were done for the day, bought weed blocking fabric, a tomatillo plant, and some pretty flowers, and then came home to do our daily labor.

This was a very productive day as far as visual results go. We made the strawberry bed and planted all of our strawberries (all 800lbs. of dirt and then some), and we planted everything, except for the beans, which will be sown tomorrow. Congrats to us - it actually looks like a garden!

We watered it with the soaker hose before we came in, and for the first time this year, I walked around barefoot outside . . . ahhh, the feel of soft dirt under my feet and grass weaving between my toes.