Drifting away.

Bet you're wondering what we did with all of that driftwood. Or are you? We placed some of it decoratively around the house and Chris made a super cool coat rack. Hopefully we won't be needing our coats much longer though.

The other day I heard a noise and looked out back where I saw this little guy peeling off some layers of a large piece of driftwood that we had gathered. I watched him carry multiple pieces through our yard and up into the big evergreen tree to its gigantic nest. I know that squirrels can be a pain, but this one sure tugged at my heart strings.

Make my bed.

Chris is working so hard (surprise, surprise!) on my raised beds for the lower garden. They look so great and should be done by the weekend. We'll have to fill them with soil and compost and then they will be ready for planting! We decided to go with raised beds in the lower garden because we basically carved the garden out of the front yard and could not keep the grass out. It's nice too because it's on a hill and these will make it so it's kind of terraced and easier to work in.

Our first daffodil is blooming! It's here! Spring is really here!

All of my tulip bulbs that I planted last year are coming back up! I don't know why, but I was kind of thinking they wouldn't come back up. Maybe because the soil is rocky and saturated with ground cover? Sure enough, there they are!

The Tulip Magnolia is in full bloom and looks gorgeous with the gray-blue overcast Spring sky.

And so it begins...

Well, I think it's safe to say that Spring is finally here. I know because the grackles have arrived. They are so obnoxious and they bully all of my other sweet little birds. Last year I actually had to take down the bird feeder because they were hogging all of the bird seed. I think they will be here for a month or so and then fly on their way. But they always come back through in the Fall.

Chris and I are busily getting the garden prepared for planting. Chris is outside right now building me some fancy raised beds for the lower garden. I'm so excited! I'm feeling like this is going to be a great gardening year!

Everything is beginning to bud.

My lemon balm peeking through.

We are tearing down the old reed fence and replacing it with fancy new wood fencing.

It's so nice that we have a truck now so we have no problem hauling loads of compost, mulch and soil.

Upper garden layered with compost. Now we just need to till it under.

Season confusion.

It snowed all night on Sunday and I woke up to a gorgeous view outside my windows. We have a lot of trees so when it snows, it looks particularly beautiful. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really ready for Spring, so I'm really hoping that this was our final snow of the year. Pretty please! Luckily, it melted and was completely gone by early afternoon. Also on Monday, my friend, Holli, and I drove to Topeka to thrift store shop and pick up some famous hot pickles at Porubsky's. Porubsky's is a famous deli in Little Russia in Topeka. They have been open for over 60 years and are well known for their horseradish pickles and chili. It was a great day!

My little green friends.

I have a lot of houseplants. It's really sunny in my house because of all of the windows, so they really like it here. They make me really happy. Meet some of my favorites.

This Schefflera was our old landlords plant. It's quite the specimen!

These three guys are all from Earth Flowers. They are succulents and are on their way back from winter. I had to chop the one on the left down, but it's quickly growing back.

I've had this cactus for around 6 years. I think it was a foot tall when I got it!

I bought this as a memorial for a friend of ours that passed away about 4 years ago. It was only 14 inches tall when I got it and now it's as tall as I am. It's nice to have something to care for that reminds me of him.

Mystery braid

Okay, I'll admit it. I love Martha Stewart. I'm not ashamed. She does come up with some pretty outlandish ideas that your Average Joe wouldn't even attempt to carry out. But she also fills me in on super delicious dinner party menu ideas or cool things like this Mystery Braid leather bracelet. I've made a few of these for myself and friends. A few people from work put together a care package for a coworker that moved away. I hope she likes it!

Remember where that heart came from? I made it into a tag and added a little wire wrapped duck feather.

Bloggiversary!

I haven't posted a blog in couple of weeks and I just realized that during that time I had my 1 year bloggiversary! I really have enjoyed blogging and feel that it has encouraged me to try new things and to really be proud of my accomplishments and my life. Thanks for reading my blog!

Here are a few pictures of the progress my little veggies are making:

Leeks.

Cabbage.

More cabbage.

Fennel.