I just noticed that since Ms Town Mouse and I started blogging, almost two years ago now, we have published 400 posts! This is post 401. I find that amazing!
Today I'm still singing in the rain, because the greenhouse is making tremendous progress thanks to Mr. Dusky Footed Wood Rat. Last week he reclaimed it from the rampant tomato plants (all plant and no tomato) and painted the inside white. He added some trim (more to do on that) and rerouted the mystery leaky pipe so the runoff goes out into the garden. We are content to put that mystery aside for a while anyway.
Today, Saturday, while I worked for The Man as they say, D.F. got galvanized square mesh wire, some long pieces of lumber, and a truck-bed full of Golden Nugget wood chip mulch.
He laid a lot of gopher wire across the floor and fastened it to the sides with wooden battens so the critters won't be able to squeeze in around the edges.
Done with work-work, I pounded a lot of big staples in all over so critters can't squeeze between the layers.
Then we wheel-barrowed in the mulch and spread it nice and thick - maybe 4 inches. Duncan helped. (BTW that's his boundary collar you see below.)
Mr. Rat made the first bench, out of the galvanized wire and some wood scraps. He's so good at this stuff.
Before you could jump up and down and clap your hands, it was done! He built up a little pillar for the post out of some bits of flat stone to give it support and fastened the other edges to the greenhouse walls.
While he was doing that I was skipping up to the upper deck and bringing down the flats of seeds and seedlings that have been cowering under the eaves away from the rain.
Oh did I mention it was raining most of the day? I LOOOVE being in the greenhouse in the rain. (Aside: the photos are all very "barrel" distorted. The bench leg is really upright, not crooked like it seems to be.)
Tomorrow, dear Mr Rat is going to put in a work bench along the opposite (north) wall of the greenhouse. That will be the "potting shed" side of the building. Maybe next weekend he'll to repurpose an old plastic sink from our "mud room" and plumb it in. The outflow will just go to a bucket or trough, and the water can be used in the garden.
I am so looking forward to using the greenhouse. And to sitting in it and just feeling contented. You could say a greenhouse lets you 'push the zone' in the time dimension, creating an environment in which plants reproduce out of their normal cycles. I'm not so sure about that but sometimes it sure helps.
I'm hoping I can maintain the right environment for cuttings in the greenhouse. Denise, the propagation group guru, mentioned that a mister that shoots mist out from one source might keep the environment moist enough for cuttings. So maybe we would not need overhead mister spray-heads. Much simpler - I like that!
Well - now the adventure of learning to use a greenhouse begins!
Today I'm still singing in the rain, because the greenhouse is making tremendous progress thanks to Mr. Dusky Footed Wood Rat. Last week he reclaimed it from the rampant tomato plants (all plant and no tomato) and painted the inside white. He added some trim (more to do on that) and rerouted the mystery leaky pipe so the runoff goes out into the garden. We are content to put that mystery aside for a while anyway.
Today, Saturday, while I worked for The Man as they say, D.F. got galvanized square mesh wire, some long pieces of lumber, and a truck-bed full of Golden Nugget wood chip mulch.
He laid a lot of gopher wire across the floor and fastened it to the sides with wooden battens so the critters won't be able to squeeze in around the edges.
Done with work-work, I pounded a lot of big staples in all over so critters can't squeeze between the layers.
Then we wheel-barrowed in the mulch and spread it nice and thick - maybe 4 inches. Duncan helped. (BTW that's his boundary collar you see below.)
Mr. Rat made the first bench, out of the galvanized wire and some wood scraps. He's so good at this stuff.
Before you could jump up and down and clap your hands, it was done! He built up a little pillar for the post out of some bits of flat stone to give it support and fastened the other edges to the greenhouse walls.
While he was doing that I was skipping up to the upper deck and bringing down the flats of seeds and seedlings that have been cowering under the eaves away from the rain.
Oh did I mention it was raining most of the day? I LOOOVE being in the greenhouse in the rain. (Aside: the photos are all very "barrel" distorted. The bench leg is really upright, not crooked like it seems to be.)Tomorrow, dear Mr Rat is going to put in a work bench along the opposite (north) wall of the greenhouse. That will be the "potting shed" side of the building. Maybe next weekend he'll to repurpose an old plastic sink from our "mud room" and plumb it in. The outflow will just go to a bucket or trough, and the water can be used in the garden.
I am so looking forward to using the greenhouse. And to sitting in it and just feeling contented. You could say a greenhouse lets you 'push the zone' in the time dimension, creating an environment in which plants reproduce out of their normal cycles. I'm not so sure about that but sometimes it sure helps.
I'm hoping I can maintain the right environment for cuttings in the greenhouse. Denise, the propagation group guru, mentioned that a mister that shoots mist out from one source might keep the environment moist enough for cuttings. So maybe we would not need overhead mister spray-heads. Much simpler - I like that!
Well - now the adventure of learning to use a greenhouse begins!
Comments
Thanks all for joining in the celebration!