a diamond in the rough...

It's finally happened!!!

the 'diamond'

 So, just to update the blog and all of you, I am successfully uploading photos on the web!  HIP-HIP-                                  
                                                                      HURRAY!

Sandy enters the scene--my 1st Wwoofer from Chicago!

We have a plot--well you could say that the story has started for real.  The picture you will see (I'm having a HELLUVA time down or up or otherwise loading these gems for your viewing pleasure.) will be that of my FIRST Wwoofer from Chicago who helped me plant up the first part of the 'diamond' the day after she arrived.  I can tell you that Sandy has been awesome, and it is SO great to get support as we planted out all of the first little seedlings--SO, you also think that planting in mid-July (well at least in the northern hemishphere) is a little late...oh, you of little hope!

Unbelievably, outside of all the little lettuce starts (which will probably grow regardless) and the beans (which really all did need to be planted out about one week earlier), the timing on putting out all of these was perfect.  As many of you know, we've not really had a summer in which to make this happen.  What was weird though, with the fog, the thunderstorms, all of the prep-work necessary, and then finally the arrival of Dan from Hawaii, and the rest of the seedlings placed (the pumkins, tomatos, and squash) again, after another rain that added back a lot of needed moisture and made the earth much less dusty, I could not have asked for better conditions.

It will be interesting to see how all of this love and care in planting and the gentleness of the circumstances Mum Nature bestowed on us on the witching/planting hour will ACTUALLY make things go.

Several other tasks were tied into making what happens here in the future more meaning-full--like taking soil samples just before putting Dr. Earth all-purpose organic fertilizer on half of the bed to see what kind of a difference it will make compared to those that didn't get any.  I also want you to know--esp you, Rob, Margaret, and Julia--that I AM recording this in my plant diary...you know, I am going to start this thing right this time round!

Today, staying in the same kind of mode (you know, getting it right from the get-go), we also weeded out a lot of thistle and tansy (known to be fatal to animals, especially cattle here in Oregon).   Just in case you forgot from my previous entry and are curious about the bat encounters and results, Brent went through the remainder of his bat shots JUST IN CASE there was something really wrong about the bat that brushed by Brent's ear when we moved the wood shed about three weeks back.  He is totally done with the series of shot treatments, and finally, finally, got a nurse who massaged the final injection into his shoulders in Denver which greatly helped reduce the discomfort he experienced previously in Gold Beach.

So, finally, we've got caught up a bit on the practical and I do promise those pictures--some day!