Today, we spent a fortune on gardening crap -- bags of steer manure, compost, potting soil, etc. We're going to have to get the nectarines in, but we're not sure precisely where we are going to put them and how to set up planter spots where we can pour compost all over them and keep the compost around the bases to retain the water. I'm going to get a big trash can for composting to help things along. Additionally, we are deciding what trees we would like to get rid of and which ones we're going to just trim.

Then we came home and weeded. I spent a lot of time weeding my front bed. Mike looked at me and said incredulously,"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I said,"Yes, I am. It's cool to see the things that you've planted come back year after year and it's a whole lot easier than raising children." He chuckled and we went back to weeding.

Genny and Russell both tried to "help" me. I had to keep telling Genny to stop stomping on things -- like the rose bush that I thought had bit it, but that has a green shoot waving and on the sprigs of rooted thyme that I accidentally caught with the crab grass chunks. Russell pulled up a few shoots of things he shouldn't have, but not as much as last year's disaster where he pulled up almost everything in the entire bed!

I have tomatoes, peppers, and peas on the front porch. I'm going to have to figure out what to do with them. There are also strawberries and I've told Russell that he'll get to plant those and water them regularly because he requested them. We will have to protect them from the rodentia (squirrels, rabbits, etc.) and I'll have to figure out a means to do that. I have some of the old tree netting, but I'm not sure if that will do it for the squirrels. I know some folks trap them, but I don't want to deal with it. The temptation is to d-con the crap out of them.

We just bought one single flat of plants, so we'll see how it goes.

Mike and I are also discussing the means of making our gray water system for watering everything. I think we'll finally start putting it together in June.

That should give me time to get the landscaping in or at least started in a reasonable fashion. Unless it snows a whole lot real soon. Again.