A Brilliant Week

 Where to begin?

It's been a lovely week. We've just been getting on doing things and took a day trip. 

Today is our dog, Brunel's birthday (and we got him ice cream at Andy's (his favourite place) and cupcakes to celebrate it with Lightning and Rover). Yeah we know we're crazy but hey, it's ok, we have nobody to please but ourselves.

I've been doing lots of plantings. Today I've tried a hack I watched on a video, and planted grapes in banana segments, apparently it helps them get started. We shall see. I transplanted some more gardenias that had started rooting. Once Mark has the one side of the fence finished, we will plant some of them and the roses and cannabafolia down the fenceline to help add another layer of obstruction so's the dogs can't get out through it. They will also provide food for the bees.

Our beehive arrived and I have painted the sections with primer, and ow just have to wait for it to cure so that I can then paint it the pastel palest sage green, on Monday. Then, just have to wait for that to cure another week, and the we can get it put together and go to the Carolina Bee Company and get some bees. I'm hoping that using the honey as a sweetener will help Mark with his allergies to all things in our area. His allergist said he needs to move to the beach!

My plumeria cuttings are doing good. The white willow cutting was, but then the leaves shrivelled, so I've messaged the person I bought it from, to see if that's something that happens sometimes, and if it will still grow. I hope so. 

We have an abundance of tomatoes and blueberries on our bushes, so I'm very happy about that. My potatoes are not enjoying this heat but aren't ready to pull yet as they haven't flowered. The peas and beans are doing well and shooting up. I'm very happy with my crops thus far. The watermelon seedlings are still growing taller but not getting many leaves yet, and my cantaloupes haven't sprouted yet.

My poem, The Storybook Witch, was published as a children's book, this week, and is now on sale on Amazon, in paperback, and at Ingram in hardback. I'm working on some other projects and beginning to learn how to do what I need to, with Canva.

Our day trip was on Tuesday, to Helen, I did my usual chocolate shopping at Hansel and Gretel, and we went down by the river after eating lunch at Hofer's. Mark got some river rocks for my stream that he's started digging out. The only mar to the day was the journey, both ways we ended up behind folks doing 35mph on single lane roads where we couldn't overtake, it just seemed like our travelling was never going to end! We were both very stiff at the end of the day, but we'd enjoyed Helen and we have chocolate delights in the fridge for a few days of treating ourselves.

Mark has started removing grass from the areas that are going to be my stream and my pond, and moving the turf to the front yard (where everything washes away from, every time we get rain). We're hoping it will help bolster it up a bit.

We also got permission from a local building site to get rocks that they're digging up as they prep to build a subdivision. We are working on the 7th pallet now, and trying to figure out how to get some of the bigger rocks - which may entail Mark taking his tractor down there, with me following in the truck, so that he can use the shovel part to like some of them and put them in the bed of the truck. Then, once we got home again, he could use the tractor to unload them from the truck and put them about where we are going to want them..

Yes, it's been a nice week!