May 11, 2024

Gate: A Keyhole Garden Preliminary

I showed you this photo last time

Where the new African keyhole garden is going to be.

 Compare that to this photo from before we built the greenhouse.
 

Between the bushes and pile of bricks is a gate. The little orange surveyors flags mark the proposed corners of the greenhouse, so the gate had to come out. It was replaced with the back wall of the greenhouse.


The gate was handy for going from back to front yards with a wheelbarrow or lawnmower. Needless to say, we've missed having it. Now, with bricks for the keyhole garden to haul around, it seemed like the time to put the gate back in.

Dan made the gate from an extra fence panel

It was a pretty straightforward job.



Still to do: terrace the ground on the backside of the gate. It slopes down this side so terracing it will help prevent soil washing away.

Stepping back . . .

This is a great improvement in convenience. Once it stops raining and the ground dries out, Dan is ready to begin on the keyhole foundation. 

May 5, 2024

Summer Schedule, Summer Projects

It's May and I've turned from my winter schedule to my summer schedule. With the days so much warmer, I do my gardening in the morning now, when I still have a bit of shade and cooler temperatures. Afternoons are used for shade or indoor projects. 

Planting the summer garden will be finished soon, so once plants are growing, I'll turn my attention to mulching. I'll have harvest preservation later in the summer, so until then, I'm plugging away on the front bedroom, working my way through sorting a second round of boxes. I need to get it at least semi-organized before I put something on that big floor loom. I did a pretty hefty sort and purge last summer, when I moved my sewing and weaving stuff into my sewing room. But there was a lot of "undecideds" that seemed easier to set aside at the time. I'm going through those boxes now. That in turn, has me cleaning out our other storage spaces to reorganize and use the space better. Plus, we're about at the end of our remodeling, so everything we saved for possible future projects (like the windows for the greenhouse) are no longer needed. So we have a lot of things to donate to Habitat for Humanity.

One of those storage spaces is our shed, which needs it's foundation redone. Dan put it on pallets when we moved it to put up the clothesline, but these are beginning to rot so that it's listing. Makes the floor mushy too.

I've cleared out all the pots and garden stuff, which
will have a new home on shelving in the greenhouse.

So that's something on Dan's summer project list. Another project is doing something about the bare spot where he pulled out the crape myrtle beside the greenhouse. (You can see that action here). 


We removed it because it created inopportune shade. Last summer, it grew a mess of weeds, so this year he wants to put in another African keyhole garden. With the crepe myrtle was gone, this seemed like a good spot for it. 

My big outdoor project will be re-painting the barn



It was painted six years ago and so didn't make its 10-year guarantee. What's even more amazing, is that the paint on the chicken coop, which was built and painted four years before the barn, is still in good shape. Walls of both are plywood, but the chicken coop got oil based barn paint, while the goat barn got latex barn paint. 

The real disappointment is my barn quilt. It was painted with good quality exterior paint on Lowe's best outdoor use plywood, but look at it. 


It's screwed onto the barn doors, so likely it will just come down. Not sure about making another one at present. I'll put that on my "someday" list.

You may have noticed that what isn't on the project list is finishing the walls in the office and front bedroom. The construction part of these fall under Dan's domain, and so I have to wait on his motivation. At any rate, we have plenty to keep us steadily busy this summer, weather permitting.

How about you? Do you have a seasonal project list? Care to share?

May 2, 2024

Product Review: Marchpower Cooling Comforter

It's May and summer temps are here. Even though it still gets comfortably cool at night, it's only a matter of time before that heats up too. And this is why I am pleased to share another product with you, one that I was happy to review and can wholeheartedly recommend, the Marchpower Gradient Cooling Comforter.

Queen size Marchpower Cooling Comforter

Is it really cooling? Yes! Through advanced textile technology (called "Arc-Chill"), jade nanoparticles are woven into the fabric. Somehow, this makes something amazing happen; heat and moisture are wicked away to produce a wonderful cooling effect. 

So, how is the comforter different from the cooling blanket and t-shirts I reviewed two years ago? The comforter is triple layer. The top and bottom are made of the same Arc-Chill cooling fabric. The inner filling layer consists of a 3-D hollow structure fiber. They're cushioned with air, which makes for a delightfully lightweight, fluffy comforter.


First Impressions
  • The comforter is lightweight and deliciously soft and silky. 
  • A nice sleeping weight.
  • Mine is a pretty gradient blue, but it comes in gray too.
  • Queen size covers both of us nicely.

Laundering
  • Machine wash; cool water, gentle cycle. Laundry bag recommended.
  • Line dry. I know some people think this is a deal breaker if they don't have a clothesline, but I often dry blankets and comforters by spreading them over the back of the sofa and turning once. 

Cooling Tips
  • During the night, the comforter may seem to loose its effect. Simply change positions or give it a shake.
  • Using a ceiling or room fan on low will crank up the cooling effect.

Who would benefit from a cooling comforter?
  • Anyone who wants to lower their electric bill.
  • Anyone who wants to lower their carbon footprint by not running their air conditioner so much. 
  • Off grid situations like camping and backpacking.
  • Backup cooling in case the electricity goes out.
  • As part of an emergency kit for a summer road trip. Keep cool if the car breaks down on a hot day in the sun!

Okay, I know I sound like some sort of scripted advertiser. But honestly, I'm just so happy to have cooling products in our life. We strive to be as low energy as possible, and in my part of the country (the hot, sultry southeastern US) products like this truly help us achieve our goal in comfort. 

You can see more photos and information at the Amazon link:  

And! You can get  10% off with the following discount code:  
WS8AZQW4 (expires Sept. 30, 2024)