Getting dirt between the toes

Between my allergies, my new job, getting the house prepared, and my recent cold, I have surprisingly found some time to plant some stuff in the garden - but I'm no where near done. So far, I have planted some bleeding heart roots that I bought at Wal-mart. They were affordable, and I have always loved bleeding hearts. They were in both Mikey's and my yard while we were growing up. I also planted some wild Horseradish roots that Mikey dug up from a ditch near the farm. I've planted those in an isolated spot, that will be easy to till in the fall so that it doesn't take over our garden.

Mikey and I are still getting the corn plot ready by tilling in lots of peat and organic matter, because it is freshly turned. It is finally raked into a wide hill, and I am hoping to get the corn in either tomorrow, or Sunday. The secret to planting it this early in our climate, is actually a trick that my co-workers gave me. They cover the plot in black plastic for about 10 days while the seed germinates. This keeps the soil warm, and protects the seedlings from any frost while they emerge. I'm stealing this idea so that my corn can also have an early start.

Today I planted all of my carrot seeds, and then covered the rows with wet burlap. This helps protect the slow emerging seedling, and also contributes to minimizing moisture loss. I also planted a few miniature corn seeds in a row further away from my main corn plot. I'll cover these with black plastic tomorrow as well. I planted my green beans, pickling onions, green onions, beets, radishes, rutabagas, and... thats it!

Tomorrow I need to plant my potatoes, and my storage onions along with the corn... I was also thinking it wouldn't hurt to try and grow some new tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse - because most of the transplants have wilted... I also have to start hardening off my other seedlings that I still have in the house, because they will all be planted outside at the end of the month (hopefully). I need my counter space back!! OH, and I have "ornamental" corn that I want to grow as fall decoration... the only problem is that they have to be grown at least 100 feet away from your eating corn. I'll have to find/make a suitable place for them.

I was thinking of getting some solar lights to hang up in the trees above where the hammock is going to hang. I think it will be romantic, and dreamy. *sigh* Tomorrow morning, Mikey and I are going to check out the Seba Beach Farmers Market. Ive never been! I figure it will give me a chance to see what people have to offer, that way if my greenhouse and gardening catch on, I can see what my competition is, and find out what no one else is offering! There is also a plant exchange here in Tomahawk at the end of the month. I've never been to one of those either, so hopefully I don't work, I'd like to check it out! Now it's time to take my allergy meds, and get to bed, I've got a busy day tomorrow!

Mothers Day!

There are two very special women in my life that have been a great mom on call since I don't have any connection with my own. So, Happy Mothers Day to them, without you, I don't know where I would be nowadays! Also, I've noticed that since I've hit my twenties, it seems all of my girlfriends are having babies, so Happy Mothers Day to all the newer moms too!

My allergies are just horrific today, I woke up countless times last night to blow my nose, scratch my burning hot eyes, and just gasp for air because my nose is so plugged up. Mikey is supposed to go to help out at the Tomahawk Mothers Day Pancake breakfast this morning, but I don't think I will be able to go with him.. I feel like I have an outright cold! I mean, really. Who wants to sit and enjoy their pancakes next to someone who keeps sniffling, blowing their nose, coughing up phlegm, rubbing their red bloodshot eyes... Perhaps he can bring me back some pancakes instead!

Or maybe Colt and Rocksteady can whip me up some strawberry waffles.... unlikely, but I can wish, can't I?

Allergies and Business Cards!

Each day that goes by, my allergies seem to be getting worse, stronger, and taking over more of my face! I never had seasonal allergies before last year, and when I got them for the first time, I thought I was just sick - I may as well be! My eyes were swollen, red, watering, and extremely itchy and irritated. My nose ran constantly, and all I wanted to do was sleep. I never once thought it was allergies until someone suggested it to me, and I tried some antihistamines. Viola! I was feeling much better, and everything cleared up for a few hours!

It didn't seem to last for more than a month last year, but since May has rolled around, it's definite that my spring time allergies are back! Bring on the Tissue!! As much as I don't like to rely on medication to make me feel better, I feel that I can't go 5 seconds without blowing my nose or scratching my eyeballs out unless I've taken an allergy pill. But maybe about a month or 2 ago, I read somewhere that you can take a tablespoon of local honey every morning to subdue your spring time allergy symptoms - naturally. I don't know if this is true, but it only makes sense in my mind. I'm still on the hunt for some local honey, and may not know if it really works until next year.

Yesterday was a nice day for me, although it was cloudy, cold and windy. I still went outside, touque and all, and raked the garden into rows. It was actually nice, because I could work up a sweat, then stand there in the cold breeze until I cooled down again. LOL! Only in Canada will you ever see someone gardening in a touque. Great things came in the mail yesterday too! I finally received my 50 free Moo business cards! Etsy and Moo teamed up with a limited time offer of free business cards - you only had to pay the shipping ($6) - as long as they could put their info on the front of the card! Here is what they look like (I blacked out the codes and some info):

The great thing about these cards is that you can have them completely customized with your artwork, logo, motto or quotes, and every card can be entirely different! How awesome is that!! You can also choose from other artists designs if you don't have any yourself. I personally didn't know what to use for my design, so I used Moo's text generator, and wrote out some words that I think of when I'm gardening (Love, Live, Give, Grow, Sow) and made each card a different colour! You even get to choose the type of paper you want - naturally I opted out for the "green" card which is 100% recycled and recyclable, has a natural feel and still looks fantastic!

All of my business info is on the back, and the print quality is amazing - especially for recycled paper! Because my cards were free, there is a small band along the bottom on the front that shows the Etsy and Moo logo, but also offers the business card recipient a coupon code to save 10% off of their first order of custom business cards (they print more than just business cards, btw). So if you are in the market for some new, unique and high quality business cards, let me know and I'll give you my card so you can save! I highly recommend their product - not to mention, shipping was crazy fast (I ordered the last week of April)!