“Big Hips” (featured there on the cover), is my first published piece of creative writing. If you would like to order a copy of the magazine (which is really pretty good, even without my essay), I get a Friends and Family deal. The cover price is $7; I can order them for $3. Let me know if any of y’all want one.

That’s right, it’s another gardening week here at the ol’ homestead. I got tons of stuff planted, and also created my first little mini-greenhouse.

Isn’t it cute?! The bed is approx 4′ by 6′ and the peak of the cover is about 3′ tall. That’s a single pane window on the left side of the picture (south-facing), and the plastic on the opposite side can be rolled up out of the way for access. The garden bed itself was already here when we moved in, the window came from Craigslist for free, the wood came from salvaged pallets, and the plastic was leftover from painting. So the only thing about the project that cost me any money was the dirt…around $8 for the amount in this bed. We had various screws and nails around, though if I had needed to buy those they might have added a few more dollars to the project. I can’t wait to get some tomatoes and peppers going.

I also took several pictures of the plantings so far, mostly to help me remember where I planted things. I put them behind a link because they aren’t that interesting unless you want to keep track of what I’m planting in my garden. Read more…