Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Texas Means Spring in February...Sometimes



After an extended hiatus from blogging, I'm back in FULL FORCE. There's a lot going on in the Scholl-Ashcraft household, so sit back with the beverage of your choice, and read on about the happenings of our little family.

After several weeks of some pretty severe weather (at least for North Central Texas), we are now experiencing the reason we love and live in Texas: springtime in February.

"For lo the winter is past"...and the promise of spring is alive deep in our hearts. This according to the Gospel of Belinda Scholl.

Yesterday, the temperature in Fort Worth was a high of 71. After getting home and into comfy clothes, my hubby and I sat on the patio, enjoying our "cocktail hour" (sipping tea and wine, respectively), catching up on the day's events, and basking in the late afternoon sun on our faces. Domino, our six-year old Chihuahua, scampered about the yard, reveling in the apparent new smells that the winter weather had left behind. Boy, was he happy to be outside with Mama and Daddy! Our Pack of Three was all home and together. It doesn't get much better than that for a Chihuahua -- unless he is munching on a bite of sausage biscuit that Daddy has over-indulgently given him.

Hubby and I gazed on our recent endeavor: that of our small garden plot. Over the past weekend we tilled the soil and hammered the nails into the wooden framework that will soon hold the bounty of our work: six crops we've chosen to grow this spring -- green beans, peas, winter squash, zucchini, green onions, and cherry tomotoes. Along the raised perimenter of the garden plot we also plan to grow some herbs in terra cotta pots. The thought of "living off the land" has me feeling a bit like Mother Earth. The picture below, while not of our garden, is remarkedly similar. We have a wooden framework much like this one.


When the garden is prepped for planting, we will start the second part of The Backyard Project: that of extending our concrete patio into the yard using bricks. The new patio will be around 260 square feet and will be used for alfresco dining, a sitting area, and a pad for the grill and smoker. Once completed, we'll be able to pass the food from grill/smoker to the table. Eating out-of-doors always makes the food taste better.

Don't you agree?!?

Until next time...

2 comments:

Terry Lee said...

welcome back to the world of blogging, sistah girl.

am lovin' the warm weather and sunshine this week! ahhhh, soooo nice and a v. welcome change from all that cold and ice and snow and dreariness!

glad you and your boys are enjoying PT and looking forward to your new crops! how exciting to live off the land. not that i ever grew anything except some accidental onions. :) but i've always loved the idea of it.

don't forget ... we're not done with cold temps until after the "easter snap". :)

keep blogging!

love and hugs,
terrylee

SarahBowie said...

Great plans for the backyard! Please keep us updated with photos.