Five More Before Fifty

I started this series the other day, but work has been crazy busy, so I haven't even had the energy to write.  Sleeping in today gave me the boost I needed, so here are five more things to do before 50.

1.  I'd like to get involved and stay involved with some sort of community garden project. The yard at my duplex is not conducive to gardening, too much shade.  I, however, want to grow some of my own food as my own little gesture of telling Monsanto and factory farming to f-off. Plus, I might finally make some friends in Windsor. 

2. Before I turn 50, I am going to read some of my poems at an open mic poetry night.  I've already been on stage for the MOTH Story Slam.  This makes me a bit more nervous, but not paralyzed with fear. 

3. I've lost a bit of confidence in my writing abilities of late.  I can't bear to look at the novel I've written because it now sounds trite and trivial to me.  That said, it would be nice to find a little mojo and get back to writing and enter a contest - just to prove to myself that someone might like my work.

4.  An area in which I have never lost any confidence in the area of photography.  I'm no Dorothea Lange , but I have always been happy with my ability to compose a shot.  That said, I have never entered any of my work into a contest. It's time to change that.

5. Who wants to explore an abandoned building with me?  There's something enticing and inviting about a building that has been left to Mother Nature.  I understand the risks; they don't dampen my curiosity, though.

My evil plot

I do not like lawns. Expanses of suburban green squares. If it were solely up to me, our lawn would disappear under rocks, ferns, and flowers. I have repeatedly made this suggestion, pointing out how we would no longer need to water and cut. To be honest, our front yard is very small and mowing it takes all of about 15-20 minutes. But, still, that's 15-20 minutes that could be spent doing something more enjoyable. My husband is NOT on board. Therefore, I must proceed in small increments.

I am a less than novice gardener, so I take bits of advice from many resources. For this little project, I used an idiot-proof book called The Way We Garden Now, by Katherine Whiteside. This is the second time I've checked this book out from the library and I find her directions for projects to be undestandable and realistic.

I started today by plotting out a small strip for a flower bed, along the walk from the driveway to the porch. In the spring, this area gets a ton of sun because the leaves on the trees have not yet come in. It will be perfect for tulips, daffodils, etc. In the summer, It gets filtered light, so I foresee ferns and maybe some hostas. I hammered six stakes into the ground and tied string around them to mark off the area. I didn't measure, I just eye-balled the dimensions. That was a deliberate choice; I want the area to look more natural and less manicured. I then attempted to cut the grass as short as possible. Unfortunately, the lawn mower handle was broken, so I didn't cut the grass as short as I should have. I soaked the grass and laid newspapers on top of the wet ground. Today is extremely windy, so I had to scrounge to find rocks to keep the paper in place. Next, I soaked the newspapers and then laid a weed barrier on top. This is the step I am not sure is going to work. The store I went to this morning sold only a biodegradable paper weed barrier. That sound good, except I'm not sure that it will last long enough to kill the grass underneath. I'm pretty sure that I'll have to find a woven weed barrier that I'll be able to use a few times. I soaked the weed barrier and voila, in about a month, I should have a spot for low light flowers and ferns.