What's Been Happening

When last I posted, back on April 22nd, [Really? April 22nd?!? Slacker!] I was telling you what I had seen while birding in southern New Jersey. Things have been busy since then.

I began (and finished) building a new raised bed garden measuring 5'x12' and 18" deep. It seemed the "dirt" was half stone.

New (semi-)raised bed in progress

Putting in the pressure treated walls required that the "soil" be leveled. I got two of the three sides nice and level but the third side had one little stone sticking up that needed to be removed, so I started to dig it out. Well, things aren't always what they seem. Like the ice berg--where 9 tenths is beneath the surface--this little stone was just 1 one-hundreth of the entire stone.

The "little" rock that needed removing.

Yeah, that bad boy, measuring just 1"x1"x1" above the surface turned out to be something like 24"x 15"x8" and weighed...well, a lot.

I got it out and everything leveled and put together, filled with sifted "soil" and mixed in some mushroom soil, garden soil and peat moss. Then I built a 2'x2' box in which to plant potatoes and planted seeds of lettuce, okra, and string beans.

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In between my starting the new semi-raised bed and planting the seed, Terry and I did some traveling for her birthday. Taking separate vehicles, we first went to Long Grove, Illinois north of Chicago to pay a visit to my son's in-laws.

John & Cindy

We enjoyed a great meal at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and then went to Shedd Aquarium.

Then Terry and I drove (separately) north to Milwaukee to visit with our nephew Brian and his wife, Vicki. For Terry's birthday we enjoyed another great meal, this one at Mo's A Place for Steaks, and a surprise got to see the Celtic Women. (Brian had scored the tickets from work.) Since the Women and Celtic Thunder are two of Terry's favorite groups--thanks to all their appearances on PBS--this was one very special birthday!And it WAS a great show!

Celtic Women

I then headed back to the Aerie to continue work on the new garden bed while Terry drove south to Laurie, Missouri on Lake of the Ozarks to visit with her sister and her husband (Brian's Mom and Dad), as well as Brian's sister Laura and her baby son, Matthew.

Terry returned just in time for the annual Tiadaghton Audubon Society picnic.

Between everything else, I've been doing a good deal of birding as well as some photography.More of that later. Promise.