If you haven’t checked out the first 2 parts of this 1st Year at the New House series, makes sure to do so now!
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In January, I finally unpacked all of the boxes in my craft room. I got the smaller 5-tier metal shelves on Amazon, and I purchased the really large one at a local big box store.
I also got my gardening shed moved. I built it with help before we sold our last house, back in March of last year. I wasn’t about to leave it behind with my 1st greenhouse. So in January of this year, I finally got it moved to the area behind my current greenhouse.
I also got my greenhouse tables moved to flank both sides of the greenhouse. These were built at the other house too and were much wider (two @ 4 x 8 feet). Not long after moving, I split them up, making 4 tables out of them, so they weren’t so wide. When I moved them to flank the greenhouse, I had to redo the legs and added 2×4 pieces to place another shelf lower to the ground. That helped stabilize them after sitting at an angle like you see in the picture below for almost half a year.
- original tables at previous house: 4′ x 8′
- sitting at an angle for half a year at the new house
- redid legs and added lower shelf
- redid legs, need to get wood for lower shelf
As you can see from the picture above, Valiente was hanging out with me while I was working outside that day. Both of them like to hang out with me while doing yard work now. Valiente is turning into the biggest little love bug!
- Valiente
- Zari
- He’s such a sweet cat!
Also in January, Bucky made his first known reappearance {that I am aware of}. Bucky would be the groundhog I mentioned in my first post of this series. Yup, we named him after having called him Mr Groundhog for the longest. I feel like January is a little early to come out of hibernation, but then again, I was out in short sleeves for some of January.
Nothing around the house or outside got done in February. I focused on doing a lot of work, and then Angela and I went to Turks & Caicos for a week-long vacation. I’m glad we did our yearly trip in February rather than waiting for May when we usually go (covid-19 shut down the country in April/May). It was beautiful in Turks & Caicos, and I will share just a few pictures below. If you are on the fence about going to Turks & Caicos, my advice would be DON’T. It was beautiful, but there isn’t much to do except ATV-related excursions, boat trips/tours, and laying on the beach. If that’s your thing, you will love it. Everything is WAY overpriced though. I realize it’s an island that needs to import a lot of stuff, but Angela and I went to Aruba the year before, and the price difference is crazy! Our last day in Turks & Caicos was the best because we found this little private beach area that was amazing! We wish we’d found it earlier in the trip.
- the resort we stayed at in Turks & Caicos
- horseback riding in the ocean
- enjoying the view and relaxing ocean waves
- private little beach/swimming area
In March, I decided to convert my plant stand into a tiered herb planter. I built the plant stand back in 2017 to go on the backside of my 1st greenhouse, but with all the outside table space now, I really didn’t need it to hold plants in pots anymore. I used cedar boards to make the boxes and screwed them down on the the stair stringers. NOTE: I originally assembled these boxes with just nail gun nails (brad nails) with my Ryobi brad nailer. Don’t. Use screws! Not even a month into use, the weight of the dirt was causing the boards to push away where the nails were, so I had to clamp them tight and screw them together. Don’t make the same mistake I made… For those wondering, I put dividers where the oregano and mint would be to prevent them from taking over their respective tiers.
- original plant stand I made
- DIY tiered cedar herb planter
- tiered herb planter
- Building mistakes – use screws, not brad nails!
I also built 2 small planters to go on each side of the greenhouse door. These are made out of treated pine picket fence boards. I also attached the automatic vent opener to the window I made. I purchased the vent opener on Amazon. No electricity needed!
- DIY planter boxes
- automatic vent opener
In April, we discovered Bucky the Groundhog was a Becky… the babies came out once {that I’m aware of}, and then I never really saw them again. I got these images on my trail camera.
- Bucky is a Becky…
- baby groundhogs
- baby groundhog
- baby groundhog with mama
I created an Instagram and Facebook page for Bucky/Becky, but I haven’t really posted much lately. We really need to trap and relocate them because living under our porch isn’t an option.
Check out part 4 of this series here!