Yardwork

I spent most of the morning and early afternoon working in the yard. Lots of mowing, weeding, pruning and just puttering around. Also, I cleared out an area in the back part of our yard and Cole and I made 2 more compost piles. I love that he gets as excited about it as I do. We used layers of leaves, pine needles, pinecones, newspaper, shredded cardboard and egg cartons, grass clippings, manure, coffee grounds, banana peels, dryer lint, egg shells, and some other food scraps. Then we covered it with a layer of topsoil and wet it down.

aren't they lovely? {grin}

My rhododendron is in full bloom...SO pretty!

Getting my groove back and composting (what a pair!?)

Ohhhhh, boy. I have been terrible. T.E.R.R.I.B.L.E. After the biggest loser contest I completely went off the deep end for a week and a half! Completely lost my drive. What's up with that? I am motivated by competition so when that ended so did my willpower. I'm feeling back on track today and have some serious ground to make up. (along the lines of 5 lbs!!!!)

Yesterday I completed my compost bin. This is the first time I have had one...and I am SO excited about it. I love the idea of recycling your yard waste, kitchen scraps, etc and turning it into something amazing for your garden! Did you know nearly 1/3 of your kitchen scraps can be used for compost? It's a great way to fertilize organically.

I drilled holes in the sides and bottom for aeration, and will have to find a makeshift lid since I don't have one. I started off by adding dry leaves, twigs, shredded newspaper and cardboard. Then I added a layer of manure, grass clippings,  corn cobs (and the water I boiled them in), vegetable peelings and coffee grounds. I covered that with a layer of topsoil and moistened the pile down. It should be cooking in no time! Now I am on the hunt for red-wiggler worms, which are said to be amazing for compost piles.

Wish me luck!