Bird Bliss

I've been into bird watching lately...Mainly because we have beautiful birds visiting our feeders in the backyard.  Here's what's been in our neck of the woods over the past week.

 House Finch

 Monarch Caterpillars

 Indigo Buntings & Cardinals

 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks & House Sparrows

 Indigo Bunting & Thrashers

 Indigo Buntings & Rose Breasted Grosbeaks

 House Sparrow

 Mocking Bird

And this picture of Murphy is so cute, I couldn't not share it :-)

Garden Update

Our garden is coming along nicely.  I took these photos a few weeks ago and the difference is amazing.  Things are a LOT bigger!  We will be picking veggies in no time.  

Blackberry Bliss

We have been picking blackberries like crazy lately.  Our hands are thorny and stained purple...but our refrigerator and freezer are FULL of those sweet little berries.  We have 9 & 1/2 gallons so far.  We've made cobbler and jam.  I think I am going to try sorbet next!

An Xtreme Weekend

We participated in an adventure race on St. Patrick's Day.  It was an annual event put on by the MWR at the base that Jim works for.  Average completion time is ~ 7 hours.  It was a grueling day, but we had a blast.  We did challenges that included canoeing, rock climbing, running, biking, marksmanship, orienteering, ziplines, rope bridges, etc...and we finished in under 5 hours!  We can't wait to do it again next year.  Here is a before and after shot of our team: The Sand Crabs!

R and R

I made these chairs over the past 2 days.  What a fun and easy project.  We're all set for some warm summer nights!

Mission Accomplished!

I did it!  I ran my first 1/2 marathon this weekend.  All of my hard work payed off and it felt GREAT to cross that finish line.  I ran just under the time I thought I would.  I can't wait to do it again!!! 

Waiting for the race to start

The crowd before the race

Finally moving

Crossing the finish line.

My Vera Bradley bag and finisher's medal!

My cheerleader!

The lawn after the race

How does your garden grow?

Ours grows in layers!  Well, the foundation is in layers.  We are using the lasagna gardening method to fill our vegetable beds for spring planting.  Here's what our layers look like.

 And here is what we will be planting in them...

Lots and lots of tomatoes!                                                   

And these wonderful heirloom seeds :o)                   

      

We have also been putting a lot of hard work into our green house.  Here's the progress:

Now, all that's left to do is install a door and some gables!