Last Week's Savings and Summer Fun

Daughter gave me the geranium for my birthday.
I grew the rest of the flowers from seed.

First, a quick thank-you to those of you that suggested I try the arugula with other things.  I had a little in a salad and liked it just fine.  I guess I grew more than I will probably need, but I'm learning!  I will likely try it a few other ways through the week.  Some of it is going to seed, so I'm going to try and save some seeds as well!

Our days have been cooler than is typical.  Our lettuces, kale and peas are producing very nicely.  The beans and tomatoes are blooming, so I'm hoping the predicted warmer temperatures will arrive, so the tomatoes will set.

We have herbs planted around the perimeter,
with vegetables protected inside the fence.

There were some really good grocery sales this week.  Bottom round roast was 2.98 a pound, bacon was 1.98 a pound and the same store was offering a free carton of ice cream with a $25 purchase.  We bought roasts, bacon, a few other items and got ice cream (two cartons!) as well.  I sliced a lot of the roast for teriyaki or jerky, and also cut one roast in half to make two smaller roasts.  The 'ends' from slicing were cubed for beef stew, and everything was wrapped and labeled for the freezer.  We also got some apples for .48/lb, and it was .48 for green peppers and .88 for red peppers.

One of the feed stores in our area opened two new stores this past weekend, so all stores in the chain were offering 15% off feed on Saturday, 7/11.  We stopped on the way to pick up free small Slurpees at 7/11, then went to the feed store for chicken feed and scratch and rabbit feed.

I had two rabbit programs this week, and learned that we'll be scheduling some chicken programs for September.  Woohoo!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

We have also been getting quite a bit of rain, so we haven't had to water very much the past week.  We have been fortunate in regard to rain and storms.  Not too far from us, the storms included hail, and a lot of people had damage to their gardens.  There has also been a lot of flooding in the area, some roads washed out, etc., but we are high enough that the flooding did not affect our property.

We were in the practice of putting Taffy out on the deck sometimes, so she could get some fresh air.  We simply put a baby gate across the doorway, but she figured out that she could knock it down if she crashed into it.  Husband used some hinges and wood we had on hand from other projects and made a gate that keeps her safe and out of trouble.

Daughter attended a free library program for 'mad scientists'.  She had a great time!  We also checked out books and media for the week.

We used some things we had on hand to create a bird feeding station.

We had lost a small apple tree in the front yard, so we turned the trunk into a platform feeder.

We moved a bird feeder on a post and attached the two with an old garden gate that came with the property.  I wired on some wrought-iron hangers, and Husband made a platform for a bird bath.  We used a can of black spray paint to touch-up wherever we needed to and to make it look more uniform.  We are using a glass pie plate for the water, so it's easy to clean as needed.  I hung some things we had on hand, but I'm sorting through some ideas on Pinterest to make some bird feeders.  What do you think of it so far?  It was zero cost so far, and I'll share as I get more feeders made.

We've had enough sunny weather to hang our laundry outside on the clotheslines.  It smells so wonderful!  With all the rain, we've been busy with mowing, but we're keeping up with it.  We are also in the midst of sorting and weeding some of our possessions so that we can sell the things we no longer need, declutter, and make better use of the space in our basement.  We are staying busy!

Are you making the most of your summer, or is it a different season where you live?  What are your plans for the coming week?