Well, Bill and I finally put together our fire pit today. We've been wanting one like this for a while now. We already had the base, those reddish garden blocks you can see there, so there was no measuring or digging down in to the soil. We went to Loew's and saw one of these pits on display. We decided the size would be just right, so the clerk there put the exact number of blocks (36) onto a pallet, along with the 12 blocks that go on top, along with the steel inner lining. Well, we drove carefully home with the pallet and all of the accessories in the back of our pick up truck. Once home, Bill lifted most of the blocks off the back of the truck into the wheelbarrow. From there, I took most of the blocks and lined them up in a circle, using the steel lining as a guide, to make sure the circle of the first layer was the right size. Some blocks had to be backed up, or snugged in a little, to make the circle exact. Then I removed the liner, and we continued on, laying the second and third layers atop the bottom circle of blocks. We staggered the blocks, as you would with bricks, for instance. After we put it all together, we both agreed that going back to get another layer (12 more blocks) would be advantageous because it would be just a bit deeper. Bill went back and brought home the last layer, and I stayed home getting prepared. I removed the top blocks, then the liner, which has a lip which overhangs the 3rd row. Then you place the final row on top, which consists of slightly different blocks. So, basically, I undid some of our hard work to accommodate the arrival of a little more height. Got it all together quickly, and since Bill returned the pallet to Loew's, the clerk gave him two extra blocks. At least that's why we think he gave us those. I used those deep in the center of the pit, which will support a grate from our other, smaller pit. That allows for putting paper, cardboard, etc....down at the bottom, leaving room for some air to get to the small sticks, then logs which will be above. I put just a few sticks in there, and lit some paper underneath, just to try it out while I was doing other things. It worked great, and we are glad that we went four rows high, rather than three.
My veggie garden (I hope) will be having it's best year yet! Recently, we had 5 very tall pine trees removed from the border between our yard and our neighbor's yard. We planted those trees, the size of little bushes, about 40 years ago. Previously, my garden had to wait till about 10:30 or 11 each morning to get the benefit of full sun, because the pine trees cast so much shade. This summer will be different, with full sun as soon as the sun comes up each morning, and I am excited to see the difference. Thanks to my son and DIL, they gave me this watering timer, as one of my Christmas gifts in December. I had admired theirs, and thought it seemed to convenient. OK, I already had my garden started, but I wanted to get it going, and add some plants, rearranging some things, before I got set up with the automatic watering. Heretofore, I have spent every morning, and every afternoon, standing there for 30 or 40 minutes, soaking my garden. It's hard to do that in the intense heat; but I back up enough into the nice, shady areas in my yard, and shoot the water over the distance. Well, I had to put two batteries into the new gadget, and sit in the dining room, carefully reading how to program this timer. I felt a little intimidated with all of the directions and pictures in the instructions included; but alas, I programmed this little friend to turn on my water at 6 a.m., and again at 6 p.m. every day. It does have a feature where you can change the programming because of rainy days. In any case, I took it out and put it onto the outdoor faucet, then added the hose to the bottom of it. It sort of looks like a camera, doesn't it? I set it up, and wondered how well this would work. Well, I'm happy to say that as soon as I had attached it to the faucet, I had it programmed for 6 p.m., and I was finished with it at 5:55 p.m. I sat down and watched it come on as it promised! YAY! This will save me a lot of time and work each day.
Here is my garden at its current stage, receiving the long-awaited water, on this brutally hot day! Just love my veggie garden each year. This year I have a Stevia plant (the sweetener), cucumbers, peppers and several types of tomatoes. You can't beat eating out of your own garden.
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