It's My Birthday!

I've always been a big fan of my birthday.  So much so that I used to (even as a grownup) remind everyone around me how many shopping days were left until then--starting on August 1st.  Pretty obnoxious, I know.  Not that I care very much about the presents (although they are nice, don't get me wrong!), but it's just a whole day that I can be as eccentric, funny, silly, and self-centered as I want to and nobody can say anything about it....it's my birthday after all.  I've been known to wear a tiara all day, but not this year.  

Today I'm planting my lime seeds.  I soaked them all night in warm water, that makes them germinate faster (or so I read).  Later I'm going out to lunch with Brett, who is in the navy and is home visiting this weekend.  Looking forward to it.

So I got up and did a little pinning on Pinterest.  Mostly for my classroom, but here and there I come across something I need to see again later--like dwarf nigerian goats.  Someday....

Watering the garden this morning I noticed a BIG, FAT bumblebee pollinating my salvias--I love to see helpers in the garden.  There are also several little tiny toads out there, they are so cute.  I've also been seeing a lot of different butterflies, including zebrawing and gulf flitteraries.  They are a little unusual, and only feed on certain flowers, so it's interesting to see them here.    

I'm not sure if I've ever truly written about this on my blog, but I think I'll just outline my five year plan for my life.  Whether or not I'm here in this house, the plan is basically the same.  I consider myself a suburban homesteader--I garden (although not enough to feed myself), preserve foods, love to sew and do DIY projects within reason.  Kaleigh and I cook almost everything from scratch these days, and I'm very frugal (by necessity and preference).  

My plan is to expand on all these things over the next five years, to include making the garden larger, including a large herb and flower bed, as well as more vegetables.  Maybe enough to feed K. and myself.  I will be getting chickens as soon as K and I can get a coop built, which I have most of the materials for already.  Like I said, I'm pretty frugal so gathering materials can be slow while I wait for deals.  I'm anxious to get some girls, so I may cave and just buy a coop.   I'm thinking four chickens is a good number.  Several different varieties.  I want them for eggs, not meat, so I think it's okay to have different varieties and name them. 

Eventually I would like two girl goats (mini or dwarf), if I ever have a big enough yard.  They will be good for milk, cheese and predator control for the chickens.  

I need a good potting bench and area to work outside, I'd love an outdoor kitchen--it could be very basic.  I'd like to do more canning and freezing of produce that I grow.  I dabble at this time, but I'd like to really get into it.  

I love my fruit trees, and I'd like to add several more.  At least another lemon tree, another lime tree, several orange trees.  I love grapefruit too, but they take too long to set fruit, I don't know if I will still be here when that happens (in this house, I mean).   I'd like to also add some blackberry bushes somewhere, although I don't have a lot of sunny yard, so that may not be possible here.  Maybe on the side of the house.

I need to set up a good drip irrigation system, but the garden is small and manageable now, and I don't want to have to set it up, then change it in a year when things get bigger.  So until I expand the garden, that won't really be happening.  

When I do expand the garden, I would really like to cover the entire area next to my driveway up to my neighbor's yard with mulch and make raised beds for vegetables and a cottage garden type setup for herbs and flowers and strawberries here and there.  I can strategically place my fruit trees in there (I want to keep them in pots so they can come inside for freezes).  I'm not sure that will work without adding some kind of fence, which I don't want to do, but I'm still working out the details.  I do want to make sure that there are pavers for walkways (different ones in different areas).  

As far as my work life goes, it's very satisfying, and I don't foresee any huge changes there.  I'm very comfortable in my workplace and I love the people I work with--big and small.  I enjoy presenting at various conferences and other outlets, so I will continue to do that, and we'll see what other opportunities come my way.  Or what opportunities I can make.