As most notice I have really taken a step back from the world wide web. It has been nice to not have something to say each day and just live them. I have condensed my to do list down to 3 things that are important to me this summer. In no particular order: illustrate children’s book, weight training(this is in preparation to have great arms for Jenni’s wedding), and start a garden. The last one is particularly fun to me. In anticipation of this I am searching for great advice. I found this website about organic gardening. It breaks it down into 9 steps:
Test your soil….hmmmm…already seems like more work. I just want to plant some seeds. It does suggest compost. Our house has a compost bin in the back…coicedence…I think not. The article goes into how to upkeep your compost pile. I have a feeling that mine has not been turned in a while….or ever. This shall be done…I need to get a hoe. Who is donating? Beyond that, I know a lot of the work goes into chosing the right plants. I know for sure that squash will be one of my plants, neighbor Alice gave me a big ole’ bag of squash. It has accompanied, two dinner in the past 3 days. Delicious!
According to this article I cold fall in zone 9a or 8b. It is quite difficult to find out where Lafayette is on this map. I believe it is 9a. Next question is…It is the beginning of the summer and the hottest is yet to come, should I even be planting now? After random bits of research I have decided my garden will have: Eggplant, Edamame, Cucumber, Sweet Peppers, and Summer squash. I would love to plant some watermelon, but I really don’t want it to crush my others as I know my watermelon would be gigantuous as I will be the best gardener ever!
The next bit of importance is what will my garden look like?
How awesome is this one?
I love the design of this one. I have flat land but I wonder if I could do something simple with bags of rocks or something similar to border and protect my garden from the big bad lawnmower.
I will keep you posted on my goals. Tomorrow is yard work and working on a freelance project and some save the dates. Whoooo hooo. Today was work and weight training, so I imagine soreness will be on the agenda for tomorrow too.
lifetimes of paper rainbows…W
paper rainbows 
I have started a little herb garden as well. I advise planting a few basil plants; I now use fresh basil in almost every meal.
Also, since you want to go organic, try planting some mint in your garden: it grows well, the aroma is pleasant, and it also repels bugs.