Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: May 3 - May 9, 2026

This will sound wimpy, but I haul a sturdy folding camp chair along with me when I'm working in the community garden or hanging out eating burgers at the trailhead. The ability to sit down when I need to is very helpful! I can't stand for hours at a time and don't try to. I sit as necessary. That change has allowed me to keep going for longer periods.

And although I've improved greatly with getting off the ground, I'd much rather get up from a chair.
 
I keep several around my general garden area. There are some really old vintage metal chairs at the front of the garden that I go set in when I need a break...they are very comfortable but nothing I'm doing now can be done from a chair. Once it's all planted, my main job will be gathering when it starts producing. There is little to no weeding with the ground cover in place. DH lowered my purple hull pea trellis so I could easily reach everything so that will be a game changer.

I just have to finish tilling and sewing. No over achieving this year for me lol.
 
Meemur said:
This will sound wimpy, but I haul a sturdy folding camp chair along with me when I'm working in the community garden or hanging out eating burgers at the trailhead. The ability to sit down when I need to is very helpful! I can't stand for hours at a time and don't try to. I sit as necessary. That change has allowed me to keep going for longer periods.

And although I've improved greatly with getting off the ground, I'd much rather get up from a chair.
Click to expand...
That's one of the biggest blessings of gardening in raised beds...even though ours are just 12" tall, that foot higher than the ground let's me sit on an upturned 5 gallon pail for harvesting and some weeding.

I don't have any trouble sitting on the ground (or getting up)..yet, anyway. But my bad foot isn't very happy about kneeling on the flat ground. Ive got a small "garden kneeler" which is just enough off the ground on it's low side (it can be flipped over and used as a seat as well) that the foot and ankle aren't forced flat...much less painful for a lot longer.

Summerthyme
 
Expecting hail and up to 3 inches of rain. Want the rain but not the hail so much. Planting lots of winter squash this year. Made a chart for what crosses. Hoping to seed save some of them! Beautifying the naturalized areas with azaleas. Hope to get more peas and corn planted before rain starts. Looks like none of the Hopi greys have germinated. Oh well. There is next year! Sweet potato slips in the ground by the weekend. Trying some new varieties. Be safe everyone.
 
years ago we bought this little rolling wagon cart with a seat. We loved it so much we went and got another! They're both still going strong and will give us years of use. We can basically sit and roll around in the garden.

I started on the pool yesterday. I told dh if we ever don't cover it again I'm just getting rid of it! (I won't cause of the grands) but I'm getting too old for this lol! The oak trees have grown so much since we put it up that keeping leaves and acorns out is impossible if not covered in fall. I've got about 3-4 inches still of very tannin colored water and some acorns left. At least I killed the mosquitoes that were starting though. Today the plan is to finish getting those last acorns out, scoop as much water as possible, clean the walls and start filling. It will take me several days to fill it back up and I need to order new hoses today.

I'm also cleaning house today and praying. Today is Charissa's surgery. Her parents arrived late last night but didn't see her till this morning. I picked her up from work and took her to get supper and run some errands then do a few last minute things at her apartment. It's going to be a long day waiting to hear how she's doing.
 
Decoration was nice. The visiting afterwards was sweet. One of my older cousins is showing dementia. His daughter brought him. His health has greatly improved but he would get a little confused looking at the pictures I brought. We stayed late and I helped put the fire station back in order. The weather was perfect.

Wildwood, you garden fence looks lovely. Hubby drove too fast for me to put the window down and wave. I was looking at the fence and didn't see a person till we were almost past. Someone was heading from the bedding plants to the garden. Your garden just looks so neat and tidy. Mine is never that. It's always a wild mess.

Monday we fertilized the hay field. We got 4/10 inches of nice, slow rain Tuesday morning. Just what the fields needed. I hated to pay the price. But it's better hay if you fertilize it.

I sold the last of the turkey poults. I have a waiting list for the next hatch. The Turkey hens are still laying. I sent 10 eggs home with our son this weekend. They got 6 out of the last bunch they took home. I think that was 9 eggs that time.

I have to seperate out my Buff Orpington hens again to get hatching eggs. I am going to put all my girls in the pen this time for a few days. Most of the eggs I got before were not fertilized. I ended up with 2 chicks. One I had to help out of the egg and it didn't make it. So one little chick. Both my roosters are Buffs. I just need to be able to get the eggs that aren't from the barnyard mix hens. The eggs all look alike.

Yesterday, we went to Mt Magazine Lodge to spend more time with my cousins. The fog was thick on the top of the mountain, scary thick for driving. But it was only the last 3 miles that was bad. The view from the lodge is beautiful when you can see it. It cleared up some by the time we left. We only had about a mile in the fog and not as thick as when we came up. The lunch we had in the restaurant was really good too.

Have a blessed day everyone.
 
It's raining and storming, today and overnight, tonight. Thunder in the distance right now with rain. It rained, yesterday, too, so that knocked me out of any work in my flower bed. Tornadoes are possible this afternoon. Our NOAA weather radio stopped working, so all we have is the weather alerts on our phones and the radar I have on my desktop.

Not much to do, today.
 
Digger said:
Decoration was nice. The visiting afterwards was sweet. One of my older cousins is showing dementia. His daughter brought him. His health has greatly improved but he would get a little confused looking at the pictures I brought. We stayed late and I helped put the fire station back in order. The weather was perfect.

Wildwood, you garden fence looks lovely. Hubby drove too fast for me to put the window down and wave. I was looking at the fence and didn't see a person till we were almost past. Someone was heading from the bedding plants to the garden. Your garden just looks so neat and tidy. Mine is never that. It's always a wild mess.

Monday we fertilized the hay field. We got 4/10 inches of nice, slow rain Tuesday morning. Just what the fields needed. I hated to pay the price. But it's better hay if you fertilize it.

I sold the last of the turkey poults. I have a waiting list for the next hatch. The Turkey hens are still laying. I sent 10 eggs home with our son this weekend. They got 6 out of the last bunch they took home. I think that was 9 eggs that time.

I have to seperate out my Buff Orpington hens again to get hatching eggs. I am going to put all my girls in the pen this time for a few days. Most of the eggs I got before were not fertilized. I ended up with 2 chicks. One I had to help out of the egg and it didn't make it. So one little chick. Both my roosters are Buffs. I just need to be able to get the eggs that aren't from the barnyard mix hens. The eggs all look alike.

Yesterday, we went to Mt Magazine Lodge to spend more time with my cousins. The fog was thick on the top of the mountain, scary thick for driving. But it was only the last 3 miles that was bad. The view from the lodge is beautiful when you can see it. It cleared up some by the time we left. We only had about a mile in the fog and not as thick as when we came up. The lunch we had in the restaurant was really good too.

Have a blessed day everyone.
Click to expand...
Thank you for those sweet comments...it's been a struggle for me this year. I'm enjoying the fence but I will like it better when we get the front part done. There's a short fence there now but it won't keep the rabbits out. Since I decided to use every single inch to make it as big as possible, it didn't leave enough for the front so I ordered another roll and we still have to get it up to be completely safe. My plan was to use the fence for trellis too but that will have to wait until next year...just getting my regular garden in has been a challenge. That could have been any of us you saw but most likely me. I predict in ten years there will be little decorating done any where. The one where we will be has gone from the most beautiful sea of flowers to about half that many or less now in just a few years.

It sounds like y'all had a wonderful get together...I miss that so much. I'd love to see extended family again but it's not likely. Even though I have multiple second and third cousins in this area, my sisters and our children are all that is left on both sides of my family. Daddy was an only child and mama just had one sister and she just had one child. He never had any children so we are the end of the line except for our children. So many times it's just DH, me and the grandkids at the smaller cemeteries now.

I will start my decorating this weekend and I so wish we still had get togethers like y'all did. We almost decided to be buried at the one out here but the urge to be with the rest of the family was too strong. I've second guessed that decision a few times. My only aunt decided just before she passed not to be buried with the rest of us and they had their headstone moved. She got mad at a cousin and that was it. It hurt my feelings because we were very close and she told everyone but me. I think she knew I'd cry and try to talk her out of it.
 
SouthernBreeze said:
It's raining and storming, today and overnight, tonight. Thunder in the distance right now with rain. It rained, yesterday, too, so that knocked me out of any work in my flower bed. Tornadoes are possible this afternoon. Our NOAA weather radio stopped working, so all we have is the weather alerts on our phones and the radar I have on my desktop.

Not much to do, today.
Click to expand...
We probably had that same system come through here last night. It wasn't in the forecast and didn't even show up on the radar so what's left of my bedding plants were exposed. I just knew we were about to get hail and that would have been the end of my okra and peppers. The stuff planted in the garden always does better than the starts setting on a folding table in the yard during a storm. It's chilly and overcast here this morning and I'm about to have to put on long pants, a hoody and socks and shoes to check the garden. I'm actually a little cold sitting here in the house drinking coffee. Any colder and I'd need a heater...not normal here at this time of year.
 
Wildwood said:
We probably had that same system come through here last night. It wasn't in the forecast and didn't even show up on the radar so what's left of my bedding plants were exposed. I just knew we were about to get hail and that would have been the end of my okra and peppers. The stuff planted in the garden always does better than the starts setting on a folding table in the yard during a storm. It's chilly and overcast here this morning and I'm about to have to put on long pants, a hoody and socks and shoes to check the garden. I'm actually a little cold sitting here in the house drinking coffee. Any colder and I'd need a heater...not normal here at this time of year.
Click to expand...

It's cool here, too, this morning. Our high for today is only 69 degrees. That's heater weather for us. Cold and damp. It won't be much better tomorrow at 71 degrees for our high. Cary and I will be going to Tupelo tomorrow afternoon, and I will most probably wear a jacket.

All of my roses are bloomed out, and they were beautiful. They don't hold up well to heavy rain or hail. They look pretty bad this morning, after such hard downpours this morning.
 
DH started up the wood stove for me yesterday before I got home from work. He had to work till midnight, then go back in at 9 this morning. It's my day off, but I have a full list of things to get done. My CT was unchanged (good news), but the local radiologist wanted an expert to read my MRI, 'cause your head is a little different!' Boy, is that an understatement!!
 
50s and sunny, here. It's a mowing day, but my mower is still not behaving, so it's getting looked over by the one of the mower repair guys. It's almost 15 years old, so it might not be worth fixing. I'll see what he says. I've been considering getting a lighter weight one, but I will stay with gas, so it won't be that much lighter, LOL.

I know, a lot of the new mowers are junk. I'll go to an actual Toro dealer (or similar) if I need to buy one. I won't get it from a big box store. That was on the list of things to replace before I retire, but I'd like to put that off until the end of the season if I can.
 
Well, I got my day to do housework today...it was cold and rainy and no way to work in the garden. That'll teach me to whine about it lol. The choice was taken right out of my hands. The break was good but now I'm ready for some sun and warmer weather.

I'm waiting on the oven fried chicken to get done. I threw some baking potatoes in the oven with the chicken and DH wanted plain green beans to go with it. I'm starving. That protein shake is long gone.
 
Well, I thought I'd get a lot done today! It hits me that way sometimes. Since all the surgery on my face/sinuses/head, when we have a drastic weather change I just don't do well. I get a bad headache, my jaw hurts, and my sinuses are full. I took a decongestant, but this time I even needed a Zofran. Very unusual.

Anyhow, I did get the house and the truck vacuumed, and my Ebay sales packaged up. I got a couple phone calls made, then took a nap. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Oh - and my MRI came back unchanged (very good news).
 
Grand said he came to work hard and hangout. He has certainly put the work in. We made a list of top priorities and are knocking them out. We both work the same way - hard at it until it's done or we are done. He slept until 4 this afternoon today. It was rainy in the am and I worked in my office until 2. This evening we weedeated and stacked brush.
Super tired but it is sure nice to get stuff done. Have 2 overgrown corners in 2 of the yards so we will be going a lot of clearing.

Took a short break on the porch and a fat groundhog showed up. DH dispatched it and the buzzards were here in minutes. I am beginning to think they equate the bang with a dinner bell.

Great grand is playing softball and loving it. Her mom and dad have been blessed with new jobs they love.

Making a quick run to DG in the morning for milk and couple other items. When Grand is here, DH and I fill our plates then he cleans up the rest. He helps DH with dishes too. Gas is at $4 a gallon now so we will just visit DG and not drive into town.

In recent days I have had enough free time to get my creative brain going again. In the evenings I work on book projects. Grand and his friends are building a video game. Lotta work but it is cool to see it coming together. DH plays games on his tablet and we all just chill. It's nice.

Praying for everyone in the path of storms tonight.
 
Went to bigger small town yesterday. Ran errands and doc appt. Everyone and their cousin was out, speeding.
Never ever seen my docs office so crowded and hectic. A lot of new stuff too and it's a small office. Nurse was abrupt and curt.
Waited a long time to see doc which is not usual. He of course is his wonderful self as always but I might have to start looking for a different doc closer to home.
 
Yesterday was just cool all day. I ended up doing inside stuff mostly. I was going to just change the sheets on our bed, but ended up doing a lot more. I took the mattress and foundation off the bed frame to rotate both. Since that was off the frame, I vacuumed good under the bed. Hubby helped me rotate and put the foundation and mattress back. I did some more vacuuming in parts of the house. It was time or past time. My shop vac is great. I have used my up right vacuum in a year or more. I would like to get rid of it. I am not sure Hubby would agree to that though.

I planted 2 more hills of squash. The first 2 were from seed from the local Farmers CO-OP. Last year I planted 2 hills and one turned out to be pumpkin. I had forgotten that. I found a pack of seed from our regular feed store and planted the 2 new hills from that pack.

Since we have this equipment for regenerative medicine for Hubby's feet, I googled if the red light therapy could help hearing. Turns out in clinical trials it helped just over 50% of patients. They even make devices just for ears. But the flat, hand-held one Hubby uses on his feet will work. So I am trying that. It can't hurt and we don't have to buy anything else. He is getting some feeling back in his feet already, but it's slow. But at just 2 weeks, we are very hopeful.

Have a great day everyone.
 
Digger said:
Yesterday was just cool all day. I ended up doing inside stuff mostly. I was going to just change the sheets on our bed, but ended up doing a lot more. I took the mattress and foundation off the bed frame to rotate both. Since that was off the frame, I vacuumed good under the bed. Hubby helped me rotate and put the foundation and mattress back. I did some more vacuuming in parts of the house. It was time or past time. My shop vac is great. I have used my up right vacuum in a year or more. I would like to get rid of it. I am not sure Hubby would agree to that though.

I planted 2 more hills of squash. The first 2 were from seed from the local Farmers CO-OP. Last year I planted 2 hills and one turned out to be pumpkin. I had forgotten that. I found a pack of seed from our regular feed store and planted the 2 new hills from that pack.

Since we have this equipment for regenerative medicine for Hubby's feet, I googled if the red light therapy could help hearing. Turns out in clinical trials it helped just over 50% of patients. They even make devices just for ears. But the flat, hand-held one Hubby uses on his feet will work. So I am trying that. It can't hurt and we don't have to buy anything else. He is getting some feeling back in his feet already, but it's slow. But at just 2 weeks, we are very hopeful.

Have a great day everyone.
Click to expand...
That is encouraging. I did some research into the red light therapy a few years ago. I'll be anxious to see if it helps your hearing.

My whole house could use some deep cleaning but I'm torn between it, the garden and my booth at the antique mall. I'm about to go get my work room ready to make a few things first and I'll go from there. My inclination is to stay home and finish the fence across the front of the garden since the peas will be up soon and I don't want to have to replace anything that sprouts.

A rabbit ran out from under the porch yesterday...first time I've seen one up here by the house but our yard dog has gotten old and has been staying in the house a lot ever since we forced him in during that winter storm. I'm not ready for a new addition to the canine family just now. We have four senior citizens that need our attention and a new dog would stress them out and me too.
 
Last edited:
Glad that you are feeling better, FF!

Re: rabbits -- there's a pair of hawks that controls that population. Unfortunately, when they run out of rabbits, they start in on my friend's chickens, although keeping the hens in the chicken tractor with a few old CDs hung on the roof has been very helpful!
 
The man who owns all the property surrounding us (80+ acres) decided he wanted to clear a wider path down the old logging road that runs along our north fence line with a backhoe. It goes about 1/4 mile on behind our house to a spot where he is building a small bug out cabin. He lives in Huntsville, AL. All old growth timber that is well hidden. He was out working on that this morning, so we've been out watching him. He is a distant cousin of mine, like 4th cousin. The logging road was so narrow that a big flatbed truck would have a hard time getting down it to deliver his building materials.

Today is my birthday, so Cary is taking me shopping and out to eat later on this afternoon. I have several things I want for my birthday present.

Everyone enjoy your day, and be safe. I know I'm going to enjoy mine.
 
Happy Birthday SB!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!
Got my quilts dropped off for the quilt show, my first time EVER doing that. It's not a judged show so that's good cause I don't think I'm anywhere near good enough to be judged. Then stopped and did my grocery shopping and topped off the Subaru. Both of those things hurt the pocketbook.
Got my kitchen clean this morning and about to go work on some laundry. I'd like an iced coffee but do NOT need anymore caffeine today lol.
I need to go collect eggs first though and take the scraps bucket out. It's been raining all morning so not looking forward to that. Yucky mucky chicken "dirt."
 
Happy Birthday, SB!

images
 
Happy Birthday Sheree!!!! Hope you had a fun day!!

Went got my labs done, script, laundry. Gas was $4.69 a gallon.
Been working on an old area of big garden. Taking it all down. I don't need that extra part anymore so I'm pulling that all up, boy big job. Big timbers, fencing, and mulberry trees grown into it.
Horse is much better.

Question for Summertyme: I have horse on butte daily, do I need to give that licorice powder? I still have some.
 
WanderLore said:
Happy Birthday Sheree!!!! Hope you had a fun day!!

Went got my labs done, script, laundry. Gas was $4.69 a gallon.
Been working on an old area of big garden. Taking it all down. I don't need that extra part anymore so I'm pulling that all up, boy big job. Big timbers, fencing, and mulberry trees grown into it.
Horse is much better.

Question for Summertyme: I have horse on butte daily, do I need to give that licorice powder? I still have some.
Click to expand...
I definitely would give licorice root if using Bute. It's pretty scary how many horses have ulcers these days. Licorice makes a huge difference.

Summerthyme
 
Cataract surgery went well. Very uncomfortable eye today and hopefully less so tomorrow. I had to be at hospital at 6:30 a.m. and was home by 10:00. I had to get up at 4:45 to make it on time ... we were there exactly at 6:30.

Dd's boyfriend came and put up the last section of fence across the front of the garden, took the stuff for Saturday's trash pickup out of my vehicle to his vehicle then vacuumed my vehicle. I hate calling him dd's "boyfriend" which seems to me almost insulating to a man in his late 40's but that's the term they ask me to use. I'd been saying partner but since they are no longer living together or only semi-living together boyfriend is what they prefer so that is what I use.

All this down time got me thinking about how to make garden planting of tomatoes and peppers easier. I've decided that getting up and down several times for each plant is not good. I now plan to mark out where to plant, dig all the holes, add amendments, put a plant at each hole and then get on my hands and knees and plant crawling from one hole to the next. Only one time down and one up (not sure which is most difficult up or down!). I have knee pads I can use if I remember to put them on. I think I'll ask dd's bf to help with putting up tomato cages which can wait another couple weeks.

Showers moved through the area this a.m. and totally missed us again. I hope we aren't going to have another dry year. Today's high 66º and beautiful and I really wanted to be outside but a sunny day and a fully dilated eye do not go well together. Virtually no breeze which is so unusual here that I really hated missing it. Tomorrow's high forecast to be 76º with low of 49º so unless it's high winds plants will go back outside during the day and into the garage overnight. They are currently on the dining room table. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them planted by the end of next week.
 
anna43 said:
Cataract surgery went well. Very uncomfortable eye today and hopefully less so tomorrow. I had to be at hospital at 6:30 a.m. and was home by 10:00. I had to get up at 4:45 to make it on time ... we were there exactly at 6:30.

Dd's boyfriend came and put up the last section of fence across the front of the garden, took the stuff for Saturday's trash pickup out of my vehicle to his vehicle then vacuumed my vehicle. I hate calling him dd's "boyfriend" which seems to me almost insulating to a man in his late 40's but that's the term they ask me to use. I'd been saying partner but since they are no longer living together or only semi-living together boyfriend is what they prefer so that is what I use.

All this down time got me thinking about how to make garden planting of tomatoes and peppers easier. I've decided that getting up and down several times for each plant is not good. I now plan to mark out where to plant, dig all the holes, add amendments, put a plant at each hole and then get on my hands and knees and plant crawling from one hole to the next. Only one time down and one up (not sure which is most difficult up or down!). I have knee pads I can use if I remember to put them on. I think I'll ask dd's bf to help with putting up tomato cages which can wait another couple weeks.

Showers moved through the area this a.m. and totally missed us again. I hope we aren't going to have another dry year. Today's high 66º and beautiful and I really wanted to be outside but a sunny day and a fully dilated eye do not go well together. Virtually no breeze which is so unusual here that I really hated missing it. Tomorrow's high forecast to be 76º with low of 49º so unless it's high winds plants will go back outside during the day and into the garage overnight. They are currently on the dining room table. Hopefully, I'll be able to get them planted by the end of next week.
Click to expand...
I'm happy for you that the surgery went well and now you have that chore behind you!

That is pretty much the way I do tomatoes but I do one row at a time. I ordered a small auger on Amazon a few years ago that fits one of DH's big drills so I drill all my holes with it and it makes a big difference. I remember digging them with a sharp shooter but since I do those deep holes, it was a real pain. DH laughed at me at first for drilling holes but then I caught him sneaking my auger to work with him lol. Now he has one that will drill a foot wide hole.

If I got down on the ground, it would be a painful struggle get back up. My knees are a mess and have been since I had tick fever in my forties so I have to squat down...I cannot bear any weight on my knees without excruciating pain unless I have a pillow under them and then no pain at all...so weird. Knee pads help a little but not enough.

It was agony when I first started working on the garden this year because I had lost strength in my legs since last year but I toughed it out, moaning and groaning lol. I can't believe how much better I'm doing after a few weeks of intense work in that garden. I've got to come up with some kind of exercise plan for this winter because if it got any worse, I'm afraid I'd give up.

What a blessing to have a young man that is willing to help you.
 
Last edited:
Anna, I was happy about my cateract surgery, some years ago and still holding, I only needed readers and sinxlce I was so use to wearing glasses I opted for bifocal readers. I bought a wardrobe of them but still hang on to the two pair I got from the va, better quality, but had fun with the different colors and shapes, best of luck to you in your new adventure.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top