Montana Prairiemom

Green Grass - Still Waiting for Leaves

     Greetings everyone. We had a particularly hard winter, along with 2-1/2 feet of snow in late April, causing our spring to arrive a little late. I'm just starting to see leaves on some trees. Such a lovely sight.

     I've mowed our lawn twice now and it's starting to dry out. Water is pricey in our area, so I can only water our large lawn lightly. Dandylions are beginning to pop out, so I will spot spray a little 2-4D on them. I don't like my whole lawn covered in a chemical soup, but I will spray out a few weeds here and there, so they don't take over.

     I'm so pleased to say that David was able to rototill my garden on Saturday. It was quite a job because he dug out more of the lawn to enlarge the garden. I avoid working on Sunday, but I have to admit that I planted the seeds in the garden last Sunday due to my feeling of being behind in getting the garden started.

     I"m glad that nothing has sprouted yet because this morning the water in my garden hose was frozen. Yes, gardening in northern Montana (zone 3) is quite a challenge.

     Maria has some time off from work, so she has decided to spend it in Conrad, tomorrow through next Thursday. Our high school will have its graduation on Sunday, along with various parties in people's homes. One of her good friends is in town for the summer, so she can get together with her too. We will love having her with us for awhile. I know she will get homesick for the mountains and be glad to return to Montana Wilderness School of the Bible to cook for various summer camps.

     My frugal thought for the week is to encourage your to challenge yourself to see how many areas of your grocery store you can avoid when you're shopping.

     Sometimes my frugal habits seem like a lot of work, but my monthly trip to the grocery store is very encouraging. I find that I don't shop in several aisles at the store due to the practices I have aquired. Since I make our bread, I avoid the bread aisle, which is amazing long! I rarely buy anything in the frozen aisle due to gardening and canning. Since we have elk meat in the freezer, I don't spend much time in the meat section either. Although sometimes some chicken is a nice alternative. I skim through the cleaning supplies since I make my own general cleaner with ammonia, alcohol and water. (Have you priced the generic Windex lately? Spendy...)

     I probably pick up the majority of purchases in the baking area.

     Wal-mart isn't a favorite of mine, but I do appreciate being able to buy sewing notions and office supplies along with my groceries.

     Well enough for this time. May your week be blessed.

                                                                                           Denise (prairiemom)

Untitled Comment

{ 07:48 , Thursday, May 21, 2009 } { Posted by TheBarnSwallow }

If you are able to pick up a copy of HOBBY FARM there are a few recipes on making things with dandelions... just a thought since dandelions can be edible