End of Dive

Early this morning, I made the trek out to a nearby community pool to watch Harris compete in his very last dive competition.  When I searched this blog to see if I had ever written about his diving (I did, once!  it's here) I was reminded that when he first started Bryce and I made him do it and he didn't love it at first!

 

Fast forward 5 years and he has been a dive coach for at least 3 years*!  He never did club diving, and Covid definitely put the brakes on that if he were even considering it but, he has indeed continued to dive each summer!  Being a dive coach has meant that every Monday-Friday for June and July he is at the pool by 9, which has put a definite kink in our vacation plans, but ultimately, I think it's such a good thing.  It's taught him discipline, work ethic and how to work with others (the kids love him!).  It's another "last" in this year of "lasts" but it's one I'm very thankful for and one I think will leave lifelong memories and lessons. 

*he's also a lifeguard at the pool

Greenhouse Benches, Signs and Chandeliers

 

Once the greenhouse was mostly finished, Al made me benches to line one side of the greenhouse.  I chose to do two separate pieces, and only one side, so that I had flexibility as I learned how I would be using the greenhouse.  This way I can separate the benches or add more on the other side.  

He used cedar for the wood and put in two removable tops for soil, which is super useful.  Basically, I looked at a lot of benches, decided what I thought would be most useful, shared it with Al and then voila they were made!  And perfectly made at that!

We also hung my prescriptions sign, where it has more of a chance to shine!  It continues to be a favorite and a reminder that the garden is a prescription for a healthy lifestyle.  

My $5 chandelier, a garage sale find, is also hung in the greenhouse.  Of course, we can't keep candles in it because they would melt, but we did use it for Grace's solstice dinner.  

I'm so looking forward to learning and growing in the greenhouse, it's such a treat to have it!

Our Greenhouse

Back when we first moved to the farm and designed the garden lay out, we included room for the shed, coop and a greenhouse.  We thought that we would attach the greenhouse to the shed and build it ourselves from old windows.  The coop got built right away but the greenhouse was shelved (as was the DIY idea) as a luxury until recently!  

I knew that I really wanted a greenhouse that was glass, the color green, and classic looking.  In researching greenhouses, we found that the traditional greenhouses usually sat upon a brick, or stone, wall.  This would add significant cost, time and effort for us, but I also didn't really want glass all the way to the ground (I envisioned it always dirty from rain and we wouldn't be able to hid the unsightly bags, tools, etc.) so I was thrilled to find a greenhouse that had a "skirt" at the bottom.  

Our BC Greenhouse came as a kit in several boxes so while this wasn't a total DIY it was still a pretty significant put together!  Before any building could happen, Bryce had to do some pretty significant prep.  He started by carefully pulling up sod and placing it in other places around the garden and farm.

Once that was done, he had to dig hole at each corner and put in piers.  Harris was put to work pounding away at our rocky soil!

Once the foundation was finished, Al flew in to help Bryce build the greenhouse.  He and Bryce work really well together and it made the project so much faster and more fun!

Of course, the ground was not level where we placed the greenhouse so after the build was completed Bryce had to work on filling the gaps.  He ended up using old bricks we had laying around and they worked perfectly!  We used gravel for the floor with leftover pavers from the old patio.

And there she is!  I'll soon do another post about the benches Al built for me and the other fun things inside the greenhouse!