Some photos to get things going

This is my first blog...I am sure I am the only person on the planet who has started a first blog by saying that. Get ready for more groundbreaking revelations along these lines dear readers. And by "dear readers" I mean me because no one else is aware I am doing this yet...consider this the "soft launch" if you will. Things will really get rolling soon...book deals, three martini lunches, publishers clamoring for my "next big idea". I'll look back fondly on these simple days, the salad days...the days of wine and roses. Roses actually aren't a flower I care for very much, at least not in my own garden. Not a big fan of lettuce either...I rarely make salads.  But I digress...here are some photos of our lovely house BEFORE we bought it and painted it and "Cigarran'd" it, followed by the starting of what I hope to be a long term project of learning how to garden, landscape and grow food. I've only just started and I have no previous background...probably because I've never had an interest until now. But now I'm obsessed...if gardening is crack then I'm a crack ho. And on that note...the first round of photos:

Front yard before...

Anton and Colin preparing the veggie garden for the first planting of fava beans (suggested by Misty to help the soil). We had just ripped up the lackluster rose garden. Pantsless gardening...Anton is a leader in this field.

The artichoke...it will get to big for this spot soon but i've already moved it twice. And now it's got that cute lil' choke growing in the middle, I don't want it harsh it's mellow. Dilemma!

Front yard beginning to take shape...i ripped up the lawn and used the debris to build those little coffin shaped hills. There may or may not be a body under there too...great for the pH of the soil. Beekman's Antiques in Corvallis thank you for that adorable rocking bench, what a steal!

Another front yard shot...that pumpkin in the foreground reminds me of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. It's growing so fast it's scary...again, it's those bodies, works wonders! Shh...gardening secret #1!

Front yard on the other side of the path, still major work in progress...that's an apple tree Colin wanted to plant in place of the huge tree we tore out. We tore the big tree out because it had these horrible spiky seed pods that dropped all year long much to the chagrin of barefooted children.

Sun flower, set to pop any day now! Zucchini behind it already has about 3 little guys on it and several more flowers...'bout to get BUCK up in here!

My veggie garden...has already yielded more fava beans than any 10 people could ever eat. Also harvested some great onions and garlic. Now we are waiting on the tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, peppers which are starting to pop up amongst other things (leeks, marionberries *not to be confused with the mayor of DC*, grapes, rhubarb *can't harvest until next year* , basil which is sort of doing blaah, snap peas). I pulled up most of the cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Those were a fail...too wormy and weird. Won't be planting them again.