So it's January in Alaska - about when my brain turns to "When can I start working outside?!" mode. I consider starting seeds - knowing full well that I shouldn't until March, at the earliest. I consider drawing up fences, planning shed/greenhouse, consider buying baby chicks with no where to put them, and all the other little gardening things that come to mind this time of year when it's cold and dark.
I have a new gardening buddy, though she doesn't know it - for Christmas I got a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. Gladys is a funny pup, and I am looking forward to training classes this spring/summer, along with teaching her about raspberries, peas, and carrots. (She already knows about carrot trimmings, and loves them!)
My brother is moving in tomorrow from Minnesota, and so getting fences up next year will be that much easier, provided I have some funds. This year has been expensive, and we have not saved as much as we hoped to. Between the puppy and Christmas and everything else, we're pretty tight for the next 4 months - then the tax refund shows up, and that will help. Also the extra income from rent will help. We'll tuck it away, pay down the credit card some, and plan.
I think the back fence is going to run around $1500 if we do it ourselves, double if we hire it out. The gate section of fence will be a few hundred on it's own, and the long short fence won't be too expensive to raise up. Fencing in the Mountain Ash tree will be about $200. Getting the blackberries will run about $20 a plant, unless I get a great deal, and the same goes for red raspberries, though if I can move the rootstock I have already into an easier to harvest location, I'll do that instead.
Two big spruce trees need to come down this year - well, one for sure. I haven't had that priced yet, but the tree is a good 40 feet tall, and is killing our front yard.
We'll see how it all goes. For now, I'm going to start designing the back fences - around the tree and the back run - and see what I can come up with that cuts costs but not strength. I cannot afford to let the two dogs behind us get through the fence, I'm afraid they will try to kill my dogs or hurt the hubby or I. The chainlink that is currently there won't last another year - the old posts have all rotted, and it's just the pressure at either end holding it up now.
