Since I live in Mosquitoville, I decided to take the plunge and screen off my backporch! Boy am I glad I did! You wouldn't think a mere 6' by 12' backporch would be THAT big of a difference in living space, but it is. I was able to not only fit in some shelves, but also a huge buffet sized foldup table with folding chairs. Now my family can actually enjoy the outdoors without the mosquitos running us off.
Last year at this time, my daughter and I were recuperating from jetlag. We had returned from our backpacking trip from the Middle East. So this year, we are getting an earlier start on the gardening! For starter plants, we got blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, bellpeppers, hotpeppers, squash, asparagus, herbs, and a variety of flowers.
From seed, I've started several varieties of lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, beans, and Swiss Chard indoors. Right now, I'm doing a lot of research on INDOOR gardening. As you can see, the plants are stretching for sunshine. But I think it will work out just fine as the porch stays nice and bright and there's full sunshine midday.
After painting my backporch a lovely olive green, we used the leftover paint (green/yellow) to decorate the cinder blocks, and the shelves made from picket fence. Surviving through winter, I also have several varieties of onions, and carrots that I had planted last year. `
~For those who have asked, and are curious, I do have an update on our upcoming RETURN TRIP to the Middle East:
My daughter and I had joined WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and had made contact with a host family we had selected in Israel. We were excited as this family had kids and lived by the ocean. We were looking forward to spending about 2 months with the family and in Jerusalem.
Due to the escalating crisis in the Middle East, we decided to delay purchasing our plane tickets till the last minute. Unfortunately, this wait has caused our tickets to jump an additional $800. Gas prices are soaring! We're hoping that the prices will drop and things will settle down...
I'm forever reminded of our experience in Jerusalem last year when I overheard a reporter ask our waiter, "Do you think Jews, Arabs, and Christians can live peacably among one another?"
I never heard his answer as we had already paid and were walking away, but a few hours later, I sat on the Mount of Olives with my daughter and listened to the gunshots and fighting.
Praying for peace in the Middle East, and lower gas prices!
