I'm glad your leg is better. That's nasty stuff. Don't overdo things just because you're feeling better.i can understand that! i don't mind snakes generally, it's just that it can be hard to know which ones are venomous, so i prefer to avoid them.
thank you so much for the info on growing the black diamond watermelons! i'd love to have a veggie garden and grow some fruit, but it's not something i can do where i live now.
The Pickett House sounds like a lovely place!
here's the recipe i use for watermelon rind jelly -- Watermelon Rind Jelly the same site also has a pickled watermelon rind recipe -- Pickled Watermelon Rind -- which i've never tried.
good news today is that the (mild) infection in my leg seems to have turned the corner, and is no longer red, hot to the touch, and painful.
Please send us some pictures of the completed curtains and bookcases.
The most common poisonous snakes in my area are copperheads, which are nasty big critters.
Have you tried Earth Boxes? They work really well, even for small spaces like apartment patios. They're self-watering boxes. You fill the reservoir periodically and the water wicks up into the plant as necessary. You only fertilize once a season. There's a cover on the box the the plant pokes through so there's no weekend, and pests, other than the flying kind, are at a minimum, too. The drawback is that they're a bit expensive, so you order them through the EarthBox website. However, they last really well. I have some that are about 15 years old.
I don't plant as many plants per box as they suggest so the plants aren't crowded. They say two tomatoes, but I put one because I plant indeterminate, which are much bigger and vining. I put two pepper plants where they say three or four. Still, I get excellent crops. Right now the grape tomatoes are going crazy. My other half brought in a full pint, and I suspect he harvested twice that many. For some reason, only half of what he picks makes it into the house. Tomatoes suck up huge amounts of water when they get big. The jalapeños are full of babies and we've already harvested over half a dozen with more on the plants.
I also have a lot of pots for my veggies, mostly tomatoes and peppers, mild, hot, hotter, and holy cow! There are also herbs. Gotta have catnip, of course, plus 4 kinds of mint, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, sage, rosemary, chives, parsley, and Mexican mint marigold (Texas tarragon). I also planted cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, and zucchini, all in pots. The pots aren't self-watering, but everything is on a drip system.
These photos were taken on May 1, when everything was still young. The Sweet Millions are grape tomatoes. They're now over the top the trellis.
years ago, i had a straw bale veggie garden. just a wonderful experience! i had zucchini coming out of my ears that year.
Someone brought piles of old pictures from church events from the mid to late 90s. They were FUNNY!! 
