Making hay while the sun shines

We live in an area that gets snow, and we're in snow season right now, but for the last week or so it's been pretty nice -- no snow, so warm in fact, that even in the back yard that never sees the sun, almost all the snow is melted.

We decided to take advantage of the brief week of spring-like weather and do some garden preparation

Last fall, before the first snow, the DH built the wood frame for our compost "heap".

Originally we were just going to use an area along the back fence where we could start with a hole and work from there, but we have a dog.

A big, black lab that thinks anything that ever passed through the kitchen in any form should be eaten

(why is it that dogs have a very keen sense of smell, but they'll eat anything --- leading to many a dietary indiscretion!)

but I digress

Shortly after the wood frame was built, the weather got too cold to even paint it, so it had been sitting on the back patio with a blue tarp over it since.

This week, it was warm enough. So the DH put a coat of paint on all of the wood surfaces (something not really required, but it does extend the life of the wood, especially when it's outdoors).

Then yesterday we wrapped the chicken wire around the outside, fastened it all down with heavy duty staples and carried it out to it's assigned spot in the yard.

This morning I put in the first deposit -- coffee grounds, orange peel and the remains of some strawberries that had been ignored long enough in the fridge to begin the transformation into some sort of alcholic beverage -- the dog is still trying to figure out how to get to it --- pacing around the pen, sniffing, looking longingly at those "goodies"

Mission Accomplished!!

and just in time --- tomorrow we're supposed to get a boat load of snow