New Year and Raised Beds

Yikes ! Almost a year since the last post !!! I don't know how that is possible...I think of this blog often. The plants, bugs and animals that enter my life... I make mental blog entries , but then apparently never actually type the words.
Time to reconnect !
And we are starting this new year out with a re-invigorated veggie garden, including two new 4x8 foot raised beds, 12" deep. Jamie built the beds from old 2x6's and some plastic raised-bed corner thingys we've had for years ( I think I got them at a yard sale )but had never really used )that hold the boards in place. These beds will be for all the greens, lettuces, beets, carrots and a few herbs. I'm just finishing up some arugula, collards, chard and kale a very generous neighbor gave me at the end of last year's growing season. I blanched and froze the greens in batches so that I could easily add a servings worth of the super nutritious leaves to what ever I wanted. They've been used all Winter in soups, stews, over rice, quinoa and even rolled into burritos. The tomatoes and peppers will go in the ground , in the old hen yard, behind the hen house, after we till in some extra leaf mold and kelp meal.
Stink bugs kept us company all Winter, only occasionally going off and confirming that yes, they can stink...quite a bit! But for the most part, they tried to stay out of the way and were gentle reminders of the abundance of insect life.