Whew. I feel like: rode hard and put away wet.
And not just because I just took a tumble outside. Mud, light rain, flip-flops, and a downhill sidewalk are not a good combo. A very nice man walking by helped me up. So sweet, because I’ve done so much the past couple of days, I’m not sure I could have done it on my own.
I’ve taken Jana’s advice and put almost all my energy the past two days into my garden.
Apparently, I have a very ambitious summer planned.
I have roto-tilled twice this week. Fertilized. Composted. Hauled bags of stone and dirt. Many. Hoed, forked, hand-tilled, weeded, hand-mowed, put in stakes and temporary fencing, and shoveled.
While this hasn’t exactly been fun, I am happy with the hard work. Especially since a year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.
I have opened nearly 40 packets of flower and herb seeds and scattered them on my cliff-face. Seeds that have been waiting for a long time and has been a major source of frustration. While I am certain most will not grow, some will and I will not have felt they were wasted. Whatever does not will go to feed my poor, silty soil, along with the fertilizer.
What is there, now, on the cliff and in the backyard are massive stretches of blue and white forget-me-nots, periwinkle, wild strawberries, and patches of a purple flower that I have no idea anymore what it is.
I have planted trees and bushes. Olive, Patio Peach, Hazelnut, Pecan, and Kiwi. As they become strong enough, they will join the Cherry and Plum trees.
I’ve planted the mandeville and propped up 2 rose bushes that I planted several years ago and never saw again until this year. My poor tulips are not faring so well, so I will need to dig up the window boxes sometime this summer and recondition the dirt.
Strawberry, pineberry, 2 types of watermelon, canteloupe, honey dew, lemon cucumbers, summer cumbers, peppers, purple basil, sweet potato, sweet potato vine, summer squash, butternut squash, snap peas, pumpkin, acorn squash, purple potatoes, radish, white radish, asparagus, onions, leeks, candy beets and purple beets, and I can’t count all the herbies and lettuces.
I have so missed getting my hands dirty. Growing my own food. My freezer will be stocked full this fall. And that last picture? That is the blackberry patch that has completely taken over the other half of my front yard. I am guessing we will get about 3 gallons off it this year, before I whack it back under control.
I have all this to look forward to. Caring for it. Harvesting. Getting frustrated with people and having weeds to pull up with my bare hands. Standing out in the rain. Hitting my neighbor with the water hose. Stocking my shelves and belly with fresh produce. Finally building my DIY greenhouse out of soda bottles, where I can put all the delicate plants on my back patio this winter and know they will survive, and the backroom which will help hold the tubers and vine produce through to next spring.
I will sleep tonight. Sleep like I have only once in the past three months, last weekend. Tomorrow, I will get up and put the rest in, that I have set aside. But I think for now, my body is saying- “hey, you! What’d’ya do to me? Stop and let’s go read a book…”