It's still too wet to play in the garden, and it's been pouring all week anyway. (April showers and all that. I'm expecting flowers next week!) But we did get a little bit of work done in small pockets this week...namely tidying up - the garden shed, some beds I hadn't properly cleaned in the fall, things like that. It feels nice, really, in that I don't think I'm adding any garden beds (I know I'm going to change my mind on that though), and our basic garden infrastructure is in place. So I found myself earlier this week digging into the side of a small hill to make a more smooth entrance to the garden. It has been a bit steep there, and therefore not terribly comfortable, for walking up or down with a large wheelbarrow full, for example. I'd often find myself holding on tightly so as not to tip it all over or run into the fence. It's such a little thing, but something I hadn't ever been able to get around to doing much about before. This week, I did. No more tipsy wagon loads. It feels so nice to focus on things like that now, and I look forward to so many more in the months and years to come as the garden further establishes itself right where it is, and I can work on making what exists even better.
Harper has decided he'd like to start a firewood business (there are lots of summer camps near us on the lakes), and has been cutting and bundling like wild, using hay bale ties to do so (bless that resourcefulness!). I'm guessing the interest might pass when other summer activities lure him away from chopping wood, but maybe not! So far, he's exclusively using wood from trees we've cut down for the sheep to enjoy (they'll happily eat the bark as a vitamin source, meaning that the wood dries quicker too!). It makes for some pretty wood, actually, so maybe he's onto something. Artisanal flock-chewed firewood!
I'd love to open up the garden series again here on the blog this summer. It was such a delight last year - I learned so much and so enjoyed the variety of gardens people shared! Shall we have another round? Dash me a note if you're interested and I'll get in touch with the details as we transition into garden season (though I know that in most other places, you're already deep in it, you lucky ducks!).
