Prepping « Robin Writes

This week’s adventures will include planting a garden in the mud and trying to mow the pasture, which is something like three feet tall at this point. We’ve borrowed a trailer, and will just take our mower along.

Apologies for the weird tense—I’m writing this before we actually go to the farm this week!

So, back to the garden. The asparagus never got in the ground last time, so that’s a priority. I also picked up some blueberry and raspberry bushes. As an aside, I cannot be trusted at a garden store or nursery . . . I also made up some more verbena baskets for the front porch.

Of course, there will be more rocks ready for harvesting. Ha. And I have a tin of seeds, too: carrots and three kinds of beans and a few other things.

We’re kind of at a crossroads here: we have things now to maintain, things to make nicer and more comfortable for us, and we’re still—and will be for a long time—cleaning up and renovating and working on all kinds of projects. All at the same time.

So here’s what we’ll do, and what any prepper should do:

Animals
Food supply
People

It’s just good common sense that a farmer or homesteader take care of his animals first. They’re relatively helpless, they don’t get to make the decisions, and they generally don’t have thumbs. Fortunately, we don’t yet have animals.

Food supply, aka the garden. In order to harvest, and therefore eat, you have to plant and weed and care for your food. If you don’t get it in the ground, it won’t grow, and you’ll be hungry. Worst-case scenario, of course. Fish, too, are on the agenda—no, I don’t consider them “animals,” they’re fish and they take care of themselves.

And then there’s us. The peeps. Sure, we need shelter and water—we have those. It might not be exactly the way we want it, yet, but it’s there and we can certainly live with it. What else?

Security. Our boundaries are fenced on three sides already, and the fourth side adjoins some pretty rough terrain and woods. Some of the things we’ve found are rolls and rolls of rusted wire, mostly hog-wire but some barbed too. All of that is going behind the fences, in the undergrowth. The fences themselves aren’t livestock-proof, but they don’t need to be; our biggest concern would be someone coming in on foot. The only way in by vehicle is through the gate and down the drive.

Speaking of the gate, we’ll surely have it installed this coming week. The one we ordered is STILL on backorder, seven weeks now, but we found another place that has them in stock. Whew. Besides, those empty gateposts look pretty silly!

And we have Bob and his friends, the .22s and so forth. Just picked up some new targets too, self-sealing rubber that bounce and spin and roll. Fun! And we always make time for target practice . . .

So we’re pretty well set. But then I figured up the time available for the big move next year, and we might have to get our butts in gear. See, we’re splitting time between home and the farm, but that works out to just over a month this summer. Come fall, we’ll have less time, and that works out to about two month, or three total, until we’re living on the farm.

Yikes!

Before that happens, we have some build-outs in the barn for storage, re-doing the lean-to, and adding walls inside the house. Plus a slight kitchen and bathroom remodel—those will be fairly easy, compared to the rest. I do, however, want that done before we move furniture and other stuff.

So, let the games begin! Feel like jumping in the truck and leaving right now!

THIS was the big project this past weekend: the garden. Now, we’re not talking containers, and we’ve moved well beyond our two at-home 40 X 3-foot raised beds, which we’re still using and are full. And no, the current size of the new one isn’t even close to what it’ll be when finished, all the way to the barn.

However.

Boy, do we need a tractor!

We have this push-trimmer thingy, not sure what it’s called, that we got from my father-in-law. It does a passable job, about two feet or so wide, but of course you have to push it. And, too, you have to move stuff first—like square wooden planter boxes and rocks.

A lot of rocks.

In fact, it appears that the former owner was mostly growing rocks—I kid you not, across the drive is a square planter box with LARGE ROCKS in it. Sheesh.

So last week, my husband cut the grass, over a foot high, and I moved rocks. This weekend, I finished digging them up. Or so I thought.

Even yesterday morning, when we left, I saw MORE. I promise, it’s like a crop down there . . .

Then we brought out the tiller. My husband said it’s a 1979 model. More like 1959, but whatever. It works—if you can hang on to the sucker! The first time, I gave up after a row; then I took on the challenge, which I’m paying for today. Just a bit. Guess I’m a little tougher than I thought!

So, I’m guesstimating that we have about a 50 X 25 foot area cleared, so far. And I used the rocks, to build a wall, a partial border. And I have a nice spot under the trees in back to sit and watch my rock crop grow . . .

As long as I share with Mr. Blackie.

Remember Blackie, our new pet? Cute as a button, about four inches long, smaller diameter than a pencil. Adorable.

We met his father, who is considerably larger than a pencil, and about 4-5 feet long.

He lived in the line of tires, also in the garden, that were put there for absolutely no discernible purpose except to grow weeds. And snakes.

All but four have migrated across the road—tires, not snakes—to create a bumper for extra parking. And next week, the planting will commence: asparagus, cantaloupe, zucchini, squash, green beans, and more.