REDUCED « Robin Writes

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.

What a whirlwind weekend! The kid was supposed to work Saturday morning, so we’d planned to go down to the farm early that afternoon. Then we had a birthday invite for the oldest granddaughter for Saturday night, so we thought, okay, we’ll just go Sunday morning and come back that night.

For the record, it’s about a 3-hour drive, so I’m not a fan of this. Friday afternoon, the kid found out he wasn’t working, due to the weather, and around noon on Saturday we got a call that the girls were sick, so that was postponed.

My husband said, “Let’s go!” so we threw some stuff in the truck and took off. We got there around 6:00, a little late to get started on any big projects, but I did get the house organized.

Now, you might think there isn’t much to that, considering a lack of furniture, etc., but things were starting to get cluttered. Ahem. Not by me! So I fixed all that, and then we spent a couple hours on the porch, just sitting and listening to the critters around us, and a little rain.

Sunday morning brought a few clouds, but we got all the rest of the trash and junk picked up. Sadly, we found more, and now have yet another pile of crap over by the garden—but hey, I said “garden!” With the help of a push trimmer, a weedeater, a hoe, and a wagon, we have a nice cleared area now.

Well, close enough. Still a lot of rocks, but they’re (mostly) dug up; we just need to move them.

I also transplanted a rose bush we found in the garden area, trying not to disturb our new “pet,” Blackie . . .

What else did we find in the garden? ANOTHER FLIPPIN’ AIR MATTRESS! What’s the count up to now? Ten? Fifty? They’re everywhere!

Then we brought out the chainsaw. While I pointed, my husband cut down all the scrub trees, mostly cedar, and we dragged them into a big pile for burning.

We headed back home around 3:00, managing to miss all the storms except for about 15 minutes of hard rain at the halfway point. Whew!