Garden Progress Updates!

I’m not one to be afraid of hard labor or a tasking project. I love working hard to achieve the outcome I desire (or, in most cases, something close to the desired outcome because you know, things change). It’s very satisfying to step back, look at what was achieved and be like “yeah, I busted my butt and I accomplished that!” To say that I’m enjoying the challenge and hard work of turning a grassy, shrubby, weedy “field” into a garden is truly no lie.

While I’m brush cutting, tilling, using the mattock to remove stubborn roots, raking, layering cardboard, shoveling mulch and compost and then more and more (…and more) shoveling, I’m thinking about the delicious food that will be grown to healthfully feed my family.

I’m thinking about not having to grocery shop (well, maybe just a little).

I’m thinking about how living off a significantly smaller income is going to work just fine, because we’ll provide the majority of our own food.

I’m thinking about how dirty the sink is going to be when I wash my hands, which is a strangely gratifying sign of my hard work.

I’m thinking about how keeping up with our healthy lifestyle will be that much easier, we’ll be more active because of the garden and then eating clean, whole foods as a reward.

Okay, so while I’m working, I’m also thinking about how a rabbit or deer is going to come and obliterate the whole garden in one gluttonous feeding.

I’m thinking about how our dog is going to run through it and demolish every living thing.

Which is why I’m also thinking about the fence, where it should be, and planning the permaculture and no-till design of our garden.  When you are working by yourself, you have a lot of time to think about possibilities.

Here’s a snapshot of what our possibilities look like after a few days of hard work. It’s really coming along!

More compost will be shoveled and most of the garden will be planted over Memorial Day weekend. To most people’s surprise, we are zone 5B on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Being surrounded by water has some magical wonders. Not bad for the 47th parallel north!

As I’m finishing this blog post,  I’m thinking about how real this quote is in my life:

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”   ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Peace, Love, and Nature,

-L