Since moving here, I haven't spent much time outside at all.
Why is that..? Well, I've lived in Florida for around 13 years, and anything below 70 degrees is just freezing to me. Imagine me in Maine. I don't even have a winter jacket yet!!
But today we braved the elements in order to get started on our vegetable garden..and oh boy....
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| Has anyone ever played the game "Harvest Moon"? It's like that. |
We sure have a lot of work to do.
But first, we explore.
This is the stable we are converting into a chicken coop. I never thought I'd have a stable "out back" or chickens. But I guess that I do, now!
This is the path in and out of the stable.. we need to clear all of these out before the chickens can go outside. We have a little bit of time, though. About 2 months.
The backyard. As a former city girl, my idea of the great outdoors usually includes pool chairs and a hot tub. Trees are palm, the ground is grassy and sprayed with pesticides, and dirt is...well, dirty. You never know what's been digging around in there.
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| In the country, you know that this little guy has!! :) |
I did have initial squeamishness about digging and getting dirty, but it fades pretty quickly and we found out the soil underneath all that brush smelled different than the Florida dirt..it smelled earthy and was this dark, chocolate brown. When things grow here, they grow really well.
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| A baby Christmas tree!!! |
Everyone that comes to visit asks me if I'm used to it yet. Well, my answer is a definite no. All my life I've lived in apartments, 5 minutes from someplace. I don't have a car and I've never learned to drive because I've never needed to. I work, go to school, grocery shop, everything..across the street. A block away. Now, everything is 30 minutes away, by car. My "yard" has almost always been a 2x6' strip of concrete patio. I need to go down into the basement and turn water on to take a shower. I got so scared sleeping in pure, pitch blackness for the first week. I think Big J laughed hardest when I said, "What's a septic tank?" (I mean!! In my defense, you don't need to worry about that in an apartment.)
Most of all, I miss my family. My mom and sisters are now across the country. I got used to seeing them every day.
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| Well, I still have you, Mr. Frog. |
Well, I just think of this as an opportunity to grow where I'm planted. I will have a lot of time to craft, write, sew, draw, create..away from the constant buzz of city life. I do want to raise my son in a more organic atmosphere. I want to grow...so here's to trying.
PS. that man-hand in the frog pics is not mine!! It's Big J's.
