Winter Garden!

OK. Not really. Not yet anyway. BUT. I got a spot scoped out that is mostly clear and gets great light in the winter. It is also close to the camper, mostly level with a slight slope, and next to the small pond on the property. Also close to the future house site, and not far from the small field, which is next to the big field.

I am becoming painfully aware of the need for a map or something. Think of it as something to look forward to.

This little spot will be my winter garden! It will be! Watch me!

My mother and I have been trying to get the spot all the way clear - which was really just 4 trees and some bushy grass (like the only grass on the property, and why I now it'll get enough light and moisture for a garden). Sounds easy, right? 4 trees and some grass? We're on day two. And we're not done.

I messed up the angle of the cut, the top branches got caught and the damn thing hopped and remained upright. What am I talking about? That tree on the left has actually been liberated from its stump, which is just to the right of it.


The Beast TRIED to come to the rescue. After a while we realized that the winch cable would actually reach all the way into our little grove here. We got that sucker down pronto.

But nature is helping us out today - it is raining and the ground was so hard I knew there was no way the tiller would do anything to it the way it was. Hopefully this water will soak in enough to loosen it up a bit. Please? *commence wishful thinking*

My plan is to clear and till as much as the area as I can to try to prevent some of the inevitable shrubs and vines that'll come in full force this spring and summer. We have filing drawers all over the property left there by my great-grandfather that have gotten all rusty and lost their bottoms - and I plan on using them to retain my plants. The ground will be tilled under them giving the roots somewhere to go. A kind of semi-container, if you will. Plus it keeps them out of the landfill and keeps me from having to build proper raised beds this year. We've got so much on our plates I need all the help I can get!

Inchworm rescued from being felled with the tree. It was uber cute.