The things I do when I should be sleeping ...

On a whim I bought a raspberry start from the Farmer's Market. I had been thinking about getting raspberries. But in a more ethereal way. As in how lovely would it be to pick raspberries off my very own vine.

What I had not considered was raspberry containment and protection and placement. Raspberries are delicious plants; tasty to chickens, deer and songbirds alike. They must, therefore, be fully protected.

A quick search of the internet brought me here. This fruit cage would look fabulous in my yard. Um yeah. Gorgeous as it is it's not *quite* in the budget.

Instead I pounded together some scrap lumber, painted it to match the bee box and splurged on a couple of copper fence toppers. Then I planted my lone bush and surrounded it with a tomato cage and deer netting. My carpentry is mediocre at best. I did not cement in the posts. Nor did I level them. There is a very good chance it will fall over. Flat.

But no matter. This is my test trellis, a prototype if you will. As the plant grows (and the world turns) I'll modify it to meet my needs (aka rebuild the whole thing in a sturdier manner).

And, if I'm lucky, come autumn I might, just might, have some fresh fruit to munch on.

xo.

The Beehive is done! The Beehive is done!

The beehive is assembled and completed. Now all we need are bees. We got a late start and should have ordered bees much earlier. All we can do is wait and see if a source becomes available.

In the meantime I'm enjoy the transformation of my yard. Spring has been slow to arrive. We are just now getting leaves on our trees. My peach and plum trees are full of blooms. The apricot appears to be taking a year off. I am eagerly anticipating the flowers in my garden and can't wait for home picked bouquets; lavender and shasta daisies, cat mint, lupines and black-eyed susans. Is it possible that all these things grow on my little plot of land?

This year I am also trying my hand at tomatoes. They are in the seedling stage and just about ready to be transplanted. Today they got their first dose of sun sans a window filter. Tomatoes are challenging here -- frost, deer, short growing season. But I'm not letting that stop me.

And then there are my chickens; four silver laced wyandottes and two easter eggers. I got the easter eggers because I wanted green eggs (+/- ham). I've yet to get a green egg and am highly suspicious that the two chickens I kept might be brown egg layers. Bugger!

Ah well. Nothing I can do about it at this stage in the game. Now, in honor of this beautiful day I am going to walk down the hill to get the girls from school. I hope your weather is as gorgeous as ours and you find some time to enjoy it.

xo.

A mound of luminous mulch rests in the road patiently awaiting relocation. She’s pulling weeds: grasses gone awry, seedlings from far away. She’s undoing the work of the earth and the dogs. She’s putting it back her way. Her biceps burn, as do her obliques - the toll of triathlon training.

Her friend arrives tomorrow, someone she hasn’t seen in eight years. Today she’s seeing her house through the eyes of another - an unkept garden, dirty floors, the filth muck of children and pets. It won’t all get done. She’s only one person. Her friend will see a snapshot of life instead of a pottery barn interior.

And yet she continues, pulling weeds, raking leaves, spreading mulch. She’s doing it for her friend, yes, but she’s also doing it for herself; to walk out on a crisp morning and inhale the aroma of mulched hemlock; the smell of decay and renewal, an organic reminder of the circle of life.

She inspects emerging perennials: hostas long thought dead sprouting from the depths of the earth, daffodils stretching towards the sun, bleeding hearts bursting from the soil in a fit of exuberance.

It occurs to her - she too is perennial: her aching musculature reaching for the surface like a bud from a bulb. So she continues; she keeps pulling, raking and spreading, running, biking and swimming. She continues knowing soon everything will be in bloom.

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For the past week I’ve been serious about my triathlon training. I ran, biked, swam and did yoga. I’m sore to be sure but feel great. I’ve also been very cognizant of my diet - limiting caffeine, sugar and processed foods. In addition I’ve been taking vitamins daily - a multi-vitamin, a magnesium supplement and a fish oil capsule.

And here is the interesting part - my heart palpitations have all but diminished. When I rest I don’t feel my heart bursting from my chest. Perhaps exercise and a healthy diet is what I needed all along - go figure!

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Today I'm loving my unkempt garden, my house full of messy children and my not yet fit body. What do you love?

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