Garden Preparations

The best part of the day occurs in the early morning. The air only smells as sweet this the sun comes up. Quiet is broken as folks head off to work and the noise of cars begins to hum on Rte 1. When I was growing up on the island, the hum came from the lobster fishermen setting out for the morning to haul their catch. I enjoyed the early morning then, but I did not appreciate it as much as I do now. It is my zen time, my thinking time ....my thankful time.

We spent Easter Sunday redesigning the front garden. For the past several years it has served as a small tomato garden and garlic bed. The garden behind the house was much larger and spacious making it perfect for vining plants. This past fall, I let my sheep in to clean up the left overs and decided to keep them there as the mud all around the paddock was so deep from all of the endless rain. Last week I picked up my raised bed materials from the local lumber yard. Rough cut 2 inch thick, 12 foot long planks weighted down the truck as it was loaded. My son and I worked all morning cutting, nailing together and positioning the beds, as well as turning and amending the soil. It was no small feat moving the heavy planks into the garden, I could not have done it alone. The onions had been planted as well as some mesculn. No peas this year, it is just too late and this garden is not big enough. Instead we will fill this sunny spot with tomatoes and cukes, scallions, herbs and some squash. I am calling it the Gazpacho/Salsa Garden.The chickens helped out after the commotion of pounding hammers and grunting humans digging and tossing dirt around was over. This garden plot is full of worms, but the hens were more interested in the seedling weeds and any little bugs they could find. Once our vegetable seeds are planted though, the beds will be covered with chicken wire so these seedlings can not be scratched up and eaten by the hard working girls. They are the hardest workers I have ever seen, cleaning up the garden and tilling the soil. I'll be working on some new dyeing techniques this week, and hopefully finishing up a hooking project that I started a few weeks ago.