It’s been a day dedicated to the house – and, of course, the garden. Simon is still hard at it. Sheathing the house would seem a straightforward job. But no – straight lines and things done logically don’t figure into the equation. So Simon has to get creative with EVERYTHING. And he had to crawl under porches and – well, yuck is all I can say. But damitall, he’s making it look amazing.

So now, with the trellis up and the logs and rocks moved, I planted my flower garden with all the gorgeous flowers Sheila gifted me last fall. Finally, they were out of their holding bed and into the flower bed. You may even notice the little Inukshuk I built because – hey – the log looked like it needed one.

I finished sowing the garden – put up the bean poles – in case you were wondering what the motley collection of bent tree branches were all about. Hey – why buy bamboo poles when you can dig out far more creative and interesting ones from the back four?

Ditto goes for tomato stakes – creative for sure.

So – it’s all planted and we should have plenty to feed us all summer: peas, radishes, carrots, squash, garlic, onions, broccoli, cucumbers. lettuce, spinach, collards, chard, beans, bok choy, raspberries, strawberries, and likely a few other things I’ve forgotten.

I’d forgotten how much I love gardening. It feels inordinately good to look at the tidy, well-ordered beds and the pretty flower beds, knowing they’ll thrive if the critters don’t get at them – which they will but I hope there’s enough for all of us.

We have a house showing tomorrow so it will be a morning of cleaning, tidying, staging and then getting out of here and down to the laundromat (not getting my new washer and dryer until Wednesday).

Now that spring is here and it all looks so lovely, I can completely understand why Simon loves it and why he will be sorry to leave. I have some of the same feelings. We (especially he) have worked hard to do all this and, of course, the more we do , the nicer it is and the better it is to be here.

But then there’s the snow…