Blackberry Beds

A series of storms is finally supposed to hit our area this coming week.  So far they don't sound like the kind of monster storms I'm longing for, but, with some luck, the ground will become saturated enough to allow some runoff into the pond.  I spent most of the day outside, working in the various gardens.  After yet another week dominated by more of the BIG school events that seem to pile on at this time of year (parent/teacher conferences, State Writing Test, county science fair and lesson study planning), a day of grubbiness in the garden was a blessing. 

Bruce bought railroad ties to build raised beds for the twelve blackberry plants we bought two weeks ago.  He's building two of them towards the bottom of the orchard garden.

 It complicates things having the garden on a hill that slopes in two directions -- nothing quite lines up like it's supposed to.   We stood there looking at all the wonky angles and off-kilter corners of the half-completed beds, but finally decided that, although symmetry has its place, that place isn't here.  It is, after all, Frogpond.

We lined the bottom of each bed with chicken wire and pray it keeps out the gophers.  We'll see how that works (I'm very much hoping that Max is a gopher-hunting cat). 

                                                                   Bruce used the tractor to bring scoops of compost to fill the beds. While he chugged back and forth from the compost heap to the garden (and it took a lot of trips), I used a shovel and rake to level the soil and work it into all the corners. 

When I went up to the house to get cups of tea, I got distracted.  First by Corny, who was banging his big front hoof on the metal rail of his pen - sort of like a prisoner banging his cup on the cell bars -  letting me know, in his ever-so-subtle way, that he wanted to be let out to graze.  Now.  Servant that I am, I got his hobbles and led him down to the lower garden where the grass is getting long and thick.  Corny quickly figured out that the hobbles mean fine dining.  He's so eager to get started (and I'm so slow) that he'd buckle the things on if he could figure out how to do it.  When I left him down there, front feet most cruelly chained together, I turned around and am pretty sure he was smiling at me. Next moment his head dove down into the grass.

After I got the tea, I wandered around for a few minutes with my camera.  Spring is springing up everywhere and I've been too busy to notice.

Bruce drove off for northern California at noon and will be gone until Tuesday.  He's attending a memorial service up in Yreka for a family member and is exactly where he should be.  It does feel strange to be here by myself though.  I spent the rest of the day outside, and got a huge area weeded.


 Now it's nighttime, I'm sitting at the table and it's very quiet.  There's a great horned owl hooting outside.

Even with five cats sitting around, keeping me company, I'm missing my Bear.  Hurry Tuesday.