There is life!

Can you see it? the tiny speck of a lettuce sprout, the first of many.

the neighbors

In the early morning light we watched a family of deer make their way around the whole yard. Red was trying to determine which one was a buck while I watched them sniff and nibble on every branch and plant as they passed.

He is getting excited now, "We are right in their regular route. They must sleep out under the white pines between here and cranberry acres. They probably come by here looking for food. I've got to get a tree stand in one of these trees."

I'm getting worried now, "Food, huh? Really, you think they come by here every morning and night? Do you think they'll jump into the garden? How much deer fence do you think we'll need? How can we keep them away?...."

No reply. I realize this isn't going to be easy.

"Hey, get away from the holly!"

Green

Last Spring

This time last year we were in Europe visiting brother daniel in Wales. We flew into Birmingham and took the train to Aberystwyth where he was studying. I fell fast asleep once we got settled on the train but was soon woken up by the jerk of the train easing to a stop. Peeking through my sleepy half shut lids I saw rolling green hills speckled with tufts of cotton or more likely wool. It was lambing season and like a dream or a commercial for fabric softener or
something. The little lambs ran around like children at recess chasing the train as it passed. Wales was ethereal and so quintessentially spring. After a few days we traveled to London and spent Easter in Kensington Gardens. It was a stunning a sunny day, perfect for an English breakfast and a stroll through Hyde Park. Spring in London is supposed to be rainy but we lucked out with four sunny days. We were going to go to France next as this was intended to be a grand European museum tour to supplement brother daniel's art education. The fates intervened -France was foiled -we were going to Amsterdam! A few short hours later we were in the air watching the coastal islands pass below us. As we approached our destination the canals became visible. We looked out over Holland, the fields and canals looked like a sea of patchwork and ribbon. Squares of red, purple, yellow, and orange were all fields of tulips in full bloom!!! It was breathtaking. While we were in Amsterdam we visited the botanical gardens where saw my first Redwood tree! There were three tropical greenhouses ranging in temperatures, a butterfly house and acres to walk around and enjoy.
This Spring I am having fun watching the progress of a new garden and a new climate. In moments between the raking and the pruning I am revelling in the memories of Last Spring.

First Flowers

There is no feeling of joy comparable to the feeling a gardener gets when the first sign of life springs from the cold ground. Especially in New England where the wintry weather seems to linger forever. Though the days are longer and the sun keeps shining and it feels as spring is on it's heels.

These are the first flowers I've found this

Spring. The snowdrops I saw in peggy's yard, they've been blooming since the end of February. Followed by the first white crocuses. I wonder why white varieties of bulbs bloom first? perhaps they are hardier and more able to take on the winter weather still lurking around. The next springtime spectacular was the witch hazel that is still blooming in the corner of Peggy's perennial garden. It was given to her as a gift when her mother passed away. What a joy to see bright golden yellow blooms against a blue sky, far before the forsythia's first bud cracks open.

Soon to follow will be the daffodils, tulips and Hyacinthe's. Daylilly stocks are pushing up and soon we should be seeing the sleepy eyes of the peonies beginning to wake up. Until then I'm enjoying the flash of green and the hope of what's to come.

Easter

The first weekend of warm workable soil or should I say the first weekend the very cautious Rental Lady at Tilton's felt like the ground was dry enough to rent out her rototiller.
Ah yes, the tiller, we tilled a ton of new earth, built a composter out of pallets, a huge new raised bed and turned the old garden over. We transplanted some double fruiting raspberries outside our fenced garden and freed a young apple tree found on the property from the grip of a vicious vine that was sure to cause its demise.
The fact that I can outline all of this work in a paragraph gives no justice to the labor it took to accomplish these tasks. The entire Saturday before Easter was devoted to transforming the old garden to the new garden (or farm as we like to call it). We woke early and gathered provisions and breakfast sandwiches. Wood for the new raised beds was half price "hags" or junky boards and pallets from Cottle's Lumber. Red got soil and compost earlier in the week with the dump truck from work Our Farm consists of the wild apple tree and raspberry patch, fenced garden and new raised bed for vegetables, lettuce and greens bed, cutting garden and clover patch ( so Red can lure, I mean feed the deer). A modest garden for a small family of budding homesteaders. The soil in our West Tisbury 'farmstead' is a sandy composite of local top soil and aged island compost with a significant amount of lime added to encourage a host of natural bacteria to flourish and balance the soil ph, as the sandy soil tends to be deficient in natural lime. One might think it too early to start a garden, however this winter was very mild and the ground has been thawed for weeks so we've decided to get a jump on the preparations as to make it easier on ourselves in future weeks. Also I was feeling the pressure of early peas and lettuce to 'get on with it already' the seeds have been sitting in packets on my desk for a few weeks already. And I wont deny I crave the sight of something growing in the garden, it's Spring already! My favorite part? It looks just like I've planned it for the past two months- like my drawing came to life. I hope our hard work shows and that ultimately our garden is as productive as we are.
So with earth tilled and refreshed, weeds combated, beds ready and peas planted I'm ready for a beer...