Looking back.....

This photo was taken in April 2006, a month after we moved in to our little homestead. Hubsters is tilling the garden - our new garden - for the first time. We were so excited about our little plot of land that even this chore was an adventure.

While he was tilling, I was puttering about doing odds and ends. I came over to see how things were going and my husband stopped tilling for just a moment, turned to me and said " this is home." I'll never forget those words or the look in his eyes. It all felt so right. We've always made where we've lived a home, but, this place has a connection with the land that we've never felt any other place we've lived. It has an energy that both of us picked up on and makes us feel grounded. It's an awesome feeling!

This photo was taken in September 2006 and shows the beginning of the meadow. It's full of summer grass with paths cut throughout for walking. Not much changed the first year of the meadow - no wildflowers or other wild things that grow when you leave the landscape design up to Mother Nature. But, she has re-designed it quite a bit over the last couple of years. That'll be for another post.

We put up the fenced area for the dogs to run and frolic and to keep all the dogs who roam at random out. We have a couple of not very nice dogs about which Finnegan and I discovered about two days after we moved in.

Since we've put the fence in, we now have gardens on either side of it. Actually, we grow most of our berries on the outside perimeters - blueberries, raspberries, and two types of blackberries.

On the inside perimeters we have perennial beds and grasses along with a Japanese Maple which hubsters planted for me this past spring. We fill the bare spots with annuals until the perennials fill in.

Right on the other side of the back fence line is where the new garden, greenhouse, and composting bins will be.

In looking back, we have accomplished so much around our little homestead, but, it feels like only a drop in the bucket. Our problem is we keep thinking of new ideas and projects. Well, it's not fair to say problem. Our creative juices and desire to learn and do new things keeps the ideas and projects rolling. There is always something to learn when growing things whether it be families or flowers.

I don't mind. Learning keeps you young.