On the Garden Path at 5~Acre Farm: It's Raining, It's Pouring, and I'm Really Getting Grumpy

Saturday, May 23, 2009

It's Raining, It's Pouring, and I'm Really Getting Grumpy

John and I have had a few appointments away from home this week, but not as many as usual. You'd think this would have been a good week to work in the garden, but no; it's been raining all week (more like the last month), everything from downpours to drizzle, to misty little rains. Actually, this rain has been nearly continuous since early spring. Quite a change, as I've been accustomed to a short season of rain before the Georgia drought settled in.

Anyway, even this morning I had to go out in a drizzly rain to feed the chickens. And because we can't mow wet grass, the grass in the yard has grown to more than knee-high. As a child, I was not one to go out and play in the rain. As an adult, I am still not inclined to do so. Like this morning, I go out into the rain when I have to. Otherwise, I can admire the rain from the safety of indoors, or a covered patio.

So I haven't been able to spend much time in the garden - not more than enough for a walk-through inspection. Here's what I know about my garden right now:

I really need to get tomato cages up. I've got a few up, but there are still plenty of tomato plants starting to sprawl across the ground.
The watermelon plants seem to be growing very slowly.
The cantaloupe and pumpkin are growing thick and reaching out tentatively to spread.
Strong winds broke off one or two of the pepper plants, but they are still growing.
Some of the cucumber vines are starting to climb up the old windmill I set up for them, but they have a long way to go.
To my amazement, the broccoli plants in my container garden are finally having a decent show of heads.
I have two banana pepper plants in containers that have grown three feet tall and need support; but they have some beautiful big peppers on them.
A third banana pepper is stunted and drowning in a pot without drainage.
My container garden on the front deck is crowded.

It's this last point that has been getting to me the most in the last few weeks. Every time I have stepped out onto the deck to work in my container garden, it starts to rain. Then, it stops shortly after I give up and go back inside. By then, however, I am into some other project indoors and don't think about going back outside.

Yesterday I was trying to transplant some herb plants I'd bought the day before. I managed to transplant two before a misty little drop here and there became a drizzly downpour. I was determined to keep working in spite of the rain, and managed to also transplant three bush cucumber plants into large containers. At that point, I needed more room on the deck. I stepped around to the side of the deck to remove a large planter with two broccoli in it. I debated calling on John for help several times before I decided I could do it myself. It was just one turn and two steps to the spot where I wanted to put the container.

What I didn't notice, once I had the huge, heavy pot in my arms, was the stair railing. John took down the stairs last year to keep the dogs off the deck and out of the plants, but he didn't take down the railing, which was hiding in the tall grass. I tripped over that and some timbers he'd left on the ground, and went down with the big pot still in my arms. I hit my thigh on some wood in the grass, my neck on the railing, and my face on the edge of the table my herbs are on. My gardening efforts were quite suddenly over for the day.

I went inside, drenched and hurting, and climbed into a warm shower. There is some swelling around my left eye, but no bruising. The back, left side of my neck is very sore and showing a long narrow bruise, and my left thigh is sore.

On a brighter note, on Friday, John had the wonderful idea for us to go on a date! We drove over to Lawrenceville to the $1.99 movie theater to see Nicholas Cage in "Knowing." We've never been to that theater and thought it would be a nice inexpensive treat. (Laughing now, you'll know why later!)

We didn't call ahead to check the movie time until we were already on the road and on our way. We discovered that we were way too early for the movie - three hours too early. So we decided to have an early dinner. Along the way, however, we spotted a plant nursery, and John pulled in. Unplanned free time is a dangerous thing sometimes.

My senses were overwhelmed by the beauty I encountered. Heavenly scents! Stunning color! Textures! The delicate flower shapes! The various shades of green! And I couldn't afford any of it! Well, not until I stepped back outside and saw the wide variety of herbs in 4.5 inch pots for $3.95 each. I still couldn't afford them, but at that price, I could not afford to pass them up. So I decided on 10 herbs, making sure all had culinary uses:

Ginger Mint
Golden Oregano
Winter Savory
Chives
Lemon Verbena
Red Creeping Thyme
Purple Basil
Tansy
Archer's Gold Thyme
Sorrel
Chives

I already have:
Rosemary
Oregano
Lemon Thyme
Lavender
Sweet Basil
Curly Parsley
Flat Leaf Parsley
Coriander
Dill
Sage
Stevia

It was really nice to see the variety of herbs at the nursery we visited. I didn't think I could find that significant a variety locally, and was very pleased. If anyone in Georgia is interested, the place is:

Still Lake Nursery
745 Scenic Hwy
Lawrenceville, GA 30045
770-962-1880

We ate at Burger King in Snellville, and then hustled over the theater. We enjoyed the movie, but discussed the ending extensively. It was interesting, but (I thought) weak.

The whole evening cost us about $60.00 (insert laughter here). Not cheap at all, but we brought more home than empty drink cups this time!

No comments:

Post a Comment

John and Michelle, and 5 Acre Farm

How We Came To Be

John was born and raised in Georgia by parents who lived incredible lives of their own, and passed on to John a rich family history from both sides. He was a die hard Boy Scout, and later, spent 17 years as a Troop Leader. He earned a dual Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering degree at ABAC in Tipton, where he also started the college's radio station. After college, John served on nuclear submarines in the Navy, where he once saved the lives of his shipmates, and, rumor has it, did many incredible things in the service of our country. He married and had a family, and after the Navy, worked briefly with the EPA before opening his own HVAC-Refrigeration company. John was inventive as a child, and that carried over into everything in his life. He is a fixer of severe mechanical problems, and an inventor of all kinds of things that improve on or simplify existing machinery, equipment, and ideas. His inventions are unique, and some of them may some day aide humanity, save lives, and save our planet if we can get the right people to listen.

My dad was career Army. I was born in France, and introduced, at a very young age, to the Virginia countryside, where we raised rabbits and chickens. After dad retired, we moved to North Carolina, his home state, where we spent many years on the coast, near Wilmington. Here, we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, and fished commercially. Our freezer was always full of fresh Spot and shrimp, and oyster roasts were a weekly event! As a young adult I lived with my family in the mountains south of Asheville. Here too we had a garden, raised cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks, as well as geese and peacocks. I worked for many years with an arts council, Christian organizations, and other non-profits. I helped train missionaries, researched/wrote grants, produced professional documents, edited newsletters, and wrote a lot of publicity materials. I already had two Associate degrees, but in my late 30s I finally completed an undergraduate degree in English/Art History. For 20 years I was active in community theater, sang solos with a community choir, and danced with a show choir. Treasured memories! I moved to Georgia in late 1998, and married my first husband in 2002. I was 45. Eighteen months later, I was widowed.

John and I first met in 2000. After I was widowed, and John was divorced, we found each other again. Of like minds, spirits, and goals, our hearts came together quickly, and we married in 2005. Each of us has undergone Elijah House training, and we were both ordained into ministry in 2006. I have been a Christian counselor and prayer warrior for probably 30 years. John and I live to put God first in our lives, and in our dreams for this small piece of earth of which we are the caretakers.

We call our place "5 Acre Farm." John's father took this barren, overworked field from a larger parcel of farmland in the mid-70s. He fenced off about three-quarters of an acre for the house, and added plants, flowers, and trees. Elsewhere, he transformed the property through years of hard work, adding an apple orchard, peach trees, pears, two fig orchards, grape vines, and a greenhouse. John and I have been trying to continue his father's work on this land, adding to it with our own hopes and dreams, and our late-in-life efforts. Not a day goes by that I don't feel great respect for John's father, for the man he was, for the work he did here, and gratitude for the bounty we reap because of his hard work.

John and I are in our 50s, just starting life together, but with age and health trying to work against us. We aren't ready to sit down and take it easy. We have a goal to become self-sufficient by growing our own food (meat and vegetables), and getting off the grid. The challenges we face in doing this are age, health, and finances. John's inventiveness is being strongly applied, as is my gift for budget stretching and frugality. Our strength? The love we have for each other, and the trust that we are working inside the will of God.

One of the things we ask ourselves now and then is this: "Is it worth it?" I never had children. John's son has set his own path with family and career. There does not seem to be anyone we can leave this property to who will continue the work and the dream; one of John's grandchildren, perhaps, but they are very young right now, and do not yet notice or care.

So, is it worth it (all the work and expense) if there is every chance this land will end up in the hands of developers after we're gone? Well, our answer to that question so far is always "Yes, it's worth it." It's worth it to us, because of what we are accomplishing here in our lifetime. It's worth it because what we grow here we share with family, with friends, and with our community. And not just what we grow, but our faith and philosophy, our hopes and dreams, and our very desire to leave at least our little part of the world better than it was when we found it. We are living - consciously, and deliberately - a lifestyle that expresses who we are and what we believe. Does anybody care? Why don't read our blog, leave a comment, and let us know.