We have this space, about 1100 sq.ft., that the former owners reportedly used for “gardening.” There are a couple of raised beds, but the areas around them were, well, questionably a former extension of this “garden.”
What’s one to do, then?
Fence it. Till it. Garden in it. Right?
Easy answer. Not so easy to knock out, around a steady stream of work and the other pulls of life. Easier, to be sure, to knock it out after the ground thaws and before Fly Fishing season kicks back in (after which point major, time-consuming projects have to be compared and scheduled against the current and forecast river flows and water temps), of course.
So, the fencing actually got done last year (after the end of that Fishing season, and before the cold really set in), leaving just the tilling for me to knock out. After that, it is mainly my wife and daughters that take care of the gardening, by their choice.
Outside of the sprinklers, of course. But, like pressure washing … well … anything, for a guy, this is much more recreational than work.
This was how half of the “garden” looked, yesterday morning.
I had already tilled the raised bed, before I realized I had forgotten to take a full “before” shot. Fairly level ground, suggestive of previously being worked, right?
Ummm … wrong.
As I said to some good friends, IF the previous owners actually had used this area for gardening, then they must have been cultivating rocks. Lots of rocks. Many sizes of rocks. Several types, although I doubt any are unique enough to be considered “Heirloom Varieties,” or otherwise of more value than to possibly use for filling in holes in low walls or frantic and panicked defense against wild animals (or door-to-door solicitors).
Worse, yet, the former owners appear to have sold the property before harvesting their final “crop.”
Thanks.
At one point, I actually considered only getting the rental tiller for the minimum, 4-hour, block of time.
Yeah, that would not have worked.
In the end, I spent more than 4 hours actively engaged in tilling, not to mention the transport, cleanup, and occasional breaks to allow my hands to regain some sense of feeling. Oh, and straightening bent tiller tines. Cannot forget that. However, the final result was definitely worth it.
Surprised I actually got that shot, given that my hands did not want to fully close to the point of really grasping my phone, and the areas where my skin had skipped “blister” and gone straight to “lose tissue” suggested that I might just smear the lens before getting the picture.
Job done. Using my old Aikido wrist stretches to try to regain flexibility, which is working, but painful. Can’t wait to eat whatever we produce from this garden, now that it is truly reclaimed. Also looking for something to use that piles of rocks for, that will somehow punish each one of them for the shockwaves sent through the tiller handle, over and over again.
Really, it was a good day.
Honest.
Tight lines…