You may notice that today’s post is a little late. Yes, I laid out this schedule myself but I like to be consistent. The reason I didn’t have this ready to publish first thing this morning is that I’ve had a hard time sitting still long enough to write. After the year plus of Covid confinement and a very long and grey winter, I have wanted to drink in every new sign of spring and get my hands in the dirt. Literally. When I was a little kid, I loved being dirty (really, what kid doesn’t?), and would jump at the chance to help my father plant saplings at our log cabin. There’s actually a home video somewhere of me crouched on the ground next to him, pulling up worms for us to put on the end of our fishing line, and grabbing handful after handful of dirt. I had forgotten that simple pleasure until last summer, when I was also stir-crazy and needed to be outside, and started playing around in our small patch of Brooklyn earth. What happened was that I unwittingly uncovered latent weeds that soon towered almost 5 feet tall. (Our poor neighbors!) I was able to grow a pretty successful crop of basil in some raised beds, however, but stopped at that. We didn’t attempt anything in the actual ground since we couldn’t be sure what kinds of chemicals or general city pollutants were lurking underneath.

Now, here we are, the owners (hooray! It’s official!), and stewards of this plot of land. The gardens had at one time been so beautifully laid out and tended, according to some old listing photos I found online. The most recent owner really neglected the property, though, which has made our job all the harder. BUT, even in this there is a kind of satisfaction. We’ve spent the past 4 weekends tugging up roots, identifying plants as best we can, and scrambling to learn about things like the ideal soil makeup and frost dates. In the past week in particular, determined little buds are poking their green heads up through the ground almost as we watch. And then we snap a photo or two and ask the Facebook Plant Identification group what they are so we can research how best to care for them. Maybe the fact that they’d been neglected for so many years makes me want to tend them that much more closely. Regardless, I have found a new obsession: plants.

Now, the last post was a bit “negative” in terms of what we have here (a horribly impressive infestation of bittersweet). But today I’d love to mull over some of the wonderful discoveries we’ve made. After spending weeks of attacking invasive vines I started to worry what other predatory plants were lurking and posted a photo of some purplish thorny branches I’d seen scattered around the property. And whaddaya know… Two words: black raspberries. What a score! They’re not neatly laid out in a row like the images I found on Google, but I think with some tending they’ll find some order and certainly a lot of use. A few of the branches were trampled (by us? Sadie?), and all of them were either lying flat on the ground or draped across a nearby tree. So first order of business was pruning. What do I know about pruning? Ha. I won’t even answer that. But with my amazing new pair of titanium pruning shears, I did what I could. Next up will be creating a trellis for them so that the weight of the berries doesn’t pull the branches to the ground where the harvest won’t be as fruitful. (See what I did there?) I also noticed quite a lot of deer droppings on the ground around these bushes so I may also have to devise a fence or netting to keep them protected.

In the house, I’ve started a growing station for herbs and some flowers. Basil, of course, but also dill, kale, lavender, and parsley, which is doing particularly well! I probably started the seedlings a bit too early since I was so desperate to see some green after the gloom, so it means I’m having to transplant them to bigger pots now instead of waiting for their move outside. Small matter, as long as I do it delicately enough so they’re not damaged in the process. (So far I’ve lost only one kale stalk…) What will happen when they move outdoors, you ask? Good question. I *know* I should send a soil sample to a lab for testing so I can get a sense of what soil amendments I need. Are we too acidic? Alkaline? Is our soil sandy or clay or loam? But that honestly starts to make my head hurt a little. And again, I’m impatient so I’m thinking I’ll dive right in and see what works. This year is all about taking risks, right? (The healthy ones, at least.) So for now I’m thinking I won’t plant much in the actual earth but rely instead on raised beds. I found a local builder on Craigslist who delivered a handmade galvanized steel and wooden raised bed just last week to us. It’s got a base and is up on risers, so it comes right to my waist for easy planting and harvesting. It’s about 4′ long, so should hold plenty of parsley and basil… I may end up buying another for lavender and mint, if the seedlings ever germinate. I bought a bunch of simple wooden crates at Michael’s on sale for $10 a piece, and they’ll work really well for either flowers or additional herbs. I may even scatter them around the property so I can access them for the ducks or for our own dinner.

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There is a place on the property that clearly was a vegetable garden, once upon a time. Right now it’s better described as a big ol’ mess. Again, bittersweet everywhere. The gate is broken and the fence needs some TLC. And I don’t even know the state of the soil. I’d love to have this be the spot where I plant things next year, maybe even in the ground itself, but we’re a long way from that. First and foremost, the vines need to be clipped away and burned. Then the gate needs to be rebuilt. And then I’d even like to put a frame overhead so that deer can’t get in. The even bigger plan is to let the ducks in for foraging at the end of each growing season, to help clear the land and fertilize the soil as they go! I’ve recently been hearing about over-winter gardening, where you plant something like garlic (yes please!), in the fall, it germinates over the winter, and emerges in the late spring. The ducks “contribution” would help with the ground’s organic matter, and hopefully provide bigger, healthier garlic the following year. And fun fact: ducks can and should eat raw garlic! Love that beautiful ecological cycle. So to back up, an overhead covering would also keep the ducks safe as they make their garden grow. We’ve seen quite a few hawks circling overhead each day, on the lookout for a meal. Thankfully, Sadie is almost 40 pounds so we don’t worry about her. The ducklings should only reach about 4.5 pounds, so the aerial threats are real. The herb garden, if covered by a frame and some chicken wire, should be a safe place for them. (And also, in the winter, a tarp or heavy plastic cover will act as a greenhouse roof to the garden!)

The duck run is also in need of some protective updates, and that’s on our list for this weekend. Apparently fishing line strung at 3′ intervals overhead will deter hawks from swooping in and snatching our girls. An easy and cost-efficient fix. And while I’m on the topic of ducks, I have a confession. Remember a few months ago when I adamantly refused to purchase ducks from an online hatchery? This is me eating my words. The local farmer I had been communicating with shared that her ducks have been “lazy layers” and there weren’t enough to put in the incubator yet. If I kept waiting, the ducks wouldn’t reach laying age themselves before winter, when the egg rate tapers off anyway. I decided I wasn’t willing to forgo this whole year without our own supply of fresh eggs, so I resorted to the thing I had sworn I wouldn’t do. If you judge me, I don’t blame you. But let’s think of this as an experiment of sorts, and hope that it all goes smoothly. The hatchery is one of the most famous and reputable, so I can only assume they know what they’re doing. I’ve decided to pop into the local post office a few days before the ducklings are due to arrive, just to give them a heads up and make sure they have my phone number. I even just switched my vaccine appointment since my second dose was scheduled to be on that very same date of their arrival! It’s only been delayed 5 days, which I think is a totally reasonable solution. I ordered 3 females, which does still leave the possibility for duck math, should I decide to take a few from the farmer after all. Or maybe I’ll wait until next year and get to do another round of baby rearing all over again!

In case you’re wondering, the ducks are due to arrive 3 weeks from this Wednesday. So bear with me as I mull over what I have to do before then:

• Bury hardware cloth around the perimeter of the duck run so predators can’t dig their way in
• String fishing line over their outdoor run
• Assemble their brooder (I have all the parts ready to go)
• Review my homemade manual compiled from all my sources of research
• Buy first aid items (VetRx spray, scalpel, and tweezers. Yes, I’m serious.)
• Wait.
• Wait.
• Keep waiting…

For those of you that are a little more interested in the decor aspect of this adventure, I do have a few fun things to share. Maybe you saw on my post months ago that I’d bought a few vintage light sconces from Craigslist in Brooklyn…? We finally installed them in our upstairs bathroom and I must say, they are gorgeous. Before they were on the wall I worried they were a little outdated and that maybe I should go for a modern fixture instead. Nope. These are just what that bathroom wanted! They’re brass, which is my personal favorite, and I hope to eventually switch out all the nickel knobs, bars, and hooks in the bathroom to follow suit. But for now, the sconces make a huge difference.

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We’ve also been slowly adding furniture to the porch, like an Amish made swing, some pillows for our wooden recliners, and some wicker storage tables. It’s been so lovely sitting out there in the early evening before the sun sets, doing a crossword together or just chatting about our day. And this is just the beginning of the season for porch sitting!

We also managed to get a tile person to come in and look at the kitchen backsplash, which we want replaced. It was surprisingly hard to get scheduled, since so many people are doing home remodels! This guy is so nice and works for a well-reviewed company, so we’re confident he’ll do a good job. Plus, he quoted us less than half of what I expected to pay, so I’m thrilled! As for the stone itself, I ordered a simple white subway tile with just a little waviness to the texture, so it catches the light in an interesting way. The job is scheduled for just a few weeks from now and I am so excited to see the finished product. I already love the kitchen and I imagine I’ll love it even more once we’ve made this aesthetic upgrade.

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There’s always something that could be done around here, whether in the house or outside. And as the spring turns into summer, we’ll have even more tending and weeding to do. In one of our recent “tours” around the property we noticed some water damage to the side of the house from a leaky gutter, and it will have to be looked at. I still know next to nothing about plants or gardening, so I’m reading my Mother Earth News (compliments of my mother), as well as Eliot Coleman’s “The New Organic Grower.” Yes, I’m overwhelmed a lot by all that I don’t know. And as a perfectionist, I care about doing things “right” or at least “well enough.” So I’m reminding myself of what my father would say, “This is all a great adventure.” And I do think he would say that, because I just learned from my mother that I’m living the lifestyle he always dreamed of. I never knew that, but now so much of this makes sense. My discovery of this new dream I didn’t know I had came to me as an accident, or so I thought. Maybe he planted a seed for me a long time ago that took years to germinate, but now it’s growing sure and strong.