My own yard - early spring

Aaron and I spent all day in the yard Saturday. Here's a good before-and-after of our progress:

Before

After

We laid down cardboard and then mixed a truckload of free compost (picked up at Frank & Sims - so grateful for this place) with some of the mulched leaves we stockpiled last fall and spread that over the cardboard. The large mass of dirt closest to the camera will home to a lot of tomato plants. I'm doing three sun golds and the rest a paste tomato called Grandma Mary's, for canning.

The little plastic domes in the tiny raised bed are protecting parsley, the only thing I've planted so far. I'm hoping to get pea, kale, spinach, and carrot seeds in the ground today or tomorrow, if the rain lets up a bit.

The green shoots in the tiny raised bed next to that one are garlic! I planted pretty late last fall and was a little worried about whether or not they would come up, but they're doing great.

I also have a bunch of tulips being green, some sorrel and chives, and some lovage, which I didn't realize would over-winter. Hostas are starting to come up, too.

Progress?

In February, I set these goals for the time remaining before I start on the farm:

• Go to the gym a lot and try to make muscles happen.
• Read a lot about permaculture.
• Read a lot about taking care of chickens.
• Read a lot about taking care of cows.
• Practice baking pies (so far, pies have given me a very, very hard time).
• Start my own seeds inside and scale back my yard-transformation plans a bit.

Can't say I've been terribly successful, mostly because I've allowed knitting to turn into an obsession that consumes most of my free time. Updates on each of the above:

• I canceled my gym membership because I wasn't using it.
• I read Gaia's Garden, checked out a bunch more permaculture books from the library, read half of one, and knit instead of reading any more than that.
• Nothing.
• Nothing.
• I did make one very successful quiche, which gives me hope.
• Done! My seeds are doing well - all but the peppers, which don't want to germinate. And I have more modest expectations for what I will accomplish in the yard this year.

With this in mind, here are my goals for the two weeks that remain before I start on the farm:

• Daily yoga. I've gotten out of this habit, which was my daily goal for the year. Bad. It's helpful in so, so many ways - very worth making the time to do it, even if it means I knit a few less rows each day. Also, I need to do vigorous yoga for now, with a focus on arms.
• Read a book about chicken care.
• Read a book about milk cows.
• Bake at least two pies.

This is reasonable.