Big weekend

Our friends and next door neighbors are getting married here on Saturday, hence, there has been a flurry of work on the garden to get it presentable. It's the first real "event" we’ve had here, and we’re recklessly flying along the learning curve at high speed.

An added bonus…the woman who lives in the cabin here at the ranch, Cara, is doing the catering. She is going to culinary school, and has a private chef/catering business. Today she'll be grilling vegetables on the fire pit in preparation.

In addition to the excitement of the joyous occasion, holding a wedding here brings together a lot of ideas and shared visions that we've imagined for the ranch. The experience will be educational for us. Is it a reasonable idea to hold a small event here? Do we ever want to go through this again? Can we do all of it without having a heart attack? The only way to find out is to try. We love the idea of forming a team with the people who live here to work on projects that benefit all involved. It helps that M & J, although they are understandably under a lot of pressure, are very easygoing for a soon-to-be-married couple. J is about the polar opposite of a "bridezilla".

We've been spending a lot of time working in the garden, and observing how the shade falls around midday to plan how it will be set up.

Recently we bought a ride-on mower so Popsey won’t have to plod along waving the weed whacker around for days upon days to mow the meadow. We are pleased to introduce Hugo the Lawn Tractor:

Popsey can now mow large areas without becoming a grass-covered, brain-dead zombie. At the same time it’s giving the property an even, manicured look we could never achieve before. There are still plenty of gopher holes, though Popsey is trying to fill them faster than the gophers make them. He hasn’t caught any lately and I suspect they may have had babies. Lots of babies. Ug.

We have been pruning branches on the oaks, weeding the plant beds, and moving rocks to different places. The garden is taking shape, and the results of years of work, starting with removing hundreds of feet of chicken coops, are coming into fruition.



The lavender is teasing us, lingering on the edge of full bloom.

The porta-potties are arriving any minute and I am urgently needed in the outside world. Thanks for reading. Talk to you again soon.