Inch By Inch

 Golden Week is finally over and it’s time to go back to work. Most people use Golden Week as an excuse to take time off work, spend time with the family, and do some traveling / sightseeing. That means the entire country is out and about on the limited highways and byways. Long lines and traffic jams are the norm during this period. Where did you go George? Here’s my answer and the reasoning behind it.

Repairing our driveway

Erika loves to move gravel?

Firewood had to be moved, railroad ties moved, weed barrier installed, gravel moved, railroad ties moved, firewood split and stacked. Still a long way to go...

Erika and I stayed at home. One of the advantages of living in a tourist area is that travel is not required to enjoy nature. We’re immersed in the beautiful scenery and all that we need to do is to enjoy it. Our definition of “enjoy” might be a little different than most. For us, we enjoyed moving gravel, splitting logs, stacking wood, gardening, sealing and staining walls, cleaning, and weeding. Sounds like fun? Our enjoyment comes from the fact that we accomplished things as a couple. With our busy schedules, we rarely have the time to do major things around the house. Golden Week gives us a chance to do things that need to be done. Of course, we never get half of the things done that we wanted to do. That’s okay. A little bit at a time goes a long way when you add it all up.

Logs waiting to be sawn, split, and stacked

 Spring is the time for collecting and processing firewood. Our efforts in that department are well under way. The woodshed has been emptied and reorganized. Currently, we have almost a two year supply of firewood. Our goal is to have enough wood for three years. The problem is that we don’t have the storage space. I’d like to build another woodshed, but Erika doesn’t agree.

Garden #2

Garden #1

Garden #3 needs lots of work

Spring is also the time for gardening. We have three gardens. Garden #1 is used for blueberries and a nursery for various fruit trees. Garden #2 is used as a nursery for Japanese maples, berries, and some vegetables. Garden #3 is used for fruits and vegetables. After all the wood is processed, we’ll be building garden #4. That garden will be used for the vine-type plants like pumpkin. I’m pretty sure we’ll need more room for cucumbers and watermelon. Erika is even trying to grow corn. I have to remind her that the plants are going to grow very large. Inch by inch, row by row…we’ll see. Weeding is a pain, but the Hula Hoe is doing the trick. The soil around here is amazingly friable, dark and rich with nutrients. Just about anything will grow as long as it can handle the deep freeze of winter.      George