Our Garden

This is our garden. 

Kirk says it is more like farming, especially since it feels huge and is an enormous learning curve.

Either way, we have jumped in with both feet.  It feels like that is what our lives are all about.  Experiencing things that we have never experienced before.

We're having fun.

It seems like "everyone" knows that we are gardening this plot.  We get lots of questions as to how we are doing.  Quite a few people cringe because they know that this particular plot has A LOT of weeds, requiring lots of hard work.  Others let us know that we are not alone if we need help.

We have assured the 83 year old neighbor Wes, that we are providing summer entertainment.  If he wants a good laugh, he just needs to just watch us a while.

He is a really neat man, with years of farming experience. He has given us some pointers here and there and then smiles the rest of the time. 

We feel like city slickers.

So, here is how we water this garden and the pasture behind the house.

It has been somewhat of a challenge because the owner leaves every summer for Maine leaving random people to water her apple trees behind the house.

The way that the irrigation is set up is completely ridiculous.  Of course, as my Dad would say, we had to "Modify" it.  Kirk, being the genius that he is and having good input from our friends, we managed to actually get water to irrigate the garden. 

We jumped for joy when we saw the water actually come through the gates.

This is the path leading to the main gate where the irrigation pipes are that lead to the house.  We saw a mama duck and 7 little baby ducklings swimming the canal.  They were so sweet.

I made Jared promise three times that he wouldn't drop the keys or the lock into the canal.  I threatened that if he did he was going to have to jump in and retrieve them.  He assured me several times that he wasn't going to drop them!

That water is cold.  I will not be dropping them in there.

This is where we entertain Wes.  This is what you call a Poor Man's Water Gate.  But the most impressive part is that it works like a charm. We had to close the pipe to back up the water so that it would water the garden instead of bypassing it and flowing down hill.  Go Figure.  We have learned quite a bit about how water flow works. I guess all those years digging in the sand at the beach was actual learning for later on in life.

So, Kirk cut two holes in a Rubbermaid bin.  He took two of his dirities 5gal buckets and inserted them into the bin, using sealant and foam insulation to seal around the holes.  Wes was very surprised that the pipe ends would fit into a 5gal bucket.  We then used the plastic to seal the connection between the buckets and the pipes. 

To stop the water, we bought a screw top lid for the 5 gal bucket.

And there you have a Poor Man's Water Gate.

I knew Kirk could do it.

Our friends the Summits, were watching out for us. When they planted their tomatoe seeds in March they planted enough for us too. So we had beautiful tomatoe plants to transplant.

Of course, we would see deer tracks in the mud. We were told that the deer go back up into the mountains for the summer.  But I really think there might be a few waiting to see what we are planting.  I could just imagine checking on the garden and seeing all our tomatoe plants nipped off and gone.  We have too much experience with bunnies to be dumb enough to leave them unprotected. So we strung chicken wire over top of them to detour the deer from snacking.
Wes thought that was comical.  Us, trying to detour the deer.

So back to our irrigation challenge.

When the garden is watered, which doesn't really take much but requires someone down at the end to yell to the person at the pipe to shut the gate before it overflows at the other end.

It is actually kind of fun playing with the water. I call it playing. Victoria's favorite part is being the one to close the gate.

These are the individual gates. 

Once the garden is done, we open the Rubbermaid gate to

water the apple trees and the pasture.

 We almost flooded the barn.  Oops. 

The water is SUPPOSED to flow down the pasture. 

BUT, we found out it turns a corner, flows behind the barn and into the neighbors yard.

Once we mentioned that to a couple people who know the yard, they reassured us that that is no different than what has happened ever year.  So we aren't going to worry about it.  The trees are getting watered and that is mostly what matters.



I think we give plenty for Blondie to watch. She always seems very interested in what we are up to.

Well, we had no idea that after all those years of praying that

God would bless us beyond our deepest desires. 

Life has delt us lemons and we make lemonade all the way.

 And he has answered so many of our prayers.

Often I would think  that he didn't hear me but now

I know that he knows every little detail of our desires

and adds in even more blessings.

 He has brought our family to a place where we have never been happier.

The last piece of the pie will be for Kirk to land a steady income.

Now THAT would be paradise.