right now

right now

Apr 21, 2015

Back in the Game...

There is no graceful way to make a comeback, but here I am!

A lot has happened...



Our new home has about 300 sq feet in the backyard - no joke.  It felt a little ridiculous to blog about everything except a garden on a garden blog!

That has changed.

Meet my new garden…


Yes, it is a plot right on the flight line!  We are very fortunate that our base has a community garden, and you better believe I jumped at the chance!  I thought I might go crazy this summer with one tomato plant in a bucket in my little backyard but I am not only gardening, I am getting to garden like I never have before!

Yes, I am so excited to be doing a lot of hard work!  My Virginia garden was work in the beginning, but I always had raised beds and they are soooooo much easier than in-ground gardening.  As you can see in the above photo, I am truly starting from nothing!  Well, the good fortune of living on a military base that will give you a little plot of land is certainly not nothing, we are very blessed.



Below you can see my car next to my plot, and this is the water spigot, so I will be doing a lot of hiking with a mile of hose. Beyond my car is the flight line.  Yes, the runway for fighter jets and all manner of other really cool test aircraft on our base.  Hearing protection is a must in my garden!  The JSF F-35 takes off here and if you know anything about that, you know how loud they are.



Yes, you will find things like this in my garden.  One of those things that is fun and cool yet makes you wonder who said "Yes, I think we will just leave this here."


We got our plot finally marked off and water turned on just this week.  The plot is 30' x 75'.  HUGE  compared to what I had previously.  Scary, considering I was harvesting 500+ lbs of produce from a garden half this size !  First order of business was to lay down some pathways so I could envision the plot and actually reduce the amount of space to plant.   Child labor laws were then thrown out the window and we began tilling and erecting fences.


A friend of mine that moved here from Virginia Beach also has the plot right next to ours so I'm sure it will be a fun summer - plus that's even more kids to put to work!!

Below is a shot of the entire plot.


Now, the return of the famous SEED BINDER, and fun with garden design.


Last but not least, a few photos of our new home… more to come later on that.

Cherry Trees entering my neighborhood.  We actually live on base, inside the gates.



This is our home.  1941 former officer barracks.  The conversion was done so that each home consists of two row houses, and they are on the historic register of MD so limited changes could be made. The result is a pretty "interesting" floor plan.  We have the original wood floors though and loads of character.  We have 7 windows in the dining room alone, this house is ALL WINDOWS!  Pretty, but FRIGID in the winter!  Colder than I ever remember being inside a house, and I'm from Minnesota so you know that's cold.  I think I took this on 9/11/14 since I see my flag is at half staff.



Our back yard is tiny.  We have a "reel" mower!


Big enough for a fire pit though!


Who needs a yard though?  We have 3 campgrounds on base, fishing pier, we can launch our kayaks or fish from over 40 little coves and beaches.  This is on base right down the street…


Just to show we are indeed alive… and hubby is not deployed!


And because no post about Maryland is complete without a Blue Crab, I will just set this right here...



I have missed blogging so much, there was never a time where I was glad to not be blogging.  I think I just needed time to regroup and had a lot of changes going on, which I will periodically regurgitate as blog posts to bring you up to speed!  I still can't believe I am going to have a real deal, old skool in-ground garden this year!!!










10 comments:

  1. OMG!! You're BACK! I saw your Blog Header on my sidebar and thought to myself, "Wait. What?? Is that who I think it is?!" Glad to see you've got a garden again and can't wait to hear about all the new stuff you'll be into :)

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    1. Carolyn, yes! I felt like such a "poser" trying to blog without a garden - in fact all last summer I was ripping OUT my old garden so the tenants wouldn't have to deal with it! I have to get back into the routine of reading everyone's blogs too, I haven't yet figured out whether I will do mornings or evenings but I need to get a schedule and stick to it since I am anxious to see what everyone else is up to as well!

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  2. Hi Erin--so nice to see you posting again. I've often wondered what became of you.

    Love the huge garden area---and you did it smart to divide that up into sections right away. That makes it much more do-able, doesn't it? Looking at a HUGE area is daunting.
    Hope you're enjoying your new home. Wow--the kids have really grown.
    So good to see your "doings"--have fun!

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    1. Hi Sue! You aren't kidding, I was kind of horrified at the thought when I first saw the plot, I didn't know where to start, especially since I'm used to raised beds. I look around though and all the other plots are done in rows and I'm the only "block girl"! I have gotten some looks as people drive by but I'll show them haha!

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  3. I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE YOU BACK BLOGGING! (Yes, I am yelling.) Your new gardening adventures are going to be so awesome. But be prepared to have other gardeners throwing rocks at you because I just know your garden will be an absolute showplace that will turn everyone else green (or maybe brown would be correct) with envy!! I, for one, will be so, so eager to see how this new garden develops for you.

    Can hardly wait for future posts. And please include a bunch of pictures so we all can get a good feel (in our minds, at least) for your surroundings. I recognize your hubby in the pictures, but who the heck are those two BIG boys, and what did you do with Thing 1 and 2?? Hugs! :o) :o) :o)

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    1. Mama Pea I am so happy to be back - I really need this. I have felt "off" for awhile now and I really think a lot has to do with the absence of blogging. That photo was taken months ago so the boys are even bigger now! This garden is going to be a real challenge, there are "rules" and wildlife that are going to make it interesting, I will leave that for another post!

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  4. You are getting closer! I am yelling, too, but not as loud as Mama Pea... :) So good to have you back - and I am so jealous of your garden space! I have so many questions! But will be patient and let you catch us up in your own good time.

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    1. Susan, haha I am hoping to start out slow with a few posts a week but probably not daily - at least not until I start seeing some green in the garden! I am so glad I still have some blogger friends that have let me regroup, eager to visit your blog and find out what is going on up there with you :)

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  5. So nice to see you again too! Glad things are going so good for you and your family. Sounds like a most fantastic place to live!

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    1. Thank you, Lisa! It really does feel good to blog again, I really missed it as an outlet for all my random thoughts and activities!

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