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Monday, June 27, 2022

The dumpster has landed and other equally exciting news.

 It's amazing how short a week actually is, when you are under pressure to clean out a house, yard, barn, sheds, etc. in seven days.  A neighbor (who bought the farm that was once home to my Jersey cow, Jasmine) had started a roll-off dumpster business, so I tapped him.  We also put a dumpster at mom's to deal with the PAPER and all of the 30+ years of "stuff".  Luckily (not), we haven't had to deal with rain.  At all.  Ever.  Apparently, all storms have gone west, north and south of us.  I am once again very happy to have my rain barrel.

The heat has ramped up the growth in my assorted and numerous containers.

Scallions

Kale

Basil

Black cherry tomatoes

Some big tomato

Banana peppers


My tiny cilantro plant has morphed into a cilantro tree, as they do, the parsley is rampant, as is the thyme and oregano.  The rosemary is holding her own in a corner of the purple planter.

I have been restocking my free pile on a daily basis, but it is getting a bit onerous, as people insist that they need to me list everything available.  I do not have the time or inclination to do so.  There is a real frenzy for canning jars - I have given away at least five dozen and there are many, many more to go.  Apparently, an intervention was needed some time ago.

In non-moving news, this year's spring Assist (across the road) List was way longer than years past.  I am sure that it's due to my fairly non-stop driving at all hours of the day and the bliss of retirement.  It stands at:  12 turtle assists (11 red eared sliders and 1 small-thank goodness-snapping turtle); 4 adult geese assists across the main thoroughfare, 5 goose family assists across same, and one hair-raising gosling assist across the same damn road that could have gone badly.  Jr. was separated from his family and there was a lot of 60 mph+ traffic.  There weren't enough breaks in the flow to safely herd him across, so I managed to catch him and darted (okay, not exactly darted - havent done that in years - but I did achieve a fairly fast shuffle) to the other side, where I was attacked by his irate parents.  Harumph.  All I got for my trouble was goose poo down my shirt and a case of the wheezes.  Still....baby goose.

Not many specifics on the move, other than I am hoping to clear out everything I am not taking by the end of July.  Serendipity stepped in when my friend, Rosie, said that she was buying a house and needed to furnish it.  Yaaasss!  In a nutshell, I am moving from my little farm out in the sticks, to a house that is almost three times as big as this one, in an... xburb of a town in southern VT.  While the house is large, the land is small and I will have neighbors I can see for the first time in 16 years.  I will be bringing my container garden with me since there is not enough light for a garden at mom's, and the deck is huge.  The plans, at present, include getting the house ready for sale over the winter and then starting a hunt for a piece of property in the general area, where Connie and I will build our little tiny house complex.  Fingers crossed.  Of course, this is not an ideal time to move into a large house that is heated with fuel oil.  I see many layers of sweaters in our near future.

Peanut is not impressed with
the news of living in sweaters


18 comments:

Michelle said...

Oooh, save room for another tiny house for me, just in case Brian ever moves out and Rick croaks from another heart attack! As long as that piece of land has room for my horses and sheep, a tiny house would do nicely for Poppy and me.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Even with all that you're doing re moving etc, you still manage to have an impressive Assist list!

Theresa Y said...

This has WILD ADVENTURE written all over it! Keep us posted. Sounds like a lot of work, but worth it in the end. Take care.

Susan said...

So much to love about a tiny house-efficient, cozy, way less time to clean, leaves more space to grow stuff. You are about to live my dream! Speaking of dreams I hope cleaning out the houses doesn't become a nightmare. My in laws had hidden money in the walls.....

jaz@octoberfarm said...

so i think that maybe i have figured this out. you are moving into your mother's house where your sister now lives and then after you get it ready and sell it, you two are building two places somewhere else. or maybe you are building them while you are living in the big house which makes more sense. this is pretty exciting. if you think hoarding canning jars is bad, try being a kielbasa hoarder! i am trying to clean out my freezers and i've found many more pounds of kielbasa than anyone should have, anyone in their right mind that is. and what's worse if that i live in kielbasa city so it's not like there is a shortage. i also am guilty of being a horseradish hoarder too. i mean, you can't hoard kielbasa without hoarding the horseradish to go with it.

Helen said...

Remember my family removed a snapper from a neighborhood pond one summer. We kept it in a 'bathtub' in the yard for a day or two and then moved it to a stream about 6 miles away. We 'scooped' it up using a shovel. Not sure how you managed. (Ours was only slightly smaller than the shovel.)

thecrazysheeplady said...

Great assist list :-D

Wendy said...

Wow, so many changes, exciting and terrifying. So much work but the end sounds great. Very curious where you will be next year around this time.
Sending you lots of energy :-)
Wendy

tpals said...

The container garden is looking wonderful. Even without rain. The last storm missed us and nothing is being offered in the 10-day forecast, so I know the feeling.

Annsterw said...

I LOVE Your basil varieties!!!! Great garden pics too! I am now following you! Have a fantastic day!Annster

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Oh my goodness, you have a lot on your plate right now! I hope it all goes smoothly. I’m impressed with how far along your vegetables already are! -Jenn

Joanne Noragon said...

Wow. Knew you intended to go, but now it's real. Good luck with all the moving work. Any yay for critter rescue.

Leigh said...

Sounds like you're making good progress. Lovely to see your container garden doing so well. And Peanut is so cute. Great shot.

Retired Knitter said...

Wow big big plans and lots of changes in your future. I remember those days of downsizing before a move and it was nowhere as large a project as you are facing with house, yard, barn, sheds, etc. Add that to the clean out of our mom’s house over the winter and you are talking one heck of a lot of effort. Just remember to pace yourself. .

gz said...

Your container garden is impressive!
All the best with the moves

Steve Reed said...

Poor Peanut! Good luck getting rid of stuff. I put our used lawn mowers on Freecycle thinking I could get rid of them that way but there were no takers. I was surprised!

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

I'm so happy for you but not about the moving and clearing out part....that's awful. Around here you can't get rid of things. I have to drive 1 1/2 hours to the nearest Salvation Army. Your garden is doing great. I had diverticulitis but it's healing. I agree with peanut....cold is not good for the joints nor is AC! Ask how I know...lol! Glad to hear from you as I was wondering how things were going. Take care!

Retired Knitter said...

Tiny houses are great fun. I watch lots of TV shows about them.