Due to the move, my garden will likely be nonexistent this year or very late. Abandoning my garden at the ‘old’ house is rather depressing ... I’ve put a lot of work into those raised beds & surrounding area over the last 10 years or so.
On the bright side, my cousin who lives near the new house told me about a nearby farm that has a market/store. They have 3 gardens for produce and also raise beef - you can get grass/grain fed (all pastured) or strictly grass fed. They also have fresh milk & cream from a local dairy, order seafood for Christmas, have eggnog & homemade baked goods. It’s a historical farm with an old mill as well & it’s only 8 minutes (3.9 miles) away from the house!
Yesterday, this same cousin also gave me the name of someone who can do snow removal. I called and talked to him & feel much better about our situation regarding the driveway being covered with snow/ice. The first part is uphill and shaded, plus a mostly northern exposure, so not much melting takes place early. Once the driveway turns at the top to the back of the house, it’s a southwest exposure & was mostly clear when we were there Thursday. If it snows (which it did yesterday), I can call him & see if he thinks the driveway needs snow removal - his advice yesterday was that ‘no’, it would be ok by next week.
There is a rock pile by the pole barn that I was looking at Sunday with yet another cousin (LOL! Family ... one of the main reasons we bought the house there) to potentially have it hauled away. Upon looking closer, there are some neat rocks in there, so we’re holding off on removing it for now until I can pull out what I want to use. The thought did occur that the rock pile would make a nice spot for Timber Rattlers to hang out ... I know they are in the mountains (have had experiences with them hiking & doing maintenance work on the AT) so I pulled up a map to check out their range. Oh yeah, our place is in TR range so we’ll have to be careful around places like that rock pile. Most of the property is grass, not many places to hide or for cover, but we’ll definitely have to keep an eye out.
It’s exciting to have a ‘new’ place and looking forward to the day when all the moving stuff is over & we can stay there instead of trips back/forth. We are getting movers for the ‘big’ stuff, but moving all the small stuff ourselves (china, pictures, etc.). The utility trailer is now road worthy with new tires, wiring, garage door springs to help me lower/raise the tailgate & some new wheel bearings. The PU is a shortbed so the 5 x 8 trailer (with at least 2 ft sides) will give us a lot more room for hauling. We not only have the house stuff, but also things in the barn & garage that need to go with us.
The new house has either 2 or 3 chestnut trees ... ‘sweet’ edible chestnuts, not the inedible ‘horse’ chestnuts. I looked up how to harvest & make use of them, so I’m looking forward to that new project in the fall. There are squirrels (really ‘wild’ ones, as opposed to the ones at our house now) so I’ll have to beat them to the chestnuts when they fall. :-)
Warmer weather (40’s-50’s) the middle of next week, so that should clear out the snow .... until the next storm!
“I’ve put a lot of work into those raised beds & surrounding area over the last 10 years or so.”
BUT! That’s going to be a GREAT selling point for the next owner of your previous home! Having raised beds, an established asparagus bed, the chicken coop and a small greenhouse helped my place sell within a WEEK.
“It’s exciting to have a ‘new’ place and looking forward to the day when all the moving stuff is over & we can stay there instead of trips back/forth.”
That’s one of the worst parts of moving. Ugh!
“The new house has either 2 or 3 chestnut trees...”
Lucky you! Those are my FAVORITE tree when in bloom. Just gorgeous! :)
Maybe you have a pile of rock for your new garden wall or raised beds? (Sounds like you have thought about it!)
Well...off to do some stuff!
Moving? Say what? I wondered what gardeners could be up to in this weather, so swung on by, and see you are moving. Moving is an unthinkable nightmare to me. If you haven’t told the story, I’ll admit I am curious as to what brought that about. You always seemed pretty well established where you were. If I should MMOB, ok.
Wow, that sounds idyllic! Sounds like with that nearby, you only have to go half-in with gardening at your new house.