Annie, Git Yer Shovel!

If only there was an Annie around, that indispensible sidekick with moxie...who knows her way around a shovel and could help move some of the very lovely, high quality composted manure I got delivered yesterday.  It is impressive just how much compost can fill the back of a 12-foot dump trailer.  And all of this loveliness will be moved from the driveway to assorted gardens, one garden cart load at a time...

As my friend Gretchen says, "Pace yourself."  That's good advice when facing the list of spring projects.  All the gardens need weeding and replenishing.  The back garden is getting a complete overhaul, with new raised beds and permanent paths. The black raspberries are going to be tamed, this time, dammit.  A hole needs to be dug for the soon-to-arrive apple tree I am going to espalier on the back fence. The front flower hillside garden needs digging up, weeding, and replanting.  I need to construct a wildflower meadow bed, two gates tough enough to keep a large dog out, and a large possibly hugelkulture-esque raised bed needs to be made for currants.  A strip of turf needs removal along the back chainlink fence, the greenhouse needs weeding and a cat-made hole in the plastic needs stoppering...there's mulching to do...I need to clean out the coops and reconstruct the nest boxes in the Big Coop...oh, and somewhere in there, I need to sleep and elevate my sore foot.

I'm not sure how much of that I'm going to get done on my long weekend, but I made a little start:

Two four-by-four raised beds weeded, refilled to the brim with compost, and several bags of cedar chip mulch spread around.  My, that stuff smells heavenly...and it looks nice, too.  Hopefully it wears well.  Anyway, that was my start for the day--after unloading a pallet of mulch bags, that is.

Happy weekending!