Garden Surprises & Friendly Neighbors!

Last week while Jon was digging up sod in our garden using a shovel, a friendly neighbor stopped by and said, "This is the second time I have driven by and seen you labor away at the garden.  I just can't watch it anymore.  I have a tractor and would like to plow it for you!"  Jon's eyes were big as walnuts as he thought about all of the hours that were just taken from his garden list.  He couldn't possibly say no and eagerly began removing one wall of the fence.  With the help of the tractor, we expanded our garden to 45 x 90 feet.  Paul was thrilled to ride on the neighbor's lap the entire time while the tractor plowed the garden.  We felt so blessed by this neighbor's generosity and their offer to come back and disc plow it when the furrows dry up.  They say it's their way of saying welcome to the neighborhood!  I say that's one BIG WELCOME!!

Settling, Making Plans, & Surprises

Alas, we are finally in the new home!  This home and property is absolutely beautiful!  It is so peaceful here with only a few cars breaking up the chorus of the creek, chirping birds, knocking woodpeckers, croaking frogs, and owl hoots.  We are in love with the land and can finally sink our toes into the soft earth and wear sunglasses from all the bright sunlight!

Jon is already busy with the garden.  All of our plants survived 2 weeks in a cardboard box and now they need to be planted.  Deer are a problem here so we hope a 5 foot fence is tall enough.  Before we invest more money (because dang...fencing is expensive!), we want to see if 5 feet is sufficient enough.

Picture taken at the edge of the driveway looking at the barn. 

A sneak peak inside the barn.  The first owner of the property had goats and chickens.  On the right hand side you can see a ladder that leads up to the hay mow.  The previous owner turned the hay mow into a carpentry shop. 

Behind the screen door in the picture above is a chicken coop with 4 nesting boxes and a door leading to the outside.  A little tidying up in the coop is all that is really needed. 

Behind the barn is the fenced-in chicken area and a large pile of bricks.  Someday we hope to make a pizza oven with those bricks!

This is the small hill where the bee hives will sit.

Behind the home is a nature trail that winds back and forth to the top of the hill.  

This picture is taken at the far corner of our property line.  The corner is designated by a great grandfather oak tree, my favorite tree!

This is a snapshot of a portion of the pantry.  I was relieved to discover that all the jars arrived still sealed and not broken from the move.  Jon and I are also excited to finally have a basement where we can store the canned food and wine. 

And just when I thought we had it all, this little friend decided to rest on Paul's toy this morning.  Could it possibly be a honeybee??  It was rather small, so possibly a baby bee or maybe wild honeybees are smaller in size?  I would bee thrilled if we have a bee tree somewhere close by!!

What's a new home without some surprises?!  Jon couldn't wait to take a shower after a grueling day of moving boxes, but he was a little heart broken when he realized he'd have to kneel in the shower...