It’s been a very productive weekend here. Last week, Paul finished fixing the tractor. This is a project that started in the fall – it needed a new clutch. The whole thing had to be split in two – twice! Of course things are never as simple as they seem at the outset. Yesterday, Paul and I finagled the back-hoe and front loader back onto the tractor. Not without Paul introducing me to a brand new vocabulary. Who knew there were so many different ways to express the sentiment “darn it?”

This feat meant that we could finally plant the asparagus crowns that Mom sent me almost six weeks ago. Paul excavated this space for me near where the chicken coop and yard will go. Using the tractor, he yanked out stumps and removed clay. Then he put in loam left over from last summer, compost and peat moss. We ran weed block fabric down the middle. Tonight I planted 40 asparagus crowns. With any luck they will grow. Thanks, Mom!

We still have a bit of clearing and straightening to do on the other side of the bed, but that can wait for another day.