Montana

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A Busy Spring Break

Tonight is the last night of spring break.  I feel so very lucky to have this week off–and after volunteering to direct the community garden, I needed the time.  I had raised beds to set and fill and landscaping fabric to lay.  We were absolutely blessed with gorgeous weather.  My freckles emerged from hibernation.  It was in the sixties, with blue skies and a warm sun.  That is, until yesterday.

My awesome helpers

My awesome helpers

The very first plot holders meeting of the season was yesterday morning at 11 am.  When I went down to the garden at 9:30, it was breezy with some spitting rain.  Not too bad.  By the end of the meeting, it was full-on raining horizontally.  We were all shivering, and I just kept talking faster and faster so everyone could go home and get warm.

Still, it was a great turn out.  Nearly every plot holder made it to the meeting which I (silly me) scheduled on the same weekend that the ski mountain closed.  I have never seen so many people in our garden at one time.  It really rather warmed my heart (if not my freezing cold and wet hands).  I could already feel the beginnings of a “community”.   I provided some history to the garden, handed out keys, gave an orientation to the garden and the shed, answered questions, and had plot holders sign up for maintenance duties.    It was raining hard enough that the ink was running as they filled in their names.  They were troopers!

Something safe to plant...under Reemay

Something safe to plant…under Reemay

They need to be, to some extent.  Gardening in Montana, especially in the springtime, isn’t easy.  It is a constant battle with schizophrenic weather and cold nights.  Still, it is a rewarding “fight” and we have been gathering the necessary weapons to be victorious (hello, extended metaphor!)  We use Reemay fabric and Wall O’Waters to keep our young plants warm.  We watch the weather forecasts religiously.  Finally, around the fourth of July, after babying our plants, we can relax our guard and watch as delicious and healthy food grows in abundance.

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Our raised herb garden

It is possible to garden in the northern climes–it just takes some trial and error, and much vigilance.  And it is worth it.  Trust me.

 

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Sun’s Gettin’ Shinery to Spotlight the Finery…Spring, Spring Spring…

907392_10151373119960886_2119007421_nWhen Montana chooses to show off, nothing can compare.  Beautiful sunny weather with temperatures in the upper fifties and low sixties have made it impossible to stay inside to write blog posts.  (Mantra…must remember…live life first, write about it if I have time)  And the fact is, we have just been plain busy.  Our friends opened a brewery, which we like to frequent.  We went to the high school academic endowment ball.  We threw a birthday party for my husband’s 40th birthday.  Time just gets away from you, you know?

Love the brewery!

Love the brewery!

Back to the weather.  We all understand, in this part of the country, that the price for this delightful weather is a rainy, cold June.  Or a late season snow storm.  Or an intense fire season.  But you know what?  We pretty much don’t care.  The sun is so wonderfully warm this time of year–the wind can be chilly, as can shady spots, but standing in the sun is simply blissful.  We look for reasons to be outside, which isn’t hard–but I’m running into that situation where I want to do all is yard work, but I can’t.  The fact is, it is still only the beginning of April.  Winter is not likely done with us yet, so you don’t want to invest too much energy into planting.

That didn’t stop me from staking out my new flower bed, or raking my yard.

My flower bed-to-be

My flower bed-to-be

I did some early season weeding.  I regularly walk around the side of our new garage, where I will eventually make raised beds and grow my tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, herbs and raspberries.  I visualize the shade garden that will edges the not-yet-existent sidewalk next to the garage.  I fret about whether my current raspberry canes will get enough light now that the garage has been built (they won’t…they have to move).

Visions of tomato and pepper plants danced in my head...

Visions of tomato and pepper plants danced in my head…

I have also been spending time in the community garden, getting ready for our first plot holders meeting.  I am thrilled to announce that we are FULL for the the first time since we were established in 2010.  It feels good, because the vision those of us in the planning committee had is finally coming to fruition (no pun intended).

There is still a lot to do–on Wednesday, kids from the Center for Restorative Youth Justice are coming out to help me even out the land for garden plots, raised beds, and the green house.  They will also help me organize the tool shed.  My partner-in-crime, and true heart of the community garden is Naomi.  She and her husband staked out plots this morning, and the two of us geeked out for a bit about all the exciting things we want to see in the garden.

My husband constructed the raised beds for onions and leeks, and we put some black plastic down on my own plots to warm the soil and discourage weed/grass growth.  I stared at the empty plots for a long time today, mentally arranging my plants for the season.  After planting the community garlic bed last fall, I had a few bulbs left over.  I couldn’t bear to waste them so I stuck them in my bed–and they are starting to grow (so cool to see the frist green growth of spring). It is way too early to put much of anything in the ground right now, even if the weather is trying to trick us into believing otherwise.

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Community Garden Garlic Bed

My cheeks are a little bit sunburned.  I have dirt under my fingernails.  And I couldn’t be happier!

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Montana = Inspiration

Montana definitely provides endless amounts of inspiration!

Musings by Ramona

By Ramona Flightner/ @ramonaflightner

As winter gives way to spring, my mind turns to summer. And with that, I begin to think about the time I will spend in Montana this summer. This year, I want to do a lot of hiking, so I am trying to find inspiration to get in better shape for the challenges of hiking in the mountains of my beloved Montana. Below are a few pictures I use to motivate me.

 

And of course, inspiration for fishing this summer.

What helps motivate you to attain your goals?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: My Neighborhood

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