Clothesline bed

It is time for me to put in the row of potatoes behind the strawberries that are in the bed near the clothesline.  The four feet wide bed facing east running about 20 feet long right next to the house.  A nice warm spot.  Each of the six summer season in this house it have been changed in some manner. 

The original plantings were native sweet smelling bushes care free and slow growing.  It would have worked for an inactive gardener and most home owner.  These bushes were donated to the City of Lacey four years ago.  The first transplants that found the area a new home were some old roses that were moved off of Ken's property. The varieties were old, healthy and wonderful for bees and bouquets.   About the same time strawberries under my fruit trees were sucking up too much of the nutrients from the development of the young trees so they jointed the rose bed.  It began the great migration of strawberries plants around the yard and it continues.

Two years ago I was reading about nuts trees and realized I had none on my property and that filberts or almonds were easy to grow here.  I made space for them for two dwarf trees so they can view my clothesline.  Or was that three years ago? 

Last summer was a time out of sorts because my new laying chickens.  They roamed the backyard with only one purpose to scratch up each strawberry bed and find moving life.  This was permitted until I noticed they like red tomatoes even more that earth worms.  The feathered ladies rambling days were over and I found the virtues of chicken yard fencing.

Early in March this year on a warm day I spend the day with 20 feets of lose black dirt and moved all the strawberry plants in this bed to a neat straight row.  With my pad to kneel on and sit on I slowing worked my way from one end to the other wondering if all these plants could be my prized Mara des Bois berries.  In the end, I have a big pile of weeds and a even bigger pile of unused berry plants, both I have to deal with.  Now I view space behind the strawberry plants between the rose bushes and around the two nuts trees as a spot to plant some potatoes.

April was a cool, windy with little periods of sun.  I did find a person to trim all the  ornaments in the front yard along with some needed weeding.   Another day of clean up in the backyard helped me over the mental stress of the looking at too many projects for my body to handle.   Now I wait and wait for June weather in May to come so I can spend all the day light outdoors either touching the soil or sitting under the grape arbor reading.  The white blossoms of strawberries are all over the yard and they do offer the prized first sweet taste of fruit in the summer.  Spring is the longest season, isn't it!