September 17, 2022
It's a beautiful morning here in western Maryland! Sunshine, blue skies, 71F/22C, and I should be outside working on the many projects we've yet to undertake in 2022. We've done really well this year, but if you have a home in the woods, there are always cleanup projects. Sometimes you have to let them go in favor of authorly pursuits.
Not everyone who reads Between the Keys clicks over to my more personal blog, Holly Tree Manor. That's fine. Not everyone is interested in my private life, and that works in reverse. Not everyone who likes to read about living in the country cares that I'm also a writer. I think that's fine. This morning, however, I want to give a little recap on my summer because it occurred to me last night that this blog shows up places like my Amazon home page and a recap would be a good thing - so here goes!
I started the 2022 gardening season in March with seed trays. It was wonderful to have growing green things sharing my office space by mid-April. In May, I finally upgraded my greenhouse options. We have a serious deer problem and a greenhouse is almost a necessity.
In May, I officially retired. Almost. I did sign a one-year contract to be the Administrative Consultant. I don't regret doing it, but I won't renew it if asked. I wanted to retire a few years ago and would wait no longer. It's been everything I wanted it to be, so far.
My garden corral turned into a garden jungle in the woods, but it was a good thing. It's a small space and I grow in containers, again to thwart the deer. It worked and I had a bountiful harvest.
One of the things I want to focus on in my "retirement" is eating better. To that end, I'm home canning a lot of things so we can more frequently avoid chemical preservatives. I canned molasses beans, pork and beans, butter beans, strawberry jam from a sale on fresh frozen strawberries, pizza sauce, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes from our garden. I wanted to make applesauce and apple pie filling so I purchased apples from a local orchard. This was also the year I wanted to can pears, so again I went up to Gardenour's and got pears.
It's been a great summer for us as a couple - twenty-eight years and still going strong. We'd worried a bit about suddenly being together 24/7, but I can hop in the Charger and go shopping whenever I want. We got Himself a van which is easier for him to get into and out of, plus transport his scooter, so he can take off and go manly places like the hardware store without me.
Now we're moving into firewood season. The appointment is set for the chimney sweep to come, and arrangements are made with cousins to come and help us split wood.
I'm working on the edits to Riding Against the Wind, and I hope this coming winter will be more productive than the last few. Covid-19 slowed more than the economy and it's time to get going again.
That's my summer recap for Between the Keys. Thanks for coming along!
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