We had our house party (/birthday party/Equinox celebration) this past weekend. Finally! The house is complete, the yard is tamed, the trash is gone… Whew!! So, this past Saturday, we invited our friends and family, and anyone who helped on the house, to come over and see the finished product. I think there were over 70 people who stopped by and everyone loved it. It was so nice to show it off (and to hear everyone ohhh and ahhh 🙂 The last guests left a little before 1am and Toby, Kaia, and I crashed hard! The next day we spent laying around and trying to recuperate. Toby and I both noted that yesterday was the first time that we really felt like we could step back and enjoy the house. I think part of it is because having the yard cleaned up makes it feel more like home, and partly also because we have been working towards this party for months (project after project to finish up before the showed off the house). We sat by the fire pit last night drinking apple cider and eating apple pie with the neighbors and it was just so blissful!

So, my next project 🙂 is working on the garden space. I’m hoping to get a bunch of raised beds built before the winter, so they will be ready in spring for lots of veggies! I also have 17(!!!) fruit trees to plant. I got a Celeste Fig as a house warming gift and we planted that on the south side of the house. We are zone 6b, so we wanted to protect it from the cold winter winds. I also have (either waiting to get planted, or on its way here) A HardiRed Nectarine, Sweetheart Apricot, Wilson Delicious Apricot, UltraMac Apple, Pink Lady Apple, Arkansas Black Apple, Grimes Golden Apple, Honey Crisp Apple, BlackGold Cherry, Santa Rosa Plum, Methley Plum, Maxine Pear, Moonglow Pear, Lake English Walnut, Champion English Walnut, Prok Persimmon, and a Yates Persimmon!!!! (Most of these are from Stark Brothers) I ordered dwarf varieties when they were available, but the persimmons and walnuts will get 30+ feet tall, so I need to do some good planning to be sure that they don’t block the garden sun when they are fully grown. I also have a ginkgo that I have babied along in a little pot for over 7 years that I can finally put in the ground. But, Ginkgo trees have been known to get up to 80 feet, so I really need to figure out a good space for this one!!

I also hope to put in some grapes, blackberries, raspberries (and many other berries), passion fruit, hardi kiwi, rose (rugosa… for the rose hips), chestnut, and what ever else will fit!! I can’t wait!!! Now, will someone please come dig some holes in this dang red clay for me! 🙂