Tag: garden

Spring Garden

What, April is over?

The first week of May is almost over?

Wow, what a fast month. Our almost post Covid lives are busier and time has been flying by.

Andreas and I received our first Covid vaccine shot at the beginning of the month. Andreas was happy to find a pharmacy close enough to travel by bike.

Vaccine shot 1

The garden has been our focus this April. With the sunny, new property our possibilities for growing healthy fruits and vegetables increased. We spent weekends creating new beds, weeding and watching the plants grow during our work breaks.

Andreas’ apple trees are growing leaves and he is surprised how fast his new rhubarb grows with lots of sunlight. We are also growing herbs and flowers and the 100 or so tulips we planted all over both properties last fall bloomed. He is still trying to find room to plant 50 strawberry plants he ordered. We have them in garden beds and pots. During his election officer training he found a woman willing to trade a rose bush for a few.

Our garden is in full bloom right now with Andreas’ thirty or so azaleas in many different colors. I love photographing them. Instead of participating with our garden on the Newark Garden Tour as we did last year, I am chairing the committee this year. The Newark Arts Alliance has six beautiful gardens lined up for people to tour on May 22nd.

Andreas is working hard to finish a paper with two colleagues. One is visiting from Israel to help wrap it up. This document has been months in the making and I’m sure the three of them are happy after they submitted it to a journal for peer review.

I’ve had a lot of inquiries for art lessons and met with three new students. Many art commissions with deadlines are on the studio table. Stained glass, a drawing of a New York City park for college friends, and a bird house to be painted for an Arts Alliance fundraising event. The shows at the Café and the Cecil County Arts Council are down. I sold some pieces! I will be showing work from both of those shows in a photographer’s studio in Wilmington soon.

May 1st we received our second vaccine shot. Like the first, I had a fever and was very tired. Andreas was tired as well. We have 7 days to go until we are fully vaccinated and we are excited to not worry so much and to be able to visit with vaccinated friends.

Vaccine shot 2

New Normal

Summer is over, fall has begun. We have been so busy working on our individual interests that it hasn’t occurred to me that there is much to write about. Besides feeling work busy, we also spend time on other projects to avoid thinking too much about Covid 19 and the political mess in this confused country. Add the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the upset and maybe you can understand our need for extreme focus and new distractions.

Andreas worked the polls during the Primary election this month. You can read about his experience at icyseas.org
Late blooming rose. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum
A perfect day. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum

As always, the garden keeps us busy and happy. It is always changing and beautiful. As we plan our new garden at the rental property, we are making sure we have plenty of composted soil here to move next door.

Andreas turning the compost pile. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum
Serious measuring and garden planning.

Preparing new vegetable and flower beds next door.

A few of Andreas’ tomato plants did well next to the driveway. Deer nibbled the plants next door.

Will they ever turn red?
The first tomato! Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum
The proud farmer. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum

The interior of our home is being relabeled in German to assist my struggling German language learning.

Lunch
Online German class. So much homework!

When I’m not studying, I have been working mostly in stained glass completing projects for clients.

Stained glass window before solder. I’m making six of these. Each one will be a little different. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum

I also chose to bring back a few art students. I’ve been teaching outside with Covid precautions. It’s been going well. It’s very pleasant to teach outside. I’m not sure what I will do when the weather becomes colder.

Working on hand studies.
Practicing a still-life.

Even though Covid numbers in our City are not positive news we have chosen to go out a little more because we need a change in routine. We now go to a Café at 7am once a week for breakfast. We sit outside and during most visits we are the only customers.

Sinclair’s Cafe on Main St.

Andreas is allowed back to his University office and will work there a few days a week.

We were invited to a friend’s garden for a distanced dinner.

A few of our hosts. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum

Our friends Caryn and Gordon have a wonderful garden. Photo by Dragonfly Leathrum
Dinner by candle light.
An artist’s garden.

Andreas is still experimenting in the kitchen. He is becoming a better cook every week. I’m lucky that he enjoys cooking so much.

Andreas trying a new recipe. Too many onions! We were both crying .
Saturday pancakes made from the eggs of the chickens featured above. Photo by Andreas Muenchow. Filter edits by me.

We are trying to embrace the new normal. Some days are better than others and there are no longer expectations for an all clear Covid-19 signal.

Keep on keepin’ on, y’all. Register to vote and wear that mask.

P.S. I’m trying out this new WordPress Block format so the blog might look a little funky.