Two Months In & I'm A Lumberjack!

It is hard to believe, but today marks the two month anniversary of our adventure!  In many ways it feels like we just arrived, and yet it feels as if we have always been here.  As I have said before, we know this is where we should be:)

One of our most adventurous activities has been creating our garden, which is very large compared to what we have planted in the past.  So far, so good, except for the creature that helped itself to one of my mounds of corn!  Our cantaloupe sprouted today...cute little sprouts!!!

We have discovered, though not to our surprise, that the Cherokee Purple tomatoes we planted on the NNE side  (knowing they would get limited sun) and the Russian Black tomatoes we planted on the SSE  side (not thinking the sun would be as limited as it is) are not getting nearly enough sun.  I have been "working" on Mountain Man, trying to get him to understand the value of cutting a few trees to get more sunlight where it is needed (he is not a fan of cutting down trees).  But hooray, sweet success, for today he agreed. 

This is the SSE side before I, and yes, I mean I = me, myself, & I, felled the trees.  Mountain Man had to go get a few more tools to cut the trees on the NNE side, so I said, "I can do it!".  Just call me Lise the Log Cabin Lumberjack:)

It was fun and hard work, but I was very pleased that me, myself & I could make it happen...the photo above is before, and the photo below is the end result...

It's a little hard to see with the felled trees laying on the ground, but these few less trees should allow a bit more of the morning sun to reach the garden!  Oh, and what do I know about felling trees?

1. A tree will fall in the direction it is leaning unless you work really hard to have it do otherwise; I have not mastered this skill as a lone Lumberjack.
2. Trees are heavier than they look:)  When me, myself & I tried to move them (out of the road, because that is how they were leaning...better than toward the garden), I had to use muscles I don't recall having.  I also had to growl, or something like that, not sure what it sounded like!
3. The wood is hard, even with a battery powered chainsaw.  Oh, should I admit to this??? Does this relinquish me of my newly attained Lumberjack status?  Aw, heck no, I still did it me, myself & I!
4. Cutting into an Oak trunk that is 6" in diameter is a lot harder than it looks!  Those proud Oaks are very happy standing!
5. I would not want to do this for a living and have tremendous respect for loggers, years ago, whose job it was to remove ginormous trees, both in width and height...with no electric or gas chain saws!  Lordy be, glad that wasn't me!

OK, back to the job...we did the NNE side together, this is before (well, one tree down already) and after...

...should allow for more afternoon sun:)  We shall see!  The other excellent result is more logs for fire wood!!!  At least we don't have to lug these through the woods:)

Other grand things of interest about today...

It was a cool, foggy morning, this is a view of the mountain immediately to our North, I don't usually show this side, but loved how the fog was rolling in...

A beautiful white rhododendron with guest...

Wild Blackberries are beginning to ripen...my niece Sophia is anxious for some Blackberry jam!

What we now believe to be Wild Onion...an very interesting plant to watch develop...

And finally, two photos of this cool flower, this is the kind of natural stuff scifi writers get their ideas from, I am sure... 

...and closer...

...this could be a spaceship and the pod open to grab things (like people) to bring them to their planet...I know, far fetched, but don't you see it?  And if you look back at the white rhododendron with guest, the guest could be a creature too!

That is it for today, 2 months into this adventure and I believe I will never want this to end!  I mean that with all my heart.  After everything we are learning, seems to me I will want to put those learning's into action...time will tell.  But for now, living our lives to the fullest:)

Thank you for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's:), see you tomorrow,
Lise