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Seasons at the Farm |
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Vacation in the Heart of the Endless Mountains |
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June 2010 I’ve been waiting for a rainy day to update our cottage guests on life at Skymeadow Farm, but once again the clouds have blown over and blue skies reign. So here I am taking a break from another sun-drenched day to greet all who travel here for rest and rejuvenation. This season has brought revitalization to us too. After about five or so years as part-time escapees from city life – and another fifteen blissful busy years building gardens, a menagerie, and a permanent home in our adopted community of Benton -- we find ourselves established enough to need a makeover of sorts. Time really does fly when you’re having fun; plus the gift of retirement brings extra hours and days to reflect on the quality of our lives here, and an opportunity to try out some new possibilities. So as of today, the car-shed is finally cleared and (for the time being) organized; we even found our Wall-O-Water tomato protectors to give us a realistic shot at a Fourth of July tomato for 2011. And hidden behind a pile of paint supplies, Jerry unearthed the six-point buck skull found lying at woods edge last fall. Now gracing the cottage porch, this will serve as his hunting trophy, albeit targeted from the seat of a tractor. Our six-year-old grandson’s toddler toys were sorted, some kept for visiting families, some moving on to new homes with other little people. Ten trees have come down, with the help of Mother Nature and a gifted arborist. Once again, views of our lower fields can be had from both the cottage and house kitchen windows. Best of all, I have a large pile of wood chips which will mulch the new garden bed replacing the mint border that edged the cottage porch. For now, however, you’ll see bare soil and a large piney heap. Strawberries have been moved; raspberries are being refurbished; hoop tunnels aim to protect crops like eggplants and arugula normally decimated by flea beetles. The overambitious vegetable patch continues its crop rotation, with some new tomato varieties promised to be resistant to late blight, with lettuces now in a cold frame nearer the house for easy picking, and with yet another trellising system for some scarlet runner beans. What stays the same are sun-filled days, breezy evenings, misty mornings, mountains and meadows and birdsong, George and Harry along with the chicken flock, an occasional rainy day for games and reading – the essence of summer at Skymeadow Farm. Kathy |
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Jerry Arcuri 205 Shultz Hollow Road Benton, PA 17814 570-925-5700 |
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