Gardening, part 1

("Carrots" sign, by Sophia,age 6)

A couple of weekends ago, we started our first Montana gardening experience.  We marked off a 8' x 20' section of our "backyard"...

...plowed the ground and got rid of the grass and rocks...

 
...and built a couple of raised beds at one end.


Then, we went to our favorite local dairy, the Kalispell Kreamery, where we snagged a ton (literally!) of composted manure for $10.  (Most of our materials thus far had been salvaged for free, or next-to-nothin'.)  Here are a few pictures of the process:

(Of course, we had to stop and "see the girls"):

Then, we hauled the S#$% back home.  :-)

(Now, some of you may be thinking "HEY!  How come Ric's conspicuously absent from the working pix??"  Rest assured, I only stopped shoveling the stuff long enough to snap these pix, then it was "back on the chain gang".)


Finally, everything started to come together...

...and then it was time to take a cloud-watching break!

Planting will happen soon, as we have already amassed quite a set of "starts" in the house, which will be planted outside over the next few weeks.

We're learning as we go, and having a great time together.  It's no wonder so many of Jesus' parables have agrarian backdrops!