2023-08 Minidigger!
This month we had family to visit and later we had a minidigger arrive to help us in the garden. We managed to get out and enjoy the summer a little. The main constraint to developing the house and garden remained time, budget, and slowly building up tools and contacts.
Stugga Visit
We went out blueberry picking in the forest as it was the ideal time of year. We walked out into the woods on a route that would eventually lead us to a small communal cabin (stugga). This was on one of the snowmobile trails. It was old, but full of character. One room had an collection of historic wooden skis – one ski and a placard for the person that used to wear the ski.
Garden
The demands on time in the garden calmed down a little as most immediate tasks were planted and growing, and the sun was less harsh. I had some American Blueberry bushes arrive and some Gooseberry bushes, with the plan being to plan these around the border near the garage. In the greenhouse the dense planting began to look a little sickly be the end of the month probably due to using up the nutrients in the raised beds faster than we expected. It’s likely that next year we will plant less but be able to provide better care.
One part of the garden we were mostly happy with was the raised beds and new grass path around the garage. It had all been landscaped by hand last year, and the grass seeded before the winter. The raised beds were working and although the apple trees needed some support, they were looking much healthier than previous years. This is just the starting point for the area but it felt like the plans were taking shape. There were still some challenges to think on like how to stop birds eating all the berries, and where to draw a line between the field and the garden with regard to weed control.
Parents visit
I took two weeks off work and had my parents come to visit. We visited a lot of places nearby. One good day out was a visit to the large car museum at Härnösand. I had no idea it was so massive until we had begun walking through the 3rd and 4th warehouse-szied room with more to go.
We have some problems finding suitable activities to fill the entire 8 days because a lot of the attractions on the high coast are difficult for the mobility impaired. As an example lake swimming, forest walking, the national parks, and island visits on the ferry were not possible.
One success was that this year I had recommended the local small airport, and as a result the travel from Stockholm to our area was less stressful. The train station had been confusing and stressful for my parents the previous year. There had been no assisting staff on the platforms, and the journey takes a long time. In comparison the airport flight is heavily staffed with clear instructions and fast travel. It’s roughly the same price so I will always recommend the airport over the train.
Photography practice
I had to make an effort to go out and find things to photograph in the garden and when out and about. Sometimes it is easy to take the time ofr granted and then weeks go by without having taken any pictures of all the interesting things we’ve seen.
Deal to borrow Minidigger
One of the local loppis (like a bric-a-brac shop) owners we had become friends with came to visit. After seeing our giant mountain of earth left behind from the greenhouse excavation, they offered us the loan of their minidigger. I got permission from my neighbour that we could drive it through their field to reach the back garden. Our friends delivered the minidigger by trailer and drove it around to our garden. I was quite apprehensive of it at first. Once sat inside, I recognised the starting procedure as being similar to the diesel engine we had had when we lived on a narrowboat. With the engine running and using the controls it took about a minute to realise nothing horrific was going to happen, and about 5 minutes to get to the point where it was possible to fill a wheelbarrow.
