We woke up Friday morning to rain on the forecast and all of my writing work done by 10 am. "Let's go to visit Mom," Mark suggested. I was glad to agree because I knew my mothers-in-law would have stocked up on ways to spoil me.

What's the key to my heart? Lots of chocolate...and getting to play in mushroom compost all afternoon. Last time we visited, a truckload of the latter had recently been delivered, and I got to spread some in their garden patch. The manure-rich soil amendment was dark enough to make me jealous, far better than any purchased compost we'd ever bought.

Of course the proof is in the pudding --- how do vegetables look several weeks later planted in that mushroom compost? The answer --- beautiful and healthy! No wonder I got so much joy out of spreading the rest of the pile in another garden spot Friday afternoon.

I also dropped by the peach trees I'd adopted and thinned out touching fruits. There was quite a lot of insect damage, plainly visible from the gummy secretions the plants create where the bugs have bored inside. I tried to pick off damaged fruits if at all possible, but ended up leaving some so as not to denude the tree.

It's your peaches' turn next, Lynda. Let me know if you want me to thin your crop!

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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