The Swamp

Trampoline.

Before drainage:After - or at least halfway to - drainage.

We have been hard at work at the new garden. First we bought lots of mud to fill in an unsightly trench and today we spent the day digging it all up again to lay down drainage pipes.

The permafrost of this year's winter has finally thawed and last night it rained REALLY hard. So today as we arrived at the garden it looked ok, but when Irmie stepped off the path she immediately sank up to her knees into the mud.

We realized that we are going to have to heed the advice of our neighbor and install drainage or the new trampoline we bought for the girls will disappear underground within a couple of days.

So we spent today digging trenches that run downhill into the stream behind the garden. Let's just say: easier said than done and leave it at that.

At the end of the day we rebuilt the growing box that had dominated the left side of the garden. We thought it was too big so we sawed it in half and rebuilt it in a less obtrusive spot close to the hut. It has glass panels over it so we should be planting seeds in there sometime soon and before too long we'll be enjoying our first harvest.

Washing machine anchor.

Julia shows off our new technique for stopping the washing machine dancing around the attic. Just attach child. Easy.