Garden Grit & A Meaningful Evening

I made a coffee just after 7 and finished The Great Alone—that ending! Honestly, perfect timing with Mother’s Day around the corner. With the sun already out and temps climbing from -2, it felt like a good day to get moving. S surfaced later, made his coffee, and did his usual scroll on X.

I started with some marketing, published another K & N wedding photo post, then pulled the planters into the sunshine and headed outside “just to do a few things”… which, of course, turned into a full-on garden session. Eggshells sprinkled, compost buried, weeds pulled, planters tidied. I uncovered the strawberries, hauled more planters out, planted another dahlia from two growing tubers, and repotted Shaina’s spider plant back into her fancy pot after its outdoor sabbatical last summer.

I kept all these plants overwintered this year!!! Yeah me!

She’ll be taking her plants to their new place in a few days.

S squeezed in a hot tub, then tackled the hydrant timer that had given up. By noon it was +9, and I was brushing Harley—winter coat still coming out in clumps. We finished off the soup, then I got back to the garden for a couple solid hours deadheading the big in-ground bed and moving on to the raised beds.

Then came the bittersweet part—the old whiskey barrel planters. We’ve had them since our early days in the trailer in Hanna, gifted by Ma and Pa K for our anniversary. Nearly 40 years later… they’re done. The right one especially—beyond saving.

I emptied the soil into buckets, had S help dump the rest into a raised bed, and sure enough—the bottom gave out completely, sides collapsing with it. End of an era. I hauled them to the fire pit for future campfires and plan to reuse the metal rings—Dad found some for me as well—to make a garden orb.

While I was in garden mode, S was out battling the harrows—needing a new draw bar, some straightening, and likely more parts than he hoped. I eventually packed things up, cleaned my tools, and brought a cold drink out to the shop where he’d already started looking online for replacements.

Time to clean up and head out—we had Ada’s confirmation to attend.

S dropped the skid steer at Matt’s (he’s renting it tomorrow), I picked him up, and we headed over to the Paetz place. Full house energy—prepping, visiting, and a great pulled pork supper laid out. Mom was already there, along with Gordon, with Murray, and Danielle joining not long after.

I gave Aislyn her belated birthday gift which she loved then toured her room and all other gifts she received!

We made it to the church just after 6, catching the rehearsal and meeting up with Godmother Kaylin. The confirmation mass was a long one—nearly 50 participants!. Congratulations sweet Ada <3

Afterward, we snapped a few photos at the church nave. Mom had to head back early to check on a new calf, while Kaylin, Murray, and Danielle took off for the city. The rest of us went back to the Paetz house, visited a bit more, and caught the tail end of the hockey game.

We finally wrapped up and got back to the ranch just before midnight. Mom texted that she made it home safe too.

And me? Started a new book before lights out—because apparently that’s just how the day ends now.