I feel like I have been catapulted out of a time machine a couple of months into the future. I lifted my head, and somehow, it is now June. My romantic notion of planting blueberries surrounded by sunshine and butterflies has been buried beneath thousands of pounds of peat moss. The reality was wheelbarrows, back pain, and being too tired to chew after shoveling for 14 hours in the field day after day. I’m not gonna lie to you–there have been low moments (Colin came home one day and found me sobbing in the mulch pile). But meltdowns notwithstanding, I am happy with what I’ve accomplished so far and I couldn’t have done it without the help of family and friends. Thank you so much! We got 501 plants in the ground–a respectable first season, in my humble opinion.

After the planting was finished, Jim helped me get the irrigation system set up. Then I spread mulch on the rows (8 dump truck loads), and tilled and seeded the isles (I am getting better with the tractor).

With great trepidation, I started digging holes for the deer fence with my new auger. The Kubota salesman had shown me how and I was determined but nervous. In the pouring rain, the ground wet and heavy, I engaged the power take off (that’s what makes the auger spin; I know things like that now!) and punctured the ground. Very slowly, with the machine vibrating like Lucifer was rising from the pits of hell, I dug my first hole. And then my second, then third. On the fourth I hit a rock and the machine stopped working. Fighting discouragement and a little bit of panic, I called the dealership. Through phone direction, I was able to access, identify and remove the broken “shear bolt” in the turning thing that attaches the PTO (power take off) shaft to the auger. I felt a small glow of pride. I haven’t replaced it yet because I drove in and got the wrong size…but I know how. Crazy!!

The remaining 600 plants will stay in pots until the late fall or early next spring as I ran out of time before my planting window closed. I spend a lot of time keeping them watered, preventing them from flooding, or blowing helter skelter in the wind and breaking. I have become very weather preoccupied but I work at not dwelling on what is beyond my control. If I had the chance to do it all again, I would plant the majority of the “container grown” in the ground first and pot the “bare root” after, rather than the other way around. Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20. In the meantime, I am working on building a deer fence and getting the rest of the trenches prepared.

All in all, things have settled down. The urgency and stress are now minimal but for some reason I feel slightly disconnected and removed. It’s hard to describe. It’s like my life is in abstract and feels remote and inaccessible. I know it sounds weird; it feels weird too. Maybe it’s just a reaction after the commotion of the last few months. Maybe I’m just tired. I think a movie is in order… with popcorn…and a nap.