There we were, down on the farm

Spent a pretty good chunk of Thursday down on The Farm, getting stuff in place for planting time. Actually did a little planting, too, but most of the activity involved getting the beds put together and in place. Big project this year, because we are moving most of the beds to a position with better sun. Lotta work there, especially since many of the bed boxes were in need of repair.

Once again, Jeb the Wonder Dog wanted to drive:

Once I reminded him that he can't drive a stick, he was OK over in the passenger's seat:

He really wants me to get another automatic. Tough noogies. Anyway, there was some serious repair work to be done on some of the bed boxes. Two boxes got cannibalized for parts, and we'll be building another box out of what is left from those. One box got shortened because of wood rot, and got a new end piece, cannibalized from one of the other boxes:

Had to put some flashing on several boxes -- the metal trim that you see on the top edge of the near and left-hand sides, but not yet on the far side:

Had to do some painting, too, to make the boxes pretty and, oh, yeah, help protect against rot:

While Farmer Tom and I worked, Jeb the Wonder Dog stood vigil against the forces of evil, or something. Mostly he played with Willie, Farmer Tom's golden lab, and slept in the shade, although I think he also dropped a deuce in there somewhere:

There was much discussion with Farmer Tom's wife over where and how to position the beds, since they basically are going out in the middle of the yard (granted, it's a 3 or 4 acre yard) as opposed to their former position on the edge of the property. Mrs. Farmer Tom wanted a fairly compact profile, which led us to this configuration:

She likes the end-to-end arrangement, minimizing the space occupied. Obviously, we have several beds yet to put in place:

Of course, a bed ain't shit without dirt, so we started putting that in:

Amazing how many tractor loads it takes to fill a single bed:

And yeah, you can guess who was spreading with a shovel, and who was driving the tractor. Hint: Farmer Tom owns the tractor:

 Eventually, we got two of the beds filled with dirt, and planted peas in the middle section. The near and far sections are currently empty, but will be home soon to spinach, lettuce and radishes. Maybe broccoli.

With everything we have ready at the moment in place, this is how it looks:

More beds, more dirt to come, obviously, but things are starting to cook down on The Farm.