Ben's blog

We started picking to eat a few, then we brought a bowl or 2, and now we need to make sure to empty the bushes before their fruits go to waste. Which leaves us with tons of extra berries. I think this will be the first year where we get to gorge ourselves, give to friends, and have enough for canning a year’s worth. In the past we’d go get bulk quantities at pick your own orchards for the canning.

There’s so much more coming we’re bracing ourselves. Robin does raid the berries but he’s more independent and rarely gathers with us these days.

I have plans to expand and diversify our water sources next year: roof capture, pond, stream buffering, well overflow, well from the old house we recently acquired. All will be at least investigated if not deployed. We want more alternatives to combat dryness, a fact that is made particularly relevant because of how many things we have growing nowadays, and it’s always hard to see them struggle from lack of water. On the same sad but relevant tone, we have started meeting families which moved to Vermont as various levels of climate refugees. We ourselves picked the area a decade ago for it’s better position in this regard, among other things.

This dry year, we’re moving water as we can, which is to say it helps but it’s far from a panacea.

Filling up at the stream, which is almost dry…