The first time we toured our future home, I noticed a meadow of mint plants growing in the raised garden. My first thought was, "Cool--free mint!" My second thought was, "Wait--mint is the herbal equivalent of the Roman Empire! It's resilient and relentlessly invasive!"
Today, I decided yank all that mint out and plant a cover crop to nourish the soil during winter. I pulled out dozens of mint plants, leaving a few in the grass next to the garden, where they are welcome to stay as long as they keep their little runners to themselves. I like having a little mint for smoothies, but I don't need a bushel of it.
By the end of the afternoon, all that was left in the garden was some Italian parsley and green onions I planted weeks ago, and a volunteer cherry tomato plant that has been limping along in the back corner. I'll plant the cover crop seeds next week because I didn't have enough energy or daylight to do it today, but I'm happy that the garden is prepped and ready for red winter wheat and some hairy vetch (what a creepy name for such a pretty and useful plant!).
I'm also happy that I can finally fit the van into our garage!!! Since we moved in, I've been slowly but steadily giving away or donating the spare furniture and old appliances in this half of the garage. This afternoon, Phillip moved a few of the last bulky things into the back of the garage, so at long last I can park the van out of the elements! And not a day too soon. We're starting to get frost in the mornings, and it's no fun to scrape a thin layer of ice off all of the van's windows.
Speaking of the garage, I smile every time I see this handprint and name in our garage's floor. It makes me feel like my dad is waving hi to me, or maybe giving me a high five from heaven.
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