Starting the garden

All year around I am pushing to be outdoors every hour, every minute... but these days it calls to me so strongly.
The story of the garden and outdoor plans begin... No set plan or goals - just digging and planting and maybe some nibbles and eats will arrive by August. I know this year will be just a start on it all and mistakes and more digging and moving of plants (and maybe some swearing!) will happen, but we all must start somewhere and I am a bit impatient to begin!
We have four beautiful oak trees in the front yard. Soren researched caring for them for longevity and happily realized his chainsaw was needed for careful pruning...

 Monkey see, monkey do. Someone is always watching!

 The big kids were able to start a fire and keep it going for two days (a dizzying amount of marshmallows were consumed)...

 I also took many of the branches and used them in my swales around the house, using a kind of hugelkulture design. I have been doing a lot of reading on permaculture and sustainable landscape and structure design. The idea is that water will run off the structure into the troughs which I will fill with wood chips and filter slowly into the mounds below and help retain moisture for a longer period of time while preventing any flash flooding after a rain event. I envision planting some bushes, medicinal herbs and flowering plants around the house.

  Last Fall, I added woodchips and manure to a low spot in the front yard and filled it with bulbs of all varieties in hopes this would happen this Spring. Happiness!

 Helpers are always running around, messing things up and occasionally helping! Even bright and early in their pajamas.

 Thank goodness for big sisters and their warm hugs...

  Sweet Kasper enjoying the late afternoon sun (and a marshmallow!).

 I ordered a few fruit trees from FEDCO this year to put in plowed hedgerows I established last year in our long field with the help of a neighbor's tractor.

 Across the driveway in our other field, I had an area plowed for a garden in the Fall and used leaves, algae and manure to prep the space.

Now the planting will begin!