Weekly Update: 6.21.25
The three of us sisters sat in a row on the edge of the bed, giggling like our younger selves whenever we tried to take a group selfie.
"Let me have my phone back. I have longer arms."
"I feel like my head looks twice as big as everyone else's."
"Let's try putting Candice in the middle -- she's shorter."
"The camera is doing something weird to my nose."
“Delete that one. It’s making me have neck wrinkles.”
“Since when are we worrying about neck wrinkles?”
We were giddy -- celebratory. We had barely even sipped the glasses of wine we held in our hands. It was our first official night in the bunkhouse. Sure, we had camped in the bunkhouse a couple times during the winter. That was temporary, though -- piled as we were around the house on air mattresses and folding lounge chairs. Wednesday night was the real thing. Grace started the day taking apart our old bunk beds we had built for the tent a couple years ago. We used the lumber to build three simple platform beds we could arrange in our tiny bunkhouse space. We tried a couple configurations of the beds, settling on an arrangement that will allow us to use the beds to create a sitting area along one wall. Right now our furniture and bedding is rather hodgepodge, but we are looking forward to finishing up our space and making it more inviting in the future.
Before crawling into our newly made beds, we uncorked some wine we've been saving for nearly two years -- a bottle of "Bunkhouse Red" from the local 7C's Winery. During our visit to 7C's during their 2023 Meadfest, we sampled their Bunkhouse Red at a wine tasting. It was delicious, and with a name like that, we just had to buy a bottle. We decided we'd save it for our first night in the bunkhouse, little knowing it would take us nearly two years to get there.
Of course, leaving our tent was bittersweet. Living in a wall tent was something I have dreamed about since I was a teenager. There are so many things I loved about it -- from the natural light to the way the wind sounds rippling the canvas. I’m going to miss waking up surrounded by birdsong. I’m going to miss how close the owls sound at dusk. I’m going to miss how cozy it was. Living in the tent was a grand adventure I will never forget.
Still, it was exhilarating to move into the bunkhouse. We still have a lot of finishing work to wrap up, but we’ve made a liveable space ourselves. When we sisters settled in for the night, we let out a sigh of relief. “We did it,” I said. “We did!” they agreed.
While our move into the bunkhouse was the highlight of our week, we reached several other small milestones as well.
Bonnie-Jean sold her last puppies on Saturday. We were all a bit teary when they were gone. For Bonnie especially, life had been revolving around those puppies since they were born more than two months ago. It was oddly quiet without them, but it was also a relief. Caring for seven puppies was a huge responsibility -- for Bonnie in particular. Hershey and Peep's new families sent us update photos this week. It's such a blessing seeing the pups settling in with their new humans.
Now that the puppies are gone, the rest of our dogs have been reintegrating back into a pack. Despite the heat, they've been enjoying all the time we've spent outside. Bonnie-Jean and Grace have taken them on frequent trips to the spring to cool off.
On Wednesday, while Grace worked on our beds, my dad and I finished up our bathroom mirrors. Last week, we built the frames, using our table saw dado set to create space to set-in the mirror. We stained and finished the frames, attached some decorative brackets -- borrowing an idea we had seen on YouTube. Then secured the glass to the frames with hanger strap. The results, if I don't say so myself, were stunning.
It’s been odd seeing myself in the mirror every time I go into the bathroom. Since we moved out here, we have gotten used to mirrors being something small that we take out maybe once a day to make sure we are presentable. It will be interesting to see what, if any, difference the mirrors make in how we see ourselves.
We spent most of our mornings and some of our evenings in the garden this week. It's growing so fast that it's difficult to keep up with all the maintenance, but it's been a joy to try. We've been tying and retying our tomatoes to their stakes. We've been tying and retying our melons to their trellises. Our newly seeded radishes and green beans are sprouting, as are our ornamental gourds. Our grapevines have buds. We planted our mandarin pumpkin seedlings this week, and we transplanted the rest of our pumpkins into bigger pots. We have butternut and honeynut squash, along with a couple varieties of pattypan squash, all waiting rather desperately to get into the ground. Bonnie-Jean and Grace have been breaking up sod to make them a space. Hopefully we can finish up their boxes and trellises this week.
Last night, I finished the first day of summer with firefly gardening. We have been trying to only water our garden in the morning, but this 90-degree weather made me want to water our younger plants in the evening as well. This hot weather dries the shallow ground to a crisp, and I worry about our green bean and radish sprouts. So last night, I took the hose and watering can around different areas, refreshing the parched soil. I sprayed a few new plants with our organic garden spray -- neem, baking soda, peppermint oil, and castile soap. As I worked, the fireflies came out, making the balmy air sparkle all around me. It was a moment of pure beauty, and I felt enveloped in it. As hot and humid our summer days get, there is nothing like an Ozarks summer night. When I was done, I walked back into the bunkhouse -- thankful and content. Here’s to summer and so many blessings.
