Friday, March 30, on the day before the full moon, I planted 32 sugar snap peas in the garden bed that I created last fall. It seems early, but the ground was workable, and I set up the string trellis for them to climb, and re-attached the rain barrels near the back of the garage to make it easy to water them. (And today it is raining!) We’ll see how they do. I will plant more a couple weeks later so that we get peas ripening in stages. And we’ll add lettuce and carrots and spinach which like to grow with peas, and maybe other things too. Last year I focused on perennials, but this will be an annual bed.
We noticed last spring that this area was free of snow before other parts of the yard, and got some good sun. In permaculture, observation always comes first! So we put this spot into our plan for a veggie bed. Then, as I was starting to dig out the pond late last summer, I needed to put that top soil somewhere. So I laid down cardboard over the grass in this spot, and then added layers of soil with compost and grass clippings and other amendments to create a raised bed. There is still a long ways to go before the pond will be done–who knows how many more raised beds it will inspire?
By the way, that long black hose you can see in the photo is an overflow from the rain barrels, and eventually will be attached to another length of hose to be the water source for our pond.
I want to post about the learning session that Dave led on the 23rd to finish our rain barrels and teach a few of us more about how to install rain barrels. I will talk today about how to attach the barrels to the downspouts of our gutters. Once the rain barrels themselves are positioned, you can measure and mark the downspout about 8 to 12″ above the top of the barrel.
I had a revelation! I have been thinking I was having a tug of war with a groundhog, because despite the fact that I had been using a very potent deterrent liquid, each morning I would discover this mess around my cherry tree beds. But no more 
One more post about the 
Coming back to the Permablitz of June 24, another project that was completed that day was a fire circle. As Lisa Fernandes said, every home needs a place to burn things. So she was our team leader for the fire circle, and gathered in the layers of community for the element of fire. With a community of workers!
First they had to remove big pile of bittersweet brush (that we will eventually burn) from the spot we had chosen. Lisa and Kristen gathered together the stone blocks that would be used. (But there could have been other helpers–at that moment I was over in the garden beds.) Then they prepared the ground with a layer of sand. Our youngest permablitz members got into the sand-tamping process, as well as Lisa and Kristen.
Finally, they brought a whole pile of pine mulch for the seating area around it, and then laid some bittersweet brush and pine cones for our first fire. Permaculture is not just about a way of gardening but also about how communities care for each other. Its three principles have been summed up as earth care, people care, and future care. So having a place to gather with others is an integral part of our permaculture design.
With all that done, the barrels could be positioned on the concrete blocks. Then, the downspouts were cut short, and a curvy connector was attached to bring the water to the barrel.
Our efforts to enhance the fungal community in our yard are suddenly materializing in mushrooms popping up in the cherry tree circle beds. (Or at least it seems that these efforts are linked.) These came up on my birthday, and then had disappeared by the next day, to be followed by another variety altogether.
I don’t know mushrooms well enough to identify–is anyone more familiar with these than I am who might give them names?
Finding Our Way Home 