It’s been quite a start to the year for me, much as it was quite an ending to last year.

We’re still not completely settled in yet (and I still have a gaping hole in my kitchen cabinets where a dishwasher ought to be by now — we’ve hit a few snags with Home Depot), but I feel so much more at peace than I did living in the suburbs. I relish the slower pace of life. And we still live 10 minutes away from grocery stores and good pizza. (And a hospital, which is also helpful.) What more do you need?

It’s so much quieter here. And I can’t get enough of walking around our five acres, even if it does get really squishy when it rains (and it’s been raining A LOT … I have definitely been making good use of my new rain boots). Blitz loves it, too. Every time we go out for a stroll around the yard, he becomes ten years younger. Especially the other day when it snowed.

Here is what I know about what we now call Five Acre Fruit Farm:

• At least one snapping turtle lives in our pond. We also have fish.
• We have a walking path that cuts through a grove of trees at the very back of the property.
• Wildlife sightings/signs spotted on the property include a great horned owl, a fox, deer, rabbits, and raccoons.
• We have a huge barn filled with old, rusty garden implements; broken garden carts that need mending; an old riding mower; dozens of clay pots; tons of firewood; bricks; paving stones; rocks; and sundry other items that may or may not be useful.
• I am now the proud owner of too many mason jars to count.

Of course, there is also the reason we call it Five Acre Fruit Farm. The yard features:

• 8 apple trees
• 1 pear tree
• 1 cherry tree
• 1 peach tree
• 1 mulberry tree

In addition to black raspberries, Concord grapes, strawberries, and who knows what else?

I felt like I could barely deal with my small suburban yard and the veggie patch. Now I have FIVE+ ACRES and quite a lot of fruit production — not to mention whatever comes back in all those raised beds you see in the above photo. I need to learn to be OK with weeds. I’m also suddenly enthusiastic about bat boxes and thinking about where to install some (near our pond, I suppose).

Sometimes, I think we were insane to buy this house. And sometimes I am excited to think about the new discoveries I will no doubt make on a regular basis.

So, my resolution for 2022 (if you want to call it that) is to enjoy the process of discovering this property. And to write about it here. I never had a specific theme for this blog before. I would just write whatever I felt like writing. But now I feel this blog must be about life here at Five Acre Fruit Farm.