Last night at home for two weeks

We are ready to go. More or less. Clothes clean, gathered, folded and packed. Yard and garden beaten into shape, not totally but will have to do.

Our neighbour Natasha, daughter Dasha and boyfriend Sergei were back yesterday to transplant strawberries. Natasha had thinned out her huge strawberry patch and brought us the spares. 120 of them – to go with the 120 we already have. Lots of jam for next winter and even more the winter after.

Dasha was back today and dug in about 15 or 20 blackberry bushes and 5 or 6 tea roses. Sergei and his brother came along and Tanya had them take out another apple tree. Those kids can work. Dasha is a sweetheart. Seventeen, cute as a bug’s ear, always smiling, just finished high-school (Grade 11) and will write University entrance next week. Sergei will go for his medical and if he passes will be mustered in to the Ukrainian Army for two years. If the romance lasts, those two will do OK. Likely never have much money but will never do without.

We hooked up the hoses today and Tanya watered the raspberries and some of the other transplants. She spent all day in our “greenhouse” transplanting tiny little plants (petunias?) into individual places where they will grow big enough to move outside in two weeks.

Maxim and Ivan helped me walk the dogs tonight. The boys had spent the afternoon playing with two big cardboard boxes left from our Care packages of a year ago. Well taped up to hold together. One would get inside a box and the other would roll it down a hill. Oh, to be young again.

On our walk home we ran into Katya and Yuri out in their big garden. Along with Babushka, another woman and their oldest daughter (about 20) and their dog EMMA. My dogs were quite enthused but she put the run on them. Katya will look after the house while we are away. Watering all Tanya’s plants should keep her busy. I need to go through and do a count again but it is up over 30 plus all the boxes of seedlings.

Tomorrow morning we will go to the big Sunday market to see if I can find a pair of rubber footwear for garden duty. Our train leaves P’yatikhatki at 2:00 so we have time.

I hope that resort has internet. I have two projects to work on, two books to read and if there is no internet I need to take more books.