Inch-by-inch, row-by-row...

 Visitors

Three feet from my house. Note the mange spots on this woodchuck's rump. I gave this animal a stern scolding and don't expect that she will return.

This fellow was attempting to have my ducks for dinner. The mesh panel you see is the door to their enclosure. A harshly-worded memo was composed and delivered at 1240fps.

 Plants are going into the ground

Next to Southern Belle's back porch. Lovage circled in red. Tagetes minuta circled in white. Peppermint circled in yellow. Being able to step out of your kitchen door and harvest fresh herbs is priceless.

I planted a tomato plant in her garden but then the farmer started spraying 2,4-D on the field next to her house. You win some and you lose some. I will wait a few days before I attempt a replant.

More plants

I put my tomato plants into the ground today. I am only planting 12 of them which is causing me some anxiety.

I also planted four grafted plums, seven seedling chestnuts, 50 peach pits and about 12 poplar cuttings (DN170).

The next 160 inches north/south by 24 feet east/west will be sowed with oats. That space is reserved for late cabbage plants. 

Another Dacha video

HERE

It is springtime and things are leafing out.

Nursery stock at the local flea-market.

One characteristic of Eastern Europe and Central America is that men with "skills" migrated to stronger economies and basic maintenance like tuck-pointing mortared joints is neglected back-home.

My expert in all-things Soviet pointed out that the white, unglazed, larger-than-standard-size brick is very unusual in former Eastern-Bloc states and that there is probably a story about how it ended up where it is.

Hop vines overwhelming the fence left-foreground. Beer brewers and drinkers? It is also worth pointing out the concrete utility poles on the right side of the frame.

Raised mound in the background behind the two women is a root-cellar.

They had a huge amount of die-back on their grape arbor. Perhaps they let it over-bear and in entered winter in a depleted state. Or maybe they had a test winter.