A Family Affair

Mom asked me if I wanted fall-bearing raspberries at our new place. Absolutely! I love raspberries and having them both in summer and in fall? A no-brainer! No problem, I could dig some of hers. Correction. I had to dig ALL of hers. Didn't really seem too many while we were digging. So, I bag them up in two large bags and drag them home. That was Sunday. Yesterday, I loaded up the kids and the raspberries and headed out to the country to plant them. My father-in-law was kind enough to come till up the garden for me to prepare for the raspberries. He went home and I got to work. While I was digging the trench, this is what the kids were doing:

Big helpers, huh?

I guess they got tired of hanging around and doing nothing because when the trench was dug, I had a couple of eager helpers. RJ hauled the raspberries to his side and Pepe laid them all out so nicely.

I planted them while the kids ran off and amused themselves in various manners. First row finished. 40 plants. Not too shabby. Repeat whole process for row #2. 80 raspberry plants and we only finished the first bag. Now to water them. Oh, I should mention that though there is technically running water at the country property, we have not yet managed to get the pump working this year so watering the raspberries means hauling 5 gallon pails of water out of the well and carrying them over to the garden. Repeat 10 times. I am sure the effort will have seemed worth it when I am eating those wonderfully juicy and plump raspberries but for right now, I just want a nap!

PS: Thanks, mom, for helping me dig the raspberries. Thanks, dad, for tilling up the garden, and thanks to my little helpers for your hard work helping me plant them! This really was a family affair. Now if only someone with plumbing experience (dad) could get the pump to work, that would really make me happy. I might even share the raspberries!