One Hawk Homestead

An update on things - the gardens are coming along, now that the cold weather is finally behind us and the rains have returned after a several week hiatus. You can see in the pictures that the persimmons are starting to bloom, and the blackberries are in full flower. I had designed the gardens to carry on mostly without me, thinking that would be a someday thing... not realizing I would need that at this age.
Things with me - I have been back to my 'real job' full-time since sometime in April. Mostly that is something I am doing remotely because I still have lingering cognitive challenges since the November stroke. Sounds, especially, are very difficult for me... I do ok in calm quiet environments, but I find that I still have to take a lot of small breaks. The battery is low, and I get worn down easily. That part is something I did not really anticipate being an issue this many months removed, but I was warned that it could be like this for the first year or so. I don't enjoy it, but I am respecting it and taking the cues to rest. I am doing outside things here and there, but it does feel like I am dragging myself to accomplish so little. I am drained by my 'real job' most days, and there isn't much left to give. It is a season.. and I have accepted what is. I do miss the energy, though.
Anyway - just sharing where things are currently. I'm still keeping the gardens going to the extent that I can, and my husband is helping a lot. I don't know if or when I'll be up to handling a market day this summer. I'll update here when the time comes. In the meantime, enjoy the view. It's what I'm doing.. it's pretty outside 💚

Our heirloom sugar snap peas are starting to bloom 🌸 We've been growing this variety from our own saved seeds for close to 10 years. It's called Magnolia Blossom Tendril.
Thank you to my husband for helping me keep the gardens watered this year. It's been exceptionally dry the past month or so, and I don't have the physical capacity to do the hauling and whatnot like I used to. I'm hoping I'll be able to do more next year - this year, I'm taking a light approach while I'm still working through my recovery. One day at a time ☺️
And the earth provides. For that, I am very thankful.
As always, grown with zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or synthetic fertilizers. Ever 💚

First strawberries of the season 🍓 And a couple weeks earlier than I had thought!
As always, grown on our own land with zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or synthetic fertilizers. Ever 💚

Planting her cucumber seeds 🌱 .. I'm a couple weeks behind, but it's probably ok. She was often behind by other people's standards, too. It happens. She told me she preferred that her food came in toward the autumn, so being behind worked out well in the end, anyway. There are plenty of berries to keep us active and nourished in the meantime.
These cucumbers will likely be fruiting around early July. I have a spot picked out for them where there is afternoon shade. That should help a lot with the heat.
As always, grown with zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or synthetic fertilizers. Ever 💚

Our strawberries are blooming 🌸 About one month til homegrown strawberries 🍓🍓🍓
As always, grown on our own land with zero pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or synthetic fertilizers. Ever 💚

Our apple trees are blooming 🌸 We don't have much in the way of apples - we have 4 dwarf trees of different varieties. But it's something.
And there is a difference between a fresh picked apple and an apple sitting on a store shelf. You know what I mean if you have ever picked from an apple tree.. the aroma of an apple just off the tree is incredible. 🍎
As with everything here, I don't use any sprays or -cides. Not even the 'organic' treatments. I just try to make the trees happy through soil health and nutrition. They do the rest.

A couple weeks behind, but I am thankful just to be planting. I remember a few months ago when I couldn't even pick up a seed.. fine motor skills.. the little things really are the most significant 🌱
This weekend's planting: tomatoes and bell peppers. 🍅🫑🍅🫑🍅🫑
I'm only planting three varieties of tomatoes this year, but they're the best ones out of our bunch. Cherokee Carbon (a cross of both), Kellogg's Breakfast, and Citrine (those yummy little orange cherry tomatoes we had last year).
This will likely be an August harvest. I'm hopeful that I will be well enough to make an appearance then with my family. Probably one weekend that month.
That's generally my hope for this year - once a month, but we'll see. I'll update as the time comes.

My friend, Sharon, would have been so happy with herself 💚 That's what I think every time I pass by our accidental pear trees, as they are blooming for the first time this year.
We have 3 (4?) that all grew from seeds of her pear crop about 6 years ago or so. Not intentionally, at least for my part. I think it was one of those compost situations, you know, happy little accidents that spring up from the compost unexpectedly. I had gotten something like 60lbs of pears from her that year.
A couple weeks after I got out of the hospital, I found out through a mutual friend that Sharon had crossed into the afterlife. No one had told me, but I had this unshakable feeling for several weeks. She was in my dreams.. it turned out Sharon had passed right around the time my own health took a turn last November.
Sharon had been ill, so it was not a surprise really. We both knew what was coming. I visited her in September, and we said our goodbyes then. We walked her gardens.. we played flutes.. we hugged. We promised to look for each other after she crossed over.
She has been in my consciousness A LOT the past week or so. She's not gone. Just here in a different way. These pear trees are proof of that. I hope they give us some fruit this year in her honor. She would love that 💚

An experiment 🍑 .. I planted a dwarf peach tree in one of the hottest, driest parts of our main garden a couple years ago.
Didn't really expect much, between our humid climate and the rabbit pressure on the young tree at the time.
I guess sometime before Nov 2025, I must have put chicken wire around the trunk to protect it from the rabbits. I don't remember doing that, but here we are!
Anyway, the tree is blooming now for the first time 🌸
Maybe, we'll get a couple peaches this year 🍑
(No, I don't spray - not even with 'organic' treatments. Never have. I just try to make the fruit trees happy with mulch, compost, rock dusts, and the occasional duck poo water. Our setup is not a commercial operation, but it's a place where we can grab fresh food most of the year and usually have some to share.)