KW-20 No newsletter this week

Ninety weeks without missing a beat

This is the ninetieth weekly issue of the Monday morning Barracks Newsletter, and the first one where I am not actually at The Barracks.

I am in Berlin, visiting the granddaughter (and the daughters, of course!). She (the littlest) is doing very well, and we have had much gurgling and laughing at each other. Her other grandfather, who she has met more than me (Opa Berndt), also has a beard, so she pretty much expects them on grandfathers, but, in accordance with our presence in the world generally, his is small and well-kept and mine is large and unruly. She, the granddaughter, has found pulling on it to be an Interesting Thing To Do. In return, I feed her and bounce her and, poor child, sing to her. I’ve kept well away from changing her nappy, though. I have done enough of that in my life and can now invoke the grandparently right to just do the fun stuff!

Pirate and Granddaughter, Boxhagener Platz, Berlin

Back at the ranch, Nina and Theo will be leaving this week, but have successfully transplanted all of the tomatoes into the field. I shall finish off the ones in the polytunnel when I get home tonight. They have also been taking excellent care of the porcine family members, so don’t worry about them! Thank you both very much for all your hard work.

It’s been good to be away from the ranch for a couple of days, but the busy days of spring don’t leave much time for r&r, so I’d better get back to it.

In fact, we’re almost into the summer routine of near permanent weeding, watering, mowing and mulching, but before that:

• Clear the bean field. This should be easy enough even without the cultivator. There are many beans in modules which should be coming up really soon, but I shall also sow a few hundred directly under poles. Unless I make the bean gate again. Which was fun, but probably not worth the work.

• Clear the rest of the Salsa field. This is not going to be easy without the cultivator. Not even a little bit.

• Weed and water the orchard. I love the orchard. Beyond the “mission”, the desire to watch the orchard grow is my strongest motivator for actually staying at the barracks and seeing it through. We are going to have quite a lot of tree fruit this year, I think.

• Work on the Collapse Laboratory. I need to have a booking form, and all the associated bits and pieces in place by Friday. Of course, as a newsletter subscriber, you get to hear about this first. I’m going to work out pricing and exact dates, but it’ll be around 400 euros for a week of activities and learning and sharing and full board, and it will probably be around August / September. Let me know if you want an early access ticket!

And until then

with much love

Your Pirate Ben

xoxo