A New Year and a Fresh Start

So things have been a little dormant around here for a while, sorry if it's a bit dusty!

Lots of changes too. When I last posted we were in a bit of limbo waiting to see what would happen when our building sold. It took a while to get it ready for sale so I managed to keep my gardens that summer but once it was on the market it sold in a matter of days and the new landlord took possession Nov 2014. Right away he wanted to put his mark on everything and it became a long negotiation to try to keep our apt. One of the first things I had to sacrifice was the backyard -within days of him taking possession I had to rip out the raised beds and clear the space so it could be used for the trucks and dumpsters. So the backyard farm ended in in hurry, but at least it was at the end of the season and I still had the roof!

For the next 2 years the construction and renovation of the lower units was an ongoing annoyance - the landlord initially wanted us to leave as well but we managed to convince him to extend our lease while he was busy with the other projects. During that time the Russian and I also decided to part ways- we'd been together 8 years and things had not been great for a while. The split was amicable and we are still very good friends. He moved out and I kept the apartment for the remainder of  the lease extension.That  extension lasted til this past summer and in Sept I finally accepted the inevitable and moved to a new apartment.

So the farm cats and I have a new apartment in a house, with both front and backyard space desperately in need of some love. Moving in Sept gave me little opportunity to do much outside other than survey and clean up a little but there's lots to do! The previous tenants were obviously not gardeners and it's pretty much a clean slate. There's a former garden in the front, sloping down to sidewalk; it's completely overgrown with weeds. There's also
a front "yard" that is currently packed dirt and some chunks of cement, and a small backyard with similar issues and a big patch of Japanese knotwood. The front faces north so not much light and the back is surround by trees and buildings, so even less. I suspect it will take me a full year to figure out if there enough sun at any time of year to grow much but I'm looking forward to the challenge!