Raced home from work today at noon, having taken half a day off from my real job to rototil the gardens-- or should I say supervise the tilling of the gardens! Don't know that I've mentioned as yet my day job as Communications Director for the Leelanau Conservancy- a fantastic organization that has worked hard since 1988 to protect the land, water and scenic character of this beautiful county that I am so lucky to live in. Check it out: www.theconservancy.com I do most of the writing for newsletters, annual reports, direct mail and the website, among other things.

Anyway, I was racing home on the back roads, noting that the cherry trees are about done with their showy blossoms. Rounding a corner where there are some silos and a green farmhouse, a flash of orange dipped in front of my car. An oriel, like the one I saw at our feeder a day or so ago.

My husband, Dave, was just unloading the tiller as I turned in to the driveway. We always rent one from Northern Lumber in Suttons Bay. Each year I debate purchasing one, but can't see spending the money when I really only need it twice a year. Plus, we are bad at maintaining machinery around here. Better to beat the hell out of theirs for the $45 bucks it runs us each time for an 18-incher.

I have four or five empty beds that needed straight out tilling that I plant annuals in. Plus a few gaps here and there in assorted perennial beds. I'd piled up compost in two of the beds so we had to chew through that as well. Old sunflower stalks, grass clippings and whatnot. I just pile it all up and we chew through it in the spring. Even if it isn't totally broken down, and it never is, the mixture makes a nice mulch and I just spread it out and plant right through it. There were several bearded iris growing in the pile- rhizomes I'd tossed on the pile last fall had taken root. Those things will grow anywhere. They are indestructible.

We were working fast today to try and beat the rain. Skies were cloudy and thunderstorms had been predicted for the afternoon. It's been raining here for days off and on. Everything is beautifully lush and green as a result, but I was beginning to panic because I need those beds tilled before the weeds take over and planting time is coming.

After Dave tilled the first bed I walked around and scooped up all the sunflower volunteers I could find and moved them into the newly tilled bed, transplanting them in a neat row in the crumbly dark soil. No need to water them given the damp soil and impending rain. I had Dave widen the beds slightly as the grass has crept in over the last year and narrowed them too much. I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have about 23 beds, each about 5 or 6 feet wide by as long as 50 feet. I can get three rows of plants into these beds with a bit of an alley between and on the edges. But the edges were growing in too close to the plants for my liking. Today I had the brilliant idea of using the 18 inch tiller to widen the outside alleys in the perennial beds. I had Dave till right up close to the outer plants so that now I have more room to breath between grass and plants. I told him not to worry if he destroyed something. I have so much stuff now that I could divide and move and fix a hole in a heartbeat. The edging work done by the tiller will save me hours on the shovel - back breaking work that seems to be undone all too quickly by that darn aggressive grass.

I'll need to get on my hands and knees now and claw through the dirt to pull out the big grass hunks and will also need to cover these new outer strips with leaf mulch to keep the grass from growing back. A lot of seeds got turned under in the soil so I know the grass has the potential to come back fast if I don't follow through with these next steps. But what a relief to have this done for me.

We were about halfway through our work when it began sprinkling, which turned into a pretty steady rain. I ran to get raincoats and we kept going. My boots were caked with mud. We had to hose off the tiller before returning it. Some of the spray from the hose backfired and my face got splattered with mud. What a sight. We finished just as my mom was pulling into the driveway with the kids. My seven-year-old, Will, has been asking when we can plant his vegetable garden. I've told him June 1st, and now his bed is ready too.

Later tonight, my older son, Sam, 16, alerted us to a thick, vivid rainbow shooting up over Omena Point and arching our way. I thought to myself that the pot of gold at the end of it is certainly right here, out my window- this garden, this view, this life.

The birdfeeder was empty so I filled it in the hopes the oriel, whose song I've been hearing all evening, will perch there again soon.

Please call us at 231-271-6432 or email info@omenacutflowers.com for more info!