The previous owner left a lot of trash in the garden hut that needed to be dealt with. Eager to work outside but with rain always on the horizon, I spent an afternoon cleaning it all out. Progress!

Eager to work on the land, the rain feels mocking. It’s been weeks and weeks of gray, dark gloom, and so much rain. The plants on my balcony urgently need a reprieve from the wet soil. And so do I.

Lately, I’ve felt like I’m getting cheated out of a summer I urgently need to recharge. German winters with their endless dark and wet are hard for me. This past winter was especially bad, so I really needed the summer. And it’s not here.

I’ve had a few odd hours of decent conditions here and there. I’ve spent all of those in the garden. My car was filled with roofing supplies, so I used the next break in the weather to carry it all in. I went home with wet pants, and it started raining before I even made it home.

On days like these, I wonder why I even got the garden if I won’t be able to enjoy it. I have seven weeks left before I have to get back to school to finish my Master’s degree. Seven weeks.

Where has my summer gone?

I try to keep the spirits up, something that is a lot easier when the sun pokes out and I get to hide in the garden.

Clearing out the hut took a lot longer than I thought. There was so much trash left in there, it was hard to figure out where to start.

But in an afternoon, I sorted it all by material, and carried out a giant heap of trash that’s now sitting on my lawn waiting for another break in the weather that’s long enough that I don’t have to transport a sogging wet mattress in my trunk.

The graffiti is still ugly and offensive. I’ll have to do something about that soon. Last week, I got the tools to sand it all off.

But even with the graffiti, the hut is starting to feel like it could turn into something. There is room for my tools and supplies. I can move around, even open the window–okay, once I figured out how it should open…

German Kippfenster, so windows that can be opened two ways, usually open when the handle is horizontal. Not on this window. I’m embarrased to say it took me quite a while to figure it out.

But now, dusted off and freed from debris, I can open my window. Even the tilting function works. Progress!

I am tackling the roof at the moment but even working in parts, there just isn’t enough dry weather to get far. I repaired the temporary fix, and opened up the first quarter of the roof but that’s a story for another day.

A project on hold until summer stops pretending to be winter. Like so many of my projects. With time running out before I have to spend more time away from the garden to study, moments with sunshine are precious and far between.

But seeing the hut cleared out from the previous owner’s possessions and what teenagers escaping their lives left behind, felt good. It felt like moving in the right direction.

Hopefully, the feeling that this weather is just what it’s going to be like, will turn out to be wrong, and summer arrives.

I have much to do, and my skin is tingling with impatience, ready to tackle all the projects in the garden. Soon.

So long, and thanks for watching.