The recovery from my hysterectomy required a lot of patience. I'm not good at patience. Slow walks, lying around, sitting a lot. Having to spend most of my time on the garden house couch in the interim apartment meant good thesis progress, but also left me restless and bored.

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The very day I got the okay from the doctor, I transformed the alacrity into action. After my appointment with the OBGyn, I drove past the garden--and decided to fill up the car to not drive empty.

With my brain buzzing from reading the abstracts for more than a hundred papers, I needed some garden time.

It wasn't a nice day, so I started in the garden house in the hopes the outside would warm up some.

I was there alone, so I decided to focus on taking home the longer items that wouldn't fit if I had a passenger. I sorted and took stock of all the things still in the garden house. By the end of June, we have to vacate here.

We still have not found a more permanent place to stay, still haven't found a suitable garden for us. Every fiber of my body is aching to arrive somewhere, to settle, to start a new garden we can keep.

I got interrupted in my work by this little friend: an earth bumblebee who had overwintered in he garden house.

With me gone most of the time, she needed to move outside or she might get stuck in here. No Kate, no open doors.

Moving her to a warm spot in the garden was the best I could do for the beautiful creature. She warmed up on my hand for almost ten minutes before she was warmed up enough to leave me. She flew away a few minutes later and settled at the base of the cherry tree. I hope the garden will continue to be a refuge.

The gardens here are not in high demand. This garden will likely get abandoned again. Part of me hopes the land will stay empty for the wildlife here, but the garden house could do with some care.

I built a good roof. It'll last years. It would be a shame to have all that work go to waste.

I knew this garden was temporary--though I expected to stay for a few years longer. I knew it was a mere trial run. I wish we could have stayed in the apartment near the garden, enjoyed it until we find a permanent place.

Staying wasn't an option. So, I carried more items from the garden house to the car. A drawn-out good-bye to the garden. Slowly, the garden house is getting empty. With every garden visit, the garden house gets emptier.

Soon, I'd have to take some tools to take down the gutters, to remove the lock. I admit, it feels weird to abandon this.

I don't have any regrets, though. Well worth it, all of it.

Not even Pepper had been able to come along that day because of the doctor's visit, so I filled the car to the rim. I tetrised everything in well, then made sure everything was secured for the long drive home.

The car is getting on in years and mileage but it is still serving us well. I hope it'll last a few more years.

We need a car in the rural areas of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as much as I'd prefer not to own one. I'll spare you the no-public-transport rant this time.

When my body requested less walking, less standing around, I squatted down to get my hands dirt instead.

The area around the greenhouse is covered in pots with many berry bushes and plants. As the compost had been neglected all winter, I had almost no available soil, though. I made do. A bit of soil here, a bit of compost there, empty out another container. I made it work.

I didn't want to give up on a single branch that might grow into a berry bush, of course.

A friend had given me some large containers but even those could not hold the red currant bushes. So, I planted the smaller ones while looking for a solution.

I rescued the balcony planters that had edged the corn bed. I'd never planted them.

I have lost track of what is what in these pots. I'll need some leaves or fruit to identify the different berries. There are red, white, and black currants, gooseberries, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, by now even a thornless blackberry from a friend. Most of them are unidentified branches at this point.

The metal bucket held most of them over the winter. I am surprised all of them started building roots and buds. I had taken multiple clippings of everything to have a better chance. Now I have more berry bushes. Tough.

What I didn't have was the garden to plant them into the soil, so I had to figure out what pot to use for which. I tried to match sizes as best I could but some will need repotting as soon as possible.

I even ran out of pots and the largest currant branches live in a cardboard box with soil at the moment. If we don't find a new garden soon, I'll have to cave and get some new larger pots and some potting soil.

I will keep these alive. I want to plant them in our next garden to have a steady supply of fruit in the future.

So far, they all look happy and healthy. Everything is growing fast and enjoying the endless sunshine.

My local friend is evening out the severe lack of rain in the area. It hasn't rained here in weeks. Luckily, I have people playing rain for me.

By now, I am officially fully recovered. All limitations have been lifted. Weeks have passed since this very slow walk in the never-ending spring sun.

By now, both Pepper and I can run again. He's lost some weight, and the pain killers are working.

We'll continue to go on longer and longer walks until I am back in shape, and he's back in health.

So long, and thanks for being here. It means the world that you are still part of this journey.