Without the partnership in the family home at the other end of the island we have had to change how we use this property. The plan we have is that eventually down the road we will build a bunkie for our growing family. Way down the road. What was a perfectly awesome wee cabin for the two of us, now has to accommodate our three kids and their future families. 

In the back of our minds as we dismantle parts of the current house for the reconfiguration we think of repurposing. Anything from the original cabin that we can’t use,  we set aside for the bunkie. We don’t need that window- we can use it in the bunkie. We don’t need that door – we can use it in the bunkie.. those stairs? Set them aside… that’s right, for the bunkie. At the end of the day there isn’t much in the way of materials we will have to buy for the bunkie…

Last fall my friend Patty brought me a baby Hawthorne. I stuck  it in the ground along the new driveway and left it for the winter. I always explain to the plants why we are moving them and wish them the best in their new home. I just checked on it. Doesn’t it look happy? I have it surrounded now by a cage until it is strong enough to fend off the deer.

Patty was over the other day during a discussion about possible uses for the Japanese tub which we took out of the old bathroom. Probability was high that it would be a shower in the bunkie but like the true gardener she is, she immediately suggested we make it a planter. Brilliant….!

With my ongoing guilt about taking the trees down on the back deck and my promise to the birds to plant as many trees as I take down I have jumped at Patty’s suggestion. We are going to incorporate the tub into the deck below the surface of the deck boards. It will be filled with soil and a specimen tree planted within. 

I haven’t decided on what type of tree or bush yet. Perhaps it will be the home of whatever vine we choose to grow up the pergola over the deck for shade. It will have to enjoy salty breeze and hot sun. I don’t know yet.  I’ll have to give

 it some thought