Future site of the Dragonflower Mini-Farm.

There's a lot going on here as I approach month three with my (more than) full-time game design business. So... this blog is on hiatus until September-something. But when we return, I hope to bring you fresh voices and exciting offerings based on the feedback you gave on the survey.

For now, here are photos of the "yarden," someday to become the "Dragonflower Mini-Farm." It's a 1/4-acre plot close to the St. Louis city limits. Right now it's a gargantuan amount of turf for us my husband to mow (seriously, he wants to be the mower in the fam), but in the future we hope to transform it into an organic garden of vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs, and native perennials. It's a long game that involves removal of a crazy ugly zigzagging chain link fence, planting screen trees to block the double-decker-balcony apartment building that looks down on us, and eradication of invasive honeysuckle and some awful tree called "stinking sumac." The two evil villains have formed an alliance and keep trying to take over.

I'll spare you most of THOSE sights for now, but here's some of the good stuff, especially yellow bearded iris, which seems rare to me but popped up all over the place this spring!

I know... it's overgrown. But look at the iris!

A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose...

It's going to be a lot of work. I meant that to sound more excited.

Wild strawberry.

At dawn, from the upstairs window, cat-view.

This past winter.

One last thing: I found some great resources to help with this project. Super psyched to see efforts in Missouri to promote and protect pollinator habitats. We're definitely going to make our yarden as pollinator-friendly as possible. Check these out:

Grow Native!

St. Louis Audubon Society's Bring Conversation Home Program

Ciao for now.