To raise goslings.
And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
…..Anais Nin
I took a cutting 4 years ago from a rose-bush that was grown from a cutting 40 years ago which originally came from a 100 year old rose-bush. We should all bloom like this.
The first meal from the garden!! Red lettuce salad with chive vinegar dressing. YUM!
Tagged first crop, gardening, west coast seeds, zone 3 garden
A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself.
—May Sarton
Maybe that’s why I love gardening so much. A metaphor for life. My life. As a child, I loved my father’s gardens. The fall was beautiful, the beds were filled with chrysanthemums, his favourite. This year as a retiree, gardening has become less of a pretty hobby ( can we say only flowers) and become a passion.
After my second retirement, I was talked into doing a maternity leave at our local food bank. When resource development is your gig , you have to finely craft your message and marketing. You need to really understand what you will be talking about. I learned quickly about food security. This has turned me into a passionate “farmer”! ….the funny thing is…. when I graduated high school I wanted to hitchhike across Europe looking for a pastoral lifestyle to embrace.
So today I have the pastoral lifestyle and the means to learn to produce from my space. What fun.
I have added a greenhouse, and an indoor area for starting seed early, built large raised beds as well as rototilled the back area by the creek to plant potatoes. I am now channelling my Irish ancestors and tilling a very large potato crop. I have over 60 plants yielding 2.2 to 6 kilo each. Never one to embrace moderation I over planted seeds inside and now have 30 tomato plants, 20 pepper plants, and enough squash plants to make my neighbors run for cover. I asked friends to come and shop for free in my greenhouse.
So far I have put squash out too early, we had a light frost. The potato patch is huge and now that the plants are up I know I will have more that we can eat; potatoes. I have squash planted everywhere. I am counting on global warming to help all my tomato and pepper plants! I am not sure how to companion plant…will learn as I go. I am putting this year down to a “learning curve” what works, what doesn’t , and how to fix it. Just like my life.
I still do love the flowers, and natural garden, like hope it is enduring.
Posted in Doings, Nature, Thoughts
Tagged fiairie garden, food security, garden, greenhouse, modern farmer, spring
And so it goes. Teaching children the circle of life. Metamorphosis. Nature teaches us all. It gives and it takes away. Trees grow, they fall. Caterpillars are born and reborn. (We hatched them from caterpillars and they changed, not all survived
It’s alive
Hold tight!
Butterfly
Posted in Thoughts
Tagged butterflies, caterpillars, eccesiastes, eric carle, metamorphosis, spring
It is difficult to be a pilgrim today. It just seems hopeless. We are blessed this year to have the Feast Day of the Annunciation and Good Friday on the same day. We can celebrate the light coming and the light extinguished. Today, the day in between, the space for waiting and contemplating; we look forward to renewal. Let us
lightlighten our souls tonight as beacons of hope.
“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.”
…..Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love
(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)
lovers go and lovers come
awandering awondering
but any two are perfectly
alone there’s nobody else alive
(such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)
not a tree can count his leaves
each herself by opening
but shining who by thousands mean
only one amazing thing
(secretly adoring shyly
tiny winging darting floating
merry in the blossoming
always joyful selves are singing)
sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love”
E.E. Cummings
Today is the first day of spring, international francophonie day and the international day of happiness.
So many reasons to be grateful!
[in Just-]
By E. E. Cummings
in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it’s
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it’s
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
In honour I planted rhubarb and blackberries.
My oneword for 2016. It’s not the chill out or slack off relax, it’s the 11th commandment from my friend Rev. Patel Dimitoff. On the 8th day Creator “relaxed” because all was done, all was well, time for enjoying the fruit of all his labours and not stressing. It is what he wants for us. This was his gift.
Well have you ever seen any two more relaxed than these girls? Mom and daughter, eyes closed leaning up against the barn door, soaking up the sun.
Wow!
As for the “relax” fake rock above. I took the picture at Homesense. They wanted $30.00 for it. YIKES. I could relax and paint my own.
Have a very relaxing day, everyone.
Amazed With Mystery 