student of nature

I am absolutely a student of nature right now. And a student of my children for that matter. I continue to be amazed at the ability of nature to be a bridge to my children. We are really enjoying our time in the garden on different levels. Elise's level is capricious and impatient. But loving and experimental. Will's level contains intuition and hard work. But also wonder. And mine contains all of the reward.

"Study nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
-Frank Lloyd Wright




Nasturtium

Basil/Sage/Thyme/Tarragon

Elise's baby lima bean and Will's baby pea with thyme

carpet of lettuce

picked over radishes

beets

downy carrot tops

ah, the strawberries

peas climbing Will's trellis with beans catching up

baby radish greens

purple beans

zucchini

common sense or not

Common sense: to have sound judgment, be reasonable. Well, let’s just say I haven’t always been prudent in my decision making. Fun in my 20’s isn’t the same at this age (a lady never tells!).

College was my first, big stumbling block when it came time to incorporating sage advice into my life and balancing immediate temptations with long term goals. I ended up at a community college (called the thirteenth grade in our area) because I didn’t want to hear any advice. Seeing all the kids who also had a bit more fun in high school than necessary, seemed a bit of a joke to me, especially when all over the country, college campuses were teeming with fun. The joke was on me. I left after 2 and a half non- consecutive semesters.

During this time, I did learn some very important lessons. Being ashamed of my failure, lead me to try and avoid questions about “where are you going to school?” like the plague. Sometimes I would quip about going to the “school of life”. I really wasn’t far off; bartending is its own brand of education. Usually, if I was speaking to a grown-up, they would press the point and I would have to confess. Learning there was a time for humor and a time to be forthright. Balancing the two can sometimes be tricky. Just think of a time when you thought something was a light-hearted joke but a friend didn’t.

Another moment of ego- filled ineptness came with the birth of my first child. I had read all the books. Thought I knew everything, much to my own chagrin, I didn’t! And if any one offered guidance, I took it as a slight against my abilities. Thankfully, I needed help more than I needed to be right. A very important lesson, indeed.

Now as a lady with some road behind me, I soak in as much guidance, information and humor as possible. I stumble all the time; in parenting, with friends or family and especially, in the garden. Even though I am purportedly a balance sign (if you follow that kind of stuff), my equilibrium is often shaky. But just like a plant rooted in the wrong spot grows towards the light, I also try to right my wrongs. Take last year’s tomato plants, for example. They grew out of control. Big, beautiful and jungle-like but hardly any harvest. Needless to say, I am devouring any information I can get my hands on to take better care of my small, promising plants. And our lettuce this year is way too close together. But my merry helpers scattered the seeds, and I went along for the ride instead of needing to be right. And my cilantro has taken over the joint, not sure at all what to do about this territorial creeper.

Now instead of being ashamed of my mistakes, I am embracing them and doing my best to find the message. We shall see how I do.

So far, phase 1 of the growing season has worked out nicely. Now to get on the ball for this next weekend. Mother's day is officially a day to safely plant all the rest of your garden bounty! One of the gifts to myself will be a trip to the garden center for lots of edibles! Happy Mom's day to you!


Lettuce

More Lettuce

Lots of lettuce

Peas sprouting up

rhubarb

strawberries

carrots

cilantro gone wild

Rainbow swiss chard

Hope

I am in an especially reflective mood this morning. I woke up to news about Bin Laden. Now I am sure just hearing his name brings about a visceral reaction in you, it does for me. My sweet first born was just under a month old snuggling in my arms as I watched a plane hit the second tower on that blue-skied, fateful day. My astonishment was followed by helplessness. How, in a world gone crazy, was I going to keep my precious baby safe?

William will be 10 years old in august. There have been scrapes and bruises, tears and turmoil. But the blessings abound and as another hatch mark records inches grown, I exhale just a little bit. He is safe, in this moment. So we, as a family, have learned to enjoy our moments. They are not like the moments of ’01, desperate, sad and frightened. These are more luxurious and hopeful, much like planting and tending a garden.

Gardening and life have so many overlapping lessons, reminding me of the important stuff requiring my attention. Beyond the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter reside the juicy bits of life. I would like to say I have always known what is really important. But I have been off track in my life more times than I care to rehash. And the juicy bits of my youth were immediate, self satisfying and surface fun. In this moment of my life though, I am really sinking my teeth into my own experiences and wringing every last drop of out of it. Not that I don’t enjoy a selfish occasion now and again.

Starting a garden has helped me on this path; Watching which vegetables are thriving, how to make use of every part of the plant and the joy on my children’s faces as they snap peas right off the vine for a snack. I have had setbacks and serendipitous successes, some with my green-ish thumb, others from neglect. All of this informing me along the way and reminding me about resilience in all living things. Much like tracking Will and Elise as they move through the world; did they eat enough, sleep enough? After a particularly bad meltdown…what can I do better next time? Or the pure joy of witnessing them master a new skill. Elise is a mad woman on her bike right now, no fear! And William has logged a ton of hours on a 70’s style skateboard learning to lean into a turn.

Being a parent and a gardener are helping me become more resilient. I am still pretty sensitive but surviving each challenge better equips me to carry on. Both my children and garden show me how a bit of time and energy reap tremendous rewards. Watching a seed sprout up through the soil and become a carrot or lettuce, has made me more hopeful. As does dreaming about what life has in store for my two amazing children.

All of these thoughts and emotions are with me today. Hope seems to rise above it all; A hope for peace and safety in the wake of this confusing news.

I gotta tell ya when life can be so crazy; I love the refuge I find in my little garden plot. Nursing stiff muscles and cleaning the dirt out from under my nails is so worth a couple hours puttering around in the sun. It’s like a vitamin D shot and therapy all wrapped up in 4 x 8 plot. Add the kids and the laughter abounds.

Since I am still a newbie to this gardening gig, I make mistakes constantly. But the wonderful surprises are always worth the flubs. Like the chives and scallions popping up, who knew when I left them for dead that they would reappear. Recently I read that the only months of rest for a gardener in our area is January and February, huh? Seems a bit extreme to me but a goal I now have put on the list. I believe it was noted in the same publication that St Patty’s day is the traditional pea planting day. I’d like to say I was drinking green beer instead, but I am sure my slacker, smidgeon o’ Irish self was huddled indoors away from the frigid wind.

My peas are in now. That counts for something, right? They are in earlier this year than last and I have to be up for bonus points; Will planted them. Actually both kids were involved with getting our garden started this year.

A break in the weather had all three of us out in the sun digging weeds and some overzealous cilantro (I had no idea how far it would spread). Once we got all the enemies out; chives, scallions, a smaller bit of cilantro, rhubarb, lemon balm and a lone strawberry plant awaited some new companions.

Amending the soil had to be Elise’s favorite part. As I sprinkled on an organic fertilizer, she kept trying to catch it. Then we added more organic soil on top (not sure if more went into the garden or Elise’s shoes) and raked the two together; and not a moment too soon.

Both kids were chomping at the bit to plant something! Will earned the right to plant the peas for all his hard work re-stringing the trellis. The look on his face was a wonderful mix of surprise (Mom is really going to let me?) and accomplishment. The trellis looks perfect and we are all looking forward to snapping peas off the vines at the end of May.

In the end, we planted two kinds of beets, white and red radishes, multi colored swiss chard, two kinds of carrots, mesclun greens, lettuce and of course, Will’s peas. The three of us were filthy, in desperate need of bathing but very happy gardeners!

a breath of fresh air

I love this time of year. The chives & scallions I planted last summer are popping up vigorously in my raised bed. When I spied these clumps of green in an otherwise dreary garden plot, it felt like a gift.

Mother Nature may be a bit wacked out lately but she never fails to deliver the promise of spring in a delightful way, year after year.

I couldn’t help myself; I went camera in hand to capture what could be considered a mirage after all this crazy weather. Now I have proof, spring is indeed upon us. All promise of warmer weather. Yeah!

Now if I could just brave this snappy weather to get my peas, beets, carrots and radishes in the ground.

Earth day is right around the corner. I'd love to hear what you all are doing. I think my kids & I are headed to Crows Woods, our local adventure land. With a community garden and lots of trails through the woods, we always enjoy our time exploring, as did our dogs when they were puppies. So Earth day is our chance to give back to this plot of land that has given us so much over the years. I am sure we will be picking up trash, always a bunch of trash. But hopefully we will be able to find some other efforts going on to add our muscle.

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Headed to the big city this weekend and that means Union Square Market. I am downright giddy at the prospect of leisurely perusing all manners of produce, plants (yes, there is a pop-up greenhouse filled with many colorful, potted choices) and vendors galore selling meats, cheeses, eggs, honey & lots more. Don't even get me started on the bread. Oh, the bread! I am truly thankful for the opportunity to be in one of my all time favorite places, cold weather be darned. I am even packing a cooler to stash all my great finds to share with those I love back at the homestead.
Last year, I was able to pick up some great information about composting. A list of do's & don’ts that has been a great kitchen reference for my family. It was a bit funny to be in such a metropolis & find out about such a dirty process. Well, on second thought, maybe not. Lots of dirty things happen in the city, right? Wink, wink.
My budget for a hotel is usually very low. Just a place to hang my hat, as I am out & about most of the time. This time I got lucky. A while ago, my husband & I attended a great benefit for some amazing people and won two nights in NYC. Yeah!
So this time around it’s high style & a sleep concierge for me. While obsessively checking out the hotel website, I found some green good news as well. The Benjamin is one of five certified Ecotel hotels in the US. Apparently, they have been environmentally aware & responsible long before it became "fashionable".
The subway has mocked me for years on most of my previous visits. But I was lucky enough to get a hand-holding lesson from a good friend the last go round. I don't know if it was my fear of getting on the wrong train or the images from all the movies I have watched but I wasn't able to get over this obstacle in all my years of crisscrossing “the big apple”. But now I am armed with a metro card, so watch out Manhattan.
To wrap up…local food in an open air market (cold air is good for you right?), a selection of pillows in an eco friendly hotel, walking & subway riding instead of cabs...I think I have myself a downright green getaway! Now if I could just get over my fear of buses (another story for another time!)...