A Different Kind of Time

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As I sit down to write this post, my eyes dart up at the time. I have exactly 20 minutes left. Exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes ago I left my two children with a trusted babysitter. In exactly 19 minutes I have to pack up and drive home. Today is the first day of “my time,” as I have it marked in my calendar, a few hours one morning a week, every week until the end of August. This was a deliberate creation, something I needed, time to be something other than “mommy.” Time for me to get immersed in my other selves: gardener, blogger, someone who would enjoy a massage or a quiet walk all on her own. I did contemplate getting the car washed, but then decided that falls into the same category as grocery shopping and other such errands, not things that were intended for these three precious hours.

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Love in a Basket

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There are so many things to enjoy about gardening, but I think at the top of my list is sharing what I have grown with others. A few months ago I participated in a “talent” auction with a club I belong to. The participants donated a talent to be auctioned off in a silent auction to raise money for our local library. One person donated hand sewn items, another hand-made cookie pops made to order for your occasion, someone else a two-hour finance organizing session. The went goes on and on. When I thought about my donation, I knew it would have to be something from the garden. Growing food is one of my talents. Continue reading »

In Transition

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Well, I have finally succumbed to the urge to pull, pull, pull. Much of the winter garden is gone, and, on its heels, come the delights of summer. I have 12 tomato plants in the ground, plus a tomatillo and a ground cherry. I have lots of tomato starts left and might squeeze in a few more. I want to make sure I have enough tomatoes to roast and freeze, dry, and make into sauce. Enough to see us through to next summer. A tall order, I know. Continue reading »

Earth Day and Action

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Today is Earth Day and this past weekend was filled with all kinds of festivals, lectures, classes, etc. to commemorate the day. I am glad that we have a day to celebrate the earth, to raise awareness, to bring people together around common interests and to educate. This is good. However, I think most of us agree that it takes an everyday commitment to honor our planet, and by doing so, we make changes within our own lives and hopefully are getting creative and working hard to create change on a larger scale.

I walked through a beautiful Earth Day festival to attend the first of a series of meetings where the attendees will try to do just that. Continue reading »

Going to Seed

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Cabbage bloom

Cabbage bloom

Everything is bolting: lettuce, kale, turnips, cabbage, and the broccoli. In years past these plants would have already been removed from my garden before they got to this stage, but the tomatoes were slow to start this year, so I let them be to do their thing. There is something reassuring about watching these vegetables each make their effort to produce seed, like they would be fine without me. I contemplated leaving in a single broccoli plant and collecting its seeds. All of my Brassicas bloomed at different times, so there was no fear of cross-pollination. But, I could see the aphids taking over and discovered I would need a few more months for mature seeds, and decided it was time to pluck out the winter crops and replace them with warm season delights.

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