Sunday, July 27, 2008

My July Garden ...

Here we are at the end of July and the garden is at it's best! Purple Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans are the mainstay and make it pop! There is also the deep purple of several Japanese Maples, orange lilies, a host of herbs and other plants tucked in here and there.

We've been very dry again and I continue to use stored rain water to keep things looking fresh and happy. As August approaches this garden and most others in the region will begin to look a little worse for wear. Continuing heat sears the flowers and leaves and lack of rainfall makes for pitiful wilting, especially during long afternoons. But soon the sedums will bloom and there will be some semblance of color once again as their pale pink blossoms turn darker until they are a shade of deep red-mahogany.

Having tucked a few veggies in a corner of the fenced in yard next to where the dogs roam free, the deer and groundhogs have decided not to bother with the battle this year. The smell of dog seems to leave them cold. We're enjoying 4 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, green peppers and lots of culinary herbs. I've heard great things about a new water spritzer on the market that is activated by a motion detector that comes on when an animal approaches. It comes on suddenly and scares the you-know-what out of them. After a couple of attempts they decide it's not worth it and stay away. So I'm already hatching big plans for next summer. I'm planning a new bed, where I can add some eggplant, squash and cukes. Who knows what else I'll find in those seed catalogues that start arriving in the dead of winter when I'm dreaming of getting my hands in the soil.

As I write a surprise thunder storm has opened up overhead and its raining hard. Time to shut down this machine and tuck myself in a cozy chair with a good book.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Alive And Well ...


Oh yes, I'm still here! Been tangled in a web of days that are far too short for all that I want to do. Time has a habit of running away with me. It seems I roll out of bed in the morning and the next thing I know, it's time for shut-eye again.

I'm in transition ... trying to reinvent myself to fit into a world that seems to be changing by the nanosecond. Mostly I've been working in the garden. There is no sweat like garden sweat ... it pours off my head, from my arm pits, my back, my feet and after an hour or two I'm completely soaking wet. With it seem to go the burdens of a lifetime. Yes, it wears me out, but somehow it also makes me feel younger ... and lighter ... and more connected. Weeding, pruning, replanting have given me time to think, to rediscover, to imagine where it is that I'm going and what I might be doing in the days to come.

We also did a bit of traveling to North Carolina over the 4th of July to be with our precious little family who don't live close enough to us. This month marked Noah's 5th birthday and Lisa and Deena's 10th year of living happily together as life partners and parents to Noah and Zoe. They held a a small birthday party for Noah and a "10 Year Recommitment Ceremony," at an exquisite spot in the mountains. Noah danced, Zoe read a poem she wrote just for the occasion. Promises were made by both Lisa and Deena to continue their ties of love and to try to be better and more patient with each other. This old lady shed a few tears and my husband took the photos!

Zoe, Lisa, Noah and Deena

I suppose all of this, along with my youngest brother's struggle with cancer and heart disease plus the inevitable passage of time since my mother's death over a year ago, bring me to a place of recommitment to my own life and how I want to live it. I want to ponder the big questions ... like Noah's asking his mom, "Which is higher, Mom, Heaven or Outer Space?" And "Are God and Santa Claus the same person?"

So I may or may not revisit this spot as often as I did before. I have promises to keep and a long road to travel before I find answers to those big questions. And the garden still needs tending.