i had planned to do another planting for fall, but never got around to it. not to mention, those vegetables i planted in the too-hot middle of summer are starting to come out of dormancy.
Lessons recently learned -
+when books say separate the seedlings, they mean it. i have 2 gigantic zucc plants growing out of each planting. same goes for about every other vegetable in my yard. jesus haripod criminy.
+my son is super freaking awesome. ok, i knew that already. but still, totally reinforced this morning. we went for a walk to collect leaves and twigs and flowers for a wax paper windowpane. and then he helped me weed the garden, and ate a bunch of stuff out of the garden. lemon balm, fennel (blech!! he loves it, though), sage, creeping woodsorrel, lambs quarters, basil. he'd take whatever i handed him and fearlessly stuff it in his mouth. what a trooper.
+come to think of it, my whole family is awesome. seriously, we're probably the neighborhood wierdos. i don't know how many other families around would pour outside and exclaim how awesome a giant hairy spider is. (the thing was awesome, though. looked like chevron stripes on his back, and he was HUGE. he's still hanging out on my door that i'm sitting next to.)
+i have some unidentified weeds growing in my yard that are driving me nuts, because i can't seem to figure out what they are.
+Freecycle is the best invention ever. In the last week, I've given away about $200 worth of quilting fabric (and it was all stuff that was gifted to me that I never would've used), a crap ton of baby toys and clothes and accessories, and a fish tank. Yes! Please! It helps me clean out my house.
Some thoughts i'm currently cogitating on - i've got a bunch of scrap wood in my garage, that's actually FROM the garage. The previous owners had built shelves and stuff, and we pulled them out. I'm wondering if that wood would be good for the raised bed boxes for next year, and if they need to be treated with anything. The area where I was thinking of putting the boxes does get full sun, full day. So...that's good. I'm dreaming of a greenhouse. Some day. I should've bought a lottery ticket.
Also, what to do with a peck of peaches? I'll probably slice and freeze some, and then can some others. That requires going out and getting some accessories, though. Not a big deal. Maybe a $10 expenditure. Also going to order a book of Matthew Wood's. Need to get my student loan figured out. Boo.
My genius self was going to take some pictures of my yard (and my pathetic garden) for posting, then I realized that my camera was at work. Double boo.
Oh. Definitely going on a diet. Good freaking lord. I stepped on the scale this afternoon, and while I realize I'm swollen with PMS bloat, there's still been some poundage that's crept up on me. Need to balance my calories, for sure. Lots of cheese and bread lately and not much else. For SHAME.
After my dad comes to pick up the sproutlet, we're going over to some nice lady's house to dig up her Rose of Sharon plants. Oh man, the resurgence of hibiscus tea. Mmmm. I've got some roses as well, and some lemon balm. Drank some motherwort tea last night, the viewing for the suicide of the girl I knew in high school was a little more traumatic than I expected. Closed casket, and I was only there for about 5 minutes. I felt like an intruder. The astonishing thing is that this is the 7th or 8th suicide amongst that particular peer group in the last 12 years. As my friend Thom was saying, it's been one every year and a half or so. It's very hard to understand, and it also makes me paranoid and worrisome that perhaps there's something in the water here. I didn't grow up here, but all of these suicides did, and now I'm raising my son here. Hmmm....
I don't fiddle with meditation nearly as much as I should (and I say that because my mind is like a hamster wheel and only shuts up if and when I meditate), but I decided to bust out and blow the dust off of one of my favorite meditative tools - a tarot deck. I don't necessarily think the universe is trying to tell me something, but I definitely believe in the pattern seeking of the human mind, and as such, no matter what card I pull, there is a message for me there, it's up to my subconscious to make the connections and to think about it. So, my card for the rest of the month is the Prince of Pentacles. Of course, as per usual, this totally random selection made me smile.
The PoP - This card is usually called the Knight, but in some modern decks appears as the Prince. Traditionally, this card in this suit pictures an overseer of fertility and growth. His period of ascendancy is during the quiet years between conflicts, when everybody can collaborate in raising the collective standard of living. His horse is usually huge and thickset, more suitable to pulling a plow than riding swiftly into battle. His temperament is easygoing and relaxed, he's moving at the rate of the flow, because he knows that you can't hurry time.
Seeing the bigger picture, like a farmer planning for the future, he doesn't allow momentary fads or fancies to distract him, and he doesn't take seriously those who do. One can feel his stability and dedication -- he is totally responsible and even somewhat predictable when it comes to his projects. He is earthy and gentle, as simple and deep as the soil he tills and the flowers he loves.
Of course, my other favorite meditative tool is coloring mandalas. Probably won't have much time for that this weekend, as we'll be out digging within a half an hour, then off to a wedding, plus have to process that peck of peaches. Oh...and then there's my homework. *sigh*
2 comments:
Yay, another future Urban Homesteader! :) Thanks for commenting on my blog. You know, I think about living out in the country to have more space to grow things, possibly have bigger animals and a greenhouse, but then I remind myself that by living in the city, we walk a lot more to the places we want/need to go. That's good for the earth and for us. It makes good sense to live in "your village", where the resources are. Urban homesteading allows for the best of both worlds, even if your neighbors think you're absolutely crazy!
And completely OT, do you know if there's the "mushroom guy" at your Farmer's Market? I had a midwifery client buy a mushroom kit from there last year. I was completely intrigued!
there WAS last year. we bought an oyster kit from him. spawned once and then it died.
:(
i think it's still hanging out behind our shed though. i know mushroomharvest.com sells mushroom kits. they're down in ohio, and i had the pleasure of sitting in on a lecture given by the guy who runs the site. it was amazing.
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