karismar

It’s hotter than blazes outside and still too hot inside to do much of anything. We were at 104 yesterday and look to top that today!! woo baby!  I’m keeping everything watered outside but my basil is droopy. Basil can be somewhat tempermental…it wants it warm but not HOT. Once the new moon is here I’ll transplant it into a much larger pot or directly into the garden. My other basil plants are in the garden but I like to keep one plant potted so I can coax it into holding on into the early fall. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

I saw my first butterfly of the season last week in my backyard and several more this week. Their arrival every year lets me know I’m doing something good outside.  Butterflies in the gardens/yards tell us that some of the balance is shifting back to a chemically free zone. I saw more of them when I was a child, when lawns weren’t abused by weekly visits from the "lawn manicurist" and weeds in the yard were accepted.

Speaking of chemically free zones…did anyone watch the LiveEarth concerts?  I cried through much of it. Melissa Etheridge gave a very inspiring talk during her song Wake Up. wow!  If you haven’t heard it, Google it and listen. I understand how daunting a task it can be to navigate through this world with as little harm done to mother earth as possible, and the feeling like what we do isn’t enough. BUT, one small change made by each of us is HUGE and it will impact us all in a profound manner.  Just find one thing that you can change about your daily life, just one. Once that becomes habit for you then pick another….and so on. It can be as small as recycling the toilet paper cardboard rolls instead of tossing them in the garbage.  Then, move onto building a compost bin that you can toss the cardboard into, in turn giving you some amazing "black gold" to ammend your soil with. These are just some examples but you get the point.  I’m doing more too. I seem to have slipped back into the horrible habit of using paper napkins. gah!!  As an accomplished seamstress I have NO EXCUSE and should be downstairs sewing some very easy napkins. If I took a few hours I could kick out a few dozen. So, if you need some encouragement or support, leave a comment and I’ll gladly support you in kicking your habit as I’m kicking mine!  We can do so much in our own little worlds.

This is what I did over the weekend. We were gifted with gorgeous weather that should continue through the week. The brick laying was one of the most difficult jobs we’ve ever done and neither of us are anxious to do it again. Finding a level  area to work with in a very old, exisiting space is extremely difficult so we had to fudge it in places. It’s fine, we didn’t want a perfect look and like the welcoming feel of non-perfection.  The wet spots in picture are simply areas where the sand has not dried yet.  Against the fence is a kiwi vine that is fast growing and will spread over the fence this summer. The area is a southern exposure and gets blistering hot in the summer so the vines will help keep it somewhat cooler.  Potatoes and onions were planted in the garden along with some climbing roses out front and today I’m going to enjoy some weeding, thinning of lettuce and just hanging outside. Mother nature always gives so much to me when I’m out there.

Soon I’ll be picking fresh lettuce and peas from the garden and feeling the sun on my face. Not today but soon. Yesterday I was encouraged when I saw the growth of my lettuce!  I could pick it right now and have a baby salad but I’ll wait for a larger crop. Lemon balm is everywhere and I don’t know why it grows like a weed in my yard but I’m thankful for it. 

The rain finally came but it gave us 2 days of unexpected warmth and dryness and I say yay!  Temperatures are dropping to give us a cold and wet day, a prime day for baking something comforting for afterschool snacks(chocolate chip cookies) and a roast in the oven for dinner.  

As I sat in the garden yesterday any noise around me seemed to fade into one single hum, neither bothering me nor intruding. I tend to like "white noise" anyway and have learned through yoga that tuning it all out and still finding my center is a gift to myself. I found magick in the garden yesterday, I always do. Faeiries coming out to look at the new growth and to give my newfoundland a little tease. She goes crazy and I always know when they’re flitting about as she will go leaping through the air trying to catch one. Nothing else is around, not a bird nor squirrel and I know at that moment what she’s seeing.

I think I’ll put on my hat and coat and hang outside after the baking is done, despite the rain as I can’t resist it.  

Happy Spring Equinox everyone!  It actually was last night at 5pm PT but I didn’t make it on here to celebrate. Absolutely one of the best times of the year but if you know me, I’ll be shouting that come harvest too!  lol   So to all of you out there, I hope this new season brings you healing, rebirth and new hope for all that is happening in your life.

March came in loud and clear, roaring with snow!!  Even so, it was short lived and temps began to rise quickly. I’m confident the month with continue to warm and go out as a soft lamb. I have organic soil being delivered on Tuesday for my raised beds. The area that my garden is in was covered in garbage when we bought this place 4 years ago. I am hesitant to grow food in such soil until an appropriate amount of time has passed with me continually ammending it.  So for now it’s  raised beds and  new soil. I ran out of room last year so another two beds are going in this month. A few thai peppers will be grown in large pots that I’m really excited about. More space for veggies and these are recommended for pots.  I’m also on the hunt for local heirloom raspberry plants but am failing miserably. Jon’s heirloom plants in AR is available online but I’d rather not ship if I don’t have to.  The usage of more fossil fuels is what I try and stay away from but in the end, if it is my only option I will do it but I’ll try and find someone else to add to my order, which will cut down on extra fuel consumption.

As was pointed out to me last week, be very careful when buying seeds that are supposedly non tampered, non genetically modified. They aren’t all the same and the farms are now putting a disclaimer that says they don’t knowingly buy these…..but that does not mean they aren’t. ugh!  I changed my seed orders, threw out what was not  heirloom and started over. Much to my delight Baker Creek rare heirloom seeds arrived Wednesday!! So for me it’s strictly heirloom that I can be confident is just that!  It really is up to us to carefully choose the foods we eat, know where they come from and know our facts.   

What is everyone else doing for their garden this year?  

UFPJ Calls for Local Actions on 4th Anniversary of the War in Iraq

Happy Imbolg to all of you who celebrate. Mother Nature is stirring, telling me she is preparing for spring. I took a long 2mile walk this morning right after sunrise. It was glorious to be outside in the cold air knowing that spring is coming.

• Here is a preliminary seed order list for the garden this year. This list is willy nilly and pulled directly from what I want in the catalogs, no fancy organization yet. From the sizeable list that I’ve generated more raised beds are a must. This doesn’t even include all of my herbs, present and new!
• Nichols Garden Fine Seeds                                    Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
• asparagus                                                         bulls blood beets
• Oregon 54 bush beans                                         brussel sprouts
• romano pole beans                                              celeriac-giant prague
• mesculun lettuce mix- spring and fall plantings          lemon cuke
• lollo rooso salad-summer plantings                          Boston pickling cuke
• Tuscan Kale                                                       ping tung eggplant
• anaheim peppers                                                 fennel
• aci sivu peppers                                                  giant musselburgh leeks
• fat n sassy sweet pepper                                      red florence onion
• rutabagas                                                           yellow of parma onion
• seneca zucchini                                                   bianci di maggio
• rhubarb                                                              parsnip
•                                                                         sugar snap peas
•                                                                         red marconi peppers
•                                                                         razzle spinach
•                                                                         correnta spinach
•                                                                          yokohama winter squash
•                                                                          delicata squash
•                                                                          butternut squash
•                                                                          rouge vif d’ etemes
•                                                                          connecticut field
•                                                                          marina di chroggio
•                                                                          fordhook giant chard
•                                                                          riesentrause-cherry tomato
•                                                                          crimson cushion
•                                                                          royal chico-roma style tomato
•                                                                          Dr Carolyn yellow cherry
•                                                                          Carolina ruby sweet potato
   

I find it so very interesting that amongst the inaccurate weather predictions from the most technologically advanced computers, nothing is as good as 1,000’s of year old predictions….all based on the earliest of time. We are in our 3rd day here of a snow/winter storm and not one prediction came from the weather people……but I had said early on that the farmer’s almanac was calling for a cold and snowy winter for us. No, that’s just not going to happen they said, well it did and is!! Being pagan is so beautiful and it really reaches into my soul at times like these and reminds me simply and gracefully that nature will do what it does best regardless of what we predict it should do….Xposted at apagans.lifeontheridge.com

We had another snowfall early this morning!!  Snow always seems to bring me back to calmness. I suppose it’s due to the surroundings which are simply beautiful and peaceful. It had me thinking about the time I take, or lack thereof, to really seek out my connection with the earth. Do I honor myself in a manner that is honoring the forces of nature that created me, spending time in the quiet listening to my needs? Such a difficult concept to grasp but I am trying to get there. Am I growing enough of my own food, having extra to share? Do I recycle enough? Are my choices at the market those of a conscience effort to reduce my usage in unnecessary packaging, and are they choices that will truly make a difference. I’m sure I can do better at the packaging but YES, my choices are making a difference. Perhaps not when compared on a larger scale but a difference in knowing that my choices are being taught to my children and anyone else who asks why I buy brand Z instead of the very popular brand X.   For me, I think it comes down to consuming less unnecessary things so that the money is spent on good, wholesome, organic and locally grown food. I’d really like to pay more attention to the content of my clothing and the  contents but it is all baby steps, adding more good change.  Funny where thinking of snow took me but this is how my mind works…