a man and his hoe

every day is a good day

Category: How Things Grow

  • Brown and Gold

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    The trees are going to sleep, shedding their leaves in ever increasing amounts, in a quiet ritual that has gone on for millions of years. When dreaming of autumn leaves, how many dream of asparagus with their golden feathery fronds?

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    It’s nearing winter, and yet there are still plenty of flowers in bloom; brilliant dahlias, blue rosemary, and white thyme. And this morning, more color came flying in from the north. We saw our first flock of white swans, flying over the valley. Many more are on their way to spend winter here, joining the flocks of snow geese which cover the fields like snow.

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  • Fall Feathers

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    One of the maples has leaves that look more like feathers than leaves. From spring through summer, they are the feathers of a green parrot. In the fall they turn into rooster feathers. In a light breeze, you can see the feathers flapping, trying to fly away.

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  • On Fire

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    All it takes is for the clouds to part and let the sun shine to set everything on fire. Next to the pond, the snowbell fruits dangle like Christmas tree ornaments. Paint them different colors, and you’d have an outdoors Christmas tree.

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    Nearby the snowbell tree, the holly trees are waiting for migrating birds to snatch their orange berries. One migrating bird can eat a berry and deposit its seed far, far away. Who knows, by now, this holly tree may have children hundreds of miles away.

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    In the garden the magenta spreen is growing like crazy. I’m running low on greens to take to the two remaining Alger Sunday Markets. This weekend I’ll have plenty of fresh magenta spreen to offer.

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    I’ve let a few Swiss chard do their thing. This one is big enough to feed an elephant. The leaves are so large, one leaf could feed a family. The spitzkohl, pointy cabbage, are nearly done. You won’t find a tastier cabbage than spitzkohl. I don’t know why the stores don’t have bins of them. Well, I do know. Their odd shapes make them awkward to pick by machine, hard to pack, and cumbersome to handle. Not being efficient and easy to process is a death knell for any vegetable. Our relentless striving to be ever more efficient will drive us all to extinction.

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    And once we are all gone, who will pause to enjoy the beauty of autumn maples?

  • Redwood Down, Cedar Down

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    What goes up must come down. A strong wind helps. Friday’s storm snapped the top of a young redwood tree. It also snapped the top of a towering cedar tree. All is not lost. A fallen tree top is a fun playground for the dogs. Redwood and cedar branches make beautiful wreaths.

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  • October Wind

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    Before today’s storm, we were able to gather most of the Asian pears off the tree. This year was a bumper crop and they are at their peak right now, sweet, juicy, and crunchy. I’ll take some to this weekend Alger’s Sunday Market, if tomorrow’s storm doesn’t blow us all away.

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    Today’s storm was strong enough to knock down a few trees across the driveway. We needed a chainsaw to get out to run an errand.

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