After a brief lull in our warm, summer weather, the sun is back out in full force, and I’m weeding the pea patch. Fortunately, I’m not alone. I’ve got help. BB is nearby keeping company. Sometimes just being there is all that matters.
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Being There Is All That Matters
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Herbs by the Handful
Herbs by the handful, that’s the blessing of a garden. The rosemary bush at the start of the garden path provides more rosemary than I could ever use. Down the path are three more rosemary bushes. I never run out, even in winter. Oregano has taken over a spot in the garden. Thyme, sage, and marjoram flourish with abandon. There is so much mint, it could feed a flock of goats for days.
After living in cities for much of my life, this is one of the great treasures of being able to grow food: fresh herbs by the handful. Food that really tastes. Meals that satisfy.
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An Unusual July
It’s early July and the alder leaves are falling steadily. Usually, they don’t cover the ground like this until mid August. Every year is different. We never experience the same season twice in our entire lives. Each spring is subtly different than the one before it. Each summer is warmer, drier, wetter, cloudier, happier, sadder, windier, calmer, never the same twice.
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Missing Out
Madge is settled in. She’s found a quiet, dark, out of the way spot to hatch eggs. Spending day and night in the dark, she’s missing out on harvesting garlic, and finding all the good things that come out of the garden every day to eat. Today’s lunch was extreme home cooking. You can’t get more extreme than growing all the things on the plate: new potatoes, spicy arugula, pea pods with shallots.
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All Hands on Deck
It’s time to turn the compost pile again, and as soon as I have the pile broken down to rebuild it, it is all hands on deck. It’s been cooking at between 135ºF and 155ºF since the third, and I’ve turned it twice. Each time I turn it, which entails lifting the wire frame off it, breaking it down, and rebuilding it so that everything is well mixed, the chickens come running, wanting to lend a hand.
You can take a pinch of developing compost, dilute it with some water, put a drop of the water on a microscope slide and dive into another world of microorganisms. So many invisible living beings, too many to count. Bacteria, amoebae, protozoa, fungi, wriggling nematodes, microscopic insects. Thousands and thousands in a single drop of water. Things we never see, and yet they are what make life possible for us. The microorganisms are what feed our plants. They purify our water. They weave together the fabric of life which sustains us. They make it possible to enjoy a bowl of fresh greens for supper.
