***Tuesday's Tip***

I bought this boogie board for a dollar at a yard sale about 5 years ago.  I had every intention of it becoming my beach buddy.  But rather than ending up here....

It has only been afloat here....

Each summer I intend to spend more time at the beach.  My record is 3 times.  I only went twice last season during my Garden Sabbatical, how sad is that!  I have been twice this summer already...so there is hope!  In the meantime my boogie board has become one of my favorite garden gadgets instead, of my beach buddy.  Let's face it I will always spend more time in the garden than at the beach.

My boogie board is like my garden couch.  It is a fantastic device for kneeling & sitting while picking and weeding.  Great for a garden stretch too.  Very comfy in yoga child's pose or for lying on your back to stare at clouds for a bit of a break.

It also has this very nice webbing strap with a Velcro loop on the end.  I can hitch it too my belt loop and drag it along when my hands are full.

Maybe a boogie board in the garden reminds me to get to the beach and enjoy the waves before summer's end.  I want to be clear, I love the beach but, I love the work here more.  It is the everyday pleasure of accomplishment that feeds my soul with an emphasis on pleasure.  The work may be hard at times but, even a tired body is a reward when felt with relish and satisfaction.  There are so many sights to see if one just takes the time to look.  I do not seek the BIG reward...I don't even know what that is?  It is the everyday JOY that sustains me and fills me with the feeling of satisfaction.

Like an early morning with my coffee, boogie board, hand tool, and weeds...

....to a job completed before the shade was lost, with ducks in the distance and time for another cup of coffee enjoying what I had just done.

A fresh poem find....

Pleasures

BY DENISE LEVERTOV

I like to find   

what's not found   

at once, but lies

within something of another nature,   

in repose, distinct.   

Gull feathers of glass, hidden

in white pulp: the bones of squid   

which I pull out and lay

blade by blade on the draining board—

       tapered as if for swiftness, to pierce   

       the heart, but fragile, substance

       belying design.               Or a fruit, mamey,

cased in rough brown peel, the flesh   

rose-amber, and the seed:

the seed a stone of wood, carved and

polished, walnut-colored, formed   

like a brazilnut, but large,

large enough to fill

the hungry palm of a hand.

I like the juicy stem of grass that grows

within the coarser leaf folded round,

and the butteryellow glow

in the narrow flute from which the morning-glory   

opens blue and cool on a hot morning.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171229

Sandy's Silver Lining

It goes without saying that Sandy the Super Storm was and is devastating to many across the Northeast. During my meditation each evening I hold those folks in the light and pray for their speedy recovery.  But every cloud has a silver lining.

Potato Potentiality

Bliss! 

Here in Maine we were on the edge of the storm and were spared any major damage.  As a matter of fact I found a blessing from the sea due to the storm.  Last Friday I attended the Belfast Art walk.  It is my habit after having a few sips of wine here and there to take a nice long walk around town before I head home.  That walk, always, includes a visit to the town beach.  As I stepped onto the darken beach my feet sank into seaweed up to my knees.  Instead of being alarmed or grossed out I was elated.  I even let out a little squeal of glee.  I reached down to pull up handfuls of beautiful seaweed.  I did not care that I was in my "fancy" town clothes and shoes.  This was found treasure!  The next morning my husband & I arrive early to fill our small truck with this mulch manna.   It has been a couple years since we have scored any seaweed.  Every trip to Belfast I check and there just has not been any.  We are not alone in our desire for this garden gold.  Often times we have arrived at beaches to find other lucky gardeners gathering ahead of us a leaving none behind.  Seaweed does tend to incite a bit of greed!  Well, we finally hit the jackpot!  This was easy pickings and the cleanest, most litter free seaweed ever.  Also, due to the lateness of the year there was very little visible animal life we were sacrificing to our gardens.  It was so good we went back for a second trip (it is nearly an hour round trip to the beach).  I was able to mulch my whole asparagus patch, raspberries, and the potato spot for next year. Gardener's Delight!

Asparagus Actuality

~~Gardening Hints~~

Seaweed has many garden benefits.  An asparagus patch especially benefits from seaweed not minding the high salt content but it is not so great for weeds.  Besides adding organic matter to the soil many nutrients and mineral are leached in as well.  Seaweed does breakdown fairly quickly so you need to spread soon after collecting or you will be dealing with a slimy mess (we collect ours in large garbage bags ((that we reuse)) to keep our truck cleaner. A couple days in the bags you end up with yuck! I know from experience).  Since it breaks down so quickly don't count on it as a long term mulch.  We apply it right from the beach.  There are some suggestions to rinse it first.  But with a fall application that is not necessary   I have used it in the summer straight from the beach for mulch and have had excellent luck with my tomatoes.  But nearly killed my onions one year applying it directly from the beach.  Also, you can add seaweed to a big barrel of water and make seaweed tea for a rich liquid fertilizer.  Happy Gardening!