Letting Go

There is this time every summer that, as a gardener, I just sort of let go.  What can be done is done or it may just be a weariness from all the work.  It is a time for a bit of respite before the harvest and garden clean up are in full swing.  That time is now, especially helped by a heat wave, it has been in the high 80's for days!  I got up before 5:00am this morning and took a walk with Runa, trying to beat the heat.  For the first time in a long while I grabbed my camera.  It has been some time since I came to this blog "place".  It has been a challenging summer.  My son broke his leg in the spring.  There have been many trips back and forth to the college campus.  Surgery, crutches, then complications so more travel for me and times of tension and worry.  Things are, finally, settling down.  The boy is on the mend and so is my psyche!  What has brought me peace during these times besides a supportive partner, is this place on earth.  I have often thought of starting up "here" again but I couldn't come up with a good segway for return.  So the time of "letting go" seems as good as any.  Here is a little photo journal of my dawn stroll with a bit of news from around the land.

The pond has been wonderful this summer!  I took a dip right after my walk.  I jump in everyday sometimes too tired to swim so I just float and look up at the heavens and relax.  The pond is quieter too.  We found a new home for our ducks so one less chore and little more freedom to travel.

A couple of photos of the "let go garden".  Plenty of dill!  Dilly beans will be processed soon!

A rare Vern sighting.  Except for meal time we hardly ever see him.  He is off on his own adventures these days.  Runa is my ever present companion!  Here she is begging for a bean.  She is such a lovely creature.  I am very grateful for her friendship.

 Still battling the beetles.  But they aren't making me so mentally crazy this year.  I sort of enjoy my evening of beetle collecting.  I might not be motivated to get outside around 8:00pm if I didn't have the beetles...who knows?

My favorite kind of flower is the one that creates a vegetable and can be tilled under in the fall!  This is a Long Pie Pumpkin flower surrounded by crimson clover.

A new experiment this year is letting a friend have a garden spot here.  It has been a very nice addition.  I have learned a thing or two from this beginner gardener.  Like I might not need to do quite as much work to get a good harvest.  Her garden is producing well even with being "neglected" more than my patches!

Well I have found my path back.  I will try to show up a bit more often.  All is Well~
wishing the same for you~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

☼ Forest & Field Happenings ☼ FEDCO + Canoe

I could call this post forest and far afield happenings!  It has been busy around here the last 4 days!  Friday I went to the FEDCO pre-order sale(...Open to the public this weekend!!) I spent Saturday planting my 10 elderberries to create a hedge in a wettish area, some replacement rhubarb, 3 honeyberries as an experiment, & one Motherwort which has been a helpful herb for me as of late.  I got around to some mulching with buckwheat hulls, my new favorite mulch.  Also, did some raking and prepping beds.  Meanwhile, DH was completing machine maintenance to get ready for the summer of work.

Sunday we took the day off!!!  We took our little canoe to nearby China Lake.  This is a pretty heavily populated lake so it can be busy and noisy.  But, this time of year with the ice just barely off the lake it was pretty quiet.  We had never canoed this lake but have driven by it 100's of times.  It was pretty neat to see the sights from the water.  We took a picnic that we had while floating about.  Spent nearly 4 hours on the lake which we only realize when we came ashore.  The loons made several appearances as well as "singing" their haunting song!

Monday was back to work!  DH had some wood to stack and then he rototilled my gardens for me.  I got my peas planted and some flower seeds in for my beneficial insect garden edges.  early afternoon we took a break in the sun that lasted the rest of the day.  Both of us usually seek the shade but after this long winter the sun was an elixir of pure pleasure!

Today I need to get my onion seedlings in the ground.  I may get some other early seeds planted. So much to do.....!  Spring cleaning, set up my tree house, put away winter clothes, organize my attic....the sewing room my just be in limbo for a bit... well, at least until a rainy day.  I better get cracking!

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Pause & See

April snow...again

windowsills, fluorescent lights

where I find my spring

orah

little tree 

 I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Gardens End ~ Years End

Hello!  I am still here.  I have my new computer... I am getting used to it....spending a good deal of time with the tedious task of transferring things from the PC to the MAC.  Which creates a great opportunity to consider what I want and what a do not.  A perfect task to be doing at the end of another year.  I haven't taken the time to get my camera software on this computer so in the meantime here is a blog I began in the fall that I never finished.  Another wonderful way to end a year with reflection on the things gone by.  (Plus I am getting used to my keyboard and trying out various heights to see if I need DH to make a custom board to get it just right...ergonomically!)

I barely remember this day of digging.  All this food is now nicely tucked away in the cold room.  Some of it has been eaten.  We are already through nearly half the carrots!  Guess I should plant more next year.  This is the time of year we tend to take stock in all that has passed.  A time for goal setting and getting busy again after all the celebrations.  I have begun my long list of desires.  Hoping not to make my Self crazy with my goals but, to always remember slow and steady fills the pantry.  There can Be times for flurry and time for reflection all mixed together.

It has been a nice and quiet holiday here.  Just the 3 of us enjoying good healthy food and each others company.  I declined most invitations for big parties and listened to my need for quiet.  I feel refreshed rather than drained from this festive time of year.  I hope to continue to improve my inner "hearing" in the new year!

Well, time to get back to the transfer work, year end bookkeeping, garden notes, seed order, Etsy creating, and all the day to day ~ buzz, buzz, busy-ness!  Hope this little blog finds you and yours well.  And if I don't get back "here" before the New Year... Wishing you a Very Happy One!

☼ Forest & Field Happenings ☼ Duck Defense

Monday late afternoon I lost another duck! Around 4:00 pm I had been out with Runa.  All ducks were present and accounted for.  About 30 minutes later, in the house, Runa started pitching a fit.  I suddenly thought I better check the ducks!  One white one was gone without a trace!  Bumming.  Alien AbDUCKion!  I suspect the "alien" is either a fox or a Great Horned Owl.  I have been hearing an owl hooting nearly every night and often during the day but, the sneakiness suggests a fox.  I can't bare to have my ducks locked up all the time plus, I don't think it would be healthy.  So I spent yesterday morning tightening up my Duck Defenses. I rummaged around the house looking for things I could use.  First was to string up a distracting fence.

I have a drawer full of old CD's I have been holding on to knowing someday I would upcycle into a project of some sort. I added some jingle bells that I got at yardsale (but they don't jingle much unless the string is disturbed)  I hope the flashing from the CDs will make the area less appealing to the predators.

Next I put up this owl decoy that I glued the head back on the night before.

I had a couple bird scare balls that I hung up.

My masterpiece though is my "scarecrow" ME!

I stuffed some clothes with hay and added a mannequin head that I paid a dollar for at a yardsale!  I plan to move her around a bit and add a flashlight at night.  If this doesn't scare them I don't know what will!?  Runa jumped into her lap and licked her face when I was finished!  Glad I had the camera handy!!  She hasn't got a name yet...any suggestion!?

One more thing I added...from our 2nd bathroom....the pee bucket I dribbled some our scent around the edge of the woods.  We lived off the grid in our early years so using a bucket is sort of a habit.  Human Urine is a great nutrient additive for the garden or compost pile. We use it in our gardens and every Time we use the toilet we feel a bit like we are squandering our pee....hope this isn't TMI!  

Just one more thing...I ordered one of these from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E51X8Q8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So except for putting the ducks in earlier and letting them out later this is about all I can think of doing.  If anyone out there has had success with predator control that doesn't involve killing I would love to hear about your ideas! 

At least Runa seems to like the new addition to the family!

Just One More Thing (I sound like Columbo...for those of a certain age...TV) We have been on a campaign around here to train Runa to bark less.  Icelandic Sheepdogs are pretty barky.  This may have been a mistake.  So while I was outside shoring up my defenses I encourage Runa to have a barking fest.  Wish me & my duckies luck! 

~~~GRATITUDE~~~

Rainy and damp with ankle deep lawn....sooooo MUCH to do each day, each moment!

Making time for ducklings many times a day ... just too cute to resist!!

I am multitasking whenever & wherever I can.  Like reading aloud to the duckies.  I have been reading this book for awhile.  I have been having a hard time paying attention to what I read when I go to bed dead dog tired.  So I started reading aloud to my self!  I spent 13 years reading aloud every single day to my son when he was 0-12.  I had forgotten during the teen years how much I enjoyed it!  But now that the boyo is home it is just too weird (for even me) to read aloud within his earshot.  The duck house is warm, private, and with good lighting.  Plus, I can take a moment while contemplating what I have just read and enjoy looking at the quackadoodles.  +++ the duckies are getting used to my voice...and maybe learning something too! ;)

More of the Happenings.....

Duckies having their morning greenies!

Tomatoes in Desperate Need of Planting!

Tomato Structures Put up Yesterday...

....but will need to wait until the grass is mowed!

Clover "Floor" growing in the Sunflower House

First Sunnie Emerges...being eaten by a slug...akkk!

Slug! Prepare to meet your maker!!

Eaten!!

So what I am Grateful for today?  Plenty to do!!!  And a body healthy enough to do it!  

I choose this life and I embrace this life.  I love this life!

Happy LIFE to You too!

It is my intention, each Sunday, to share something that fills me with Gratitude. 

I write ~~~Gratitude~~~ with the wavy lines to represent the gratitude ENERGY~~~~~! 

I hope you will join me and share your gratitude moments. 

~~~Amen, Blessed Be, Namaste'~~~

***Tuesday's Tip***

It is such a busy time of year here at Gratitude Gardens (that is what I call my "farm")  I always wish to blog more.  I really do enjoy sharing with my readers!    The best way I get things done is to set up a schedule of sorts.  I have Sunday Gratitudes which I am happy to say, I have not missed a Sunday since I made that commitment with my Self!  I am getting going with Friday Etsy Shops News...which is something else that keeps me off the streets at night...4 Etsy Shops now...but more on that this Friday.  

As a manic maker I have plenty of ideas and projects I would like to share.  So I am starting...

<<<Tuesday's Tips>>>

With this "commitment" I can start getting all my ideas off those little scraps of paper that are floating about and let them start world wide webbing!  So for today something super easy, beautiful, and delicious 

                                    ~~~Chive Flower Vinegar~~~

Step One:

After you are done being distracted by all the beautiful butterflies, collect some chive blossoms.

Chive plants are super easy to grow.  They are perennials that grow nicely from seeds or find someone that has a clump and ask for a shovel full.  They handle division quite well!   My lovely row was started from seeds I saved, then I just divide each year to make the row longer.  Besides being yummy they are loved by pollinators.  That is why I grow so many...Easy, Bees, & Butterflies!  

Oh Yeah, collecting flowers.  I just pop them off in my hand.  But you could use scissors as well.

What you need includes: Clean Glass Bottles or Jars.  I run mine through the sani-cycle on my dishwasher.  White Vinegar is preferred to a brown vinegar.

Loosely fill the jars with Chive Flowers.  I do not wash the flowers.  They are grown organically.  I figure between clean jars and vinegar things are clean enough. (but I will eat a carrot right out of the garden that has only been cleaned by wiping it on my pants...)  If you want to wash the flowers do it gently and dry them thoroughly. 

NEXT:  Fill the jars with vinegar....then wait a week.......

Voila! Beautiful Pink Vinegar!

Some folks strain out the flowers, but I leave them in until they have completely faded.  They make wonderful hostess gifts (I have given away 3 bottles, already!)!  The vinegar has a nice chive-lively flavor

Of course, butterfly distraction = Haiku Thoughts

but if I held it...could I touch

the lightness of this

flutter butterfly?

buson

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