The wait is over. The snow came in the night and will still come till late this afternoon. It’s another Christmas in April. Traffic was heavy and slow this morning. I almost fell asleep in the car going to the gym. I wasn’t driving. Needless to say, the gym was fairly empty. I felt proud of myself for not slacking off.
I am proud, too, for completing my tax return and paying what I owe. The weight of avoidance and procrastination lifted. I feel so much better and lighter. I vow from now on to keep on top of my paper stuff by developing a better filing system. I will open mail and deal with them as they come. I tend to collect and hoard and not open. I think I have fear of opening and dealing with mail. It is odd, I know. I am odd. That, I know, too.
It is rather pretty with the falling snow flakes. It is not that cold. Everything is white and pristine. The snow peas, radish, spinach and lettuce seem to love the cool temperature of 4.6℃ in the greenhouse. The seedlings aren’t complaining either. I set a pail outside to catch the snow for water. It saves shoveling. There’s an upside to everything. And I’m still here on this 24th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
A cloudy snowy Tuesday evening. This always happen when I think winter is definitely over and spring is here to stay. It was so sunny and warm Easter Sunday. The greenhouse went up to almost 30℃. I merrily planted some of my snowpeas. They were very happy to have more dirt to grab onto. It got a little cooler the next day but still sunny. The temperature dipped at night and it went down to -1℃ in the morning. Still not too bad as we still had a sunny day. I turned on the little heater for night time insurance.
Now the snow is really coming down, soft and feathery. The forecast is for a heavy load – till 4 am. It is a pretty sight to watch. Not too much I can do about it. I might as well have some pleasure from it. The snow peas will be ok. They can tolerate cool temperatures down to -2℃. I have brought my little tomato and pepper seedlings back into the house. They do not thrive in cool temperatures.
I’m not thriving in our present climate either. I took a day off from my keyboard yesterday. I was out of words. It was a good reason to take a rest.
A sunny peaceful Easter Sunday in my neck of the woods. I cannot afford to be weighed down by all the troubles of the world day after day. I’m taking today off. So after a delcious dim sum at Yip Hong’s (our favourite Chinese restaurant) with the family, I pottered around in the greenhouse for an hour or two. I planted 2 short rows of snow pea seedlings. They are big enough with well established roots. They can withstand the cool nights. I don’t think it will dip below freezing now. It went up to 30℃ in there this afternoon. I had to open 2 vents and pull down the shade. I was getting scorched!
It’s a slow and late spring. It works for me. I am also slow and late. I am not as ambitious as previous years, planting and planting, crowding and crowding, to get more and more. Sometimes that works against me. Last year I had a big infestation of aphids with the peppers and bitter melons. I ended up with more work and less peppers and no bitter melons. I’m being more deliberate and trying not to overcrowd the greenhouse. Maybe that will prevent the aphid problem happening again.
There’s no lettuce, spinach or other greens poking their heads through the soil yet. But there are plenty earthworms where I was planting the snow peas. I seededed a row of radishes in front of them. It’ll be exciting waiting and watching. Green is such a wonderful colour. I feel its power such thinking about it. Here’s what google says about it:
Green psychologicallypromotes calmness,balance and rejuvenation by connecting to nature, which can reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and boost feelings of hope and stability. As a central color on the spectrum, it is seen as refreshing, fostering creativity, focus, and productivity while signaling safety and growth.
I have no better words. They are good to end on this 5th day of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
A rainy Thanksgiving Sunday. I’m happy to look out and see the bright pink garage door. The kiwi leaves are turning golden on the trellis. In its 4th year we are still waiting for blossoms. Maybe next spring. The rain is turning into snow as I tap. Hello winter? Happy we finished harvesting the carrots and leeks from the raised bed yesterday. The greenhouse got its last water from the rain catchment behind the garage. My avocado, rosemary and jasmine are repotted and brought in. The wooden compost unit moved closer to house for easy access in winter. It was hard work. But now I am sitting easy and cosy.
In the greenhouse, the bottle gourd is still going strong. It feels the end is near. It’s popping out little babies like crazy. Too bad pollination is not always a guarantee. They are delicious in soups when they are young. I have one that is getting heavy and needed a little support from an old pair of panty hose. It helps that I never throw out anything.
Isn’t it funny how time slips away? And isn’t it funny how memories can bring tears to your eyes? So not to let memories fill me with sadness and tears, I’ve made another run at my day. I don’t want my precious time to just slip away. What better way to bring myself back to the here and now than to step out of the house. I’m greeted with morning sunshine and blue skies. Hello Saturday! It’s nice to see you.
Then it is into the greenhouse. It is still green and lush with growth. I can’t complain of it being barren and empty. I might even get a bitter melon or two afterall. Aphids destroyed most of my plants early in the season. So I’m crossing all my fingers and toes.
I was wordless and photo-less on Wednesday. I thought I would try for a few words with photos for today. It’s better late than never. Our heat wave continues but we did have a coolish day on Tuesday. It gave the house a chance to cool off. The smoke from forest fires are higher up so there’s not the smell. Still the morning was under a heavy gloom. It indeed felt like the end of the world.
The way it is, it could very well happen. So there’s nothing that I can do but live the best I can. That means still doing the things that give meaning to my life – gardening and doodling the best I can/know how.
The slow cool spring and summer heat are affecting how the garden at home and in the community garden as well as how things are in the greenhouse. It shows how vulnerable we and our food supply are. Nothing is for sure. If this isn’t our wakeup call, I don’t know what is. However, we are still ok. We are still getting a good enough though different crop. But what about next year?
our no till community garden plotmy brother’s no till community garden plotChinese squash & bitter melonbitter melons, cucumber and Swiss Chardbitter melons, cucumber, tomato, pepper
I keep trudging along, one foot in front of the other. It’s a hard year but it’s teaching me stamina and staying positive. I’m learning to take better care of myself. I’m learning from Mary Sarton to rest and not do, do all the time. From May Sarton’s Journal of a Solitude:
[18th January 1971]
“A strange empty day. I did not feel well, lay around, looked at daffodils against the white walls, and twice thought I must be having hallucinations because of their extraordinary scent that goes from room to room. I always forget how important the empty days are, how important it may be sometimes not to expect to produce anything, even a few lines in a journal. I am still pursued by a neurosis about work inherited from my father. A day where one has not pushed oneself to the limit seems a damaged damaging day, a sinful day. Not so! The most valuable thing we can do for the psyche, occasionally, is to let it rest, wander, live in the changing light of a room, not try to be or do anything whatever. Tonight I do feel in a state of grace, limbered up, less strained. Before supper I was able to begin to sort out poems of the last two years … there is quite a bunch. For my sixtieth birthday I intend to publish sixty new poems and, as I see it now, it will be a book of chiefly love poems. Sixty at Sixty, I call it, for fun.”
My little index card art is my journal. These are part of the 61 days of Daisy Yellow Index Card a Day Challenge. When I tried too hard and follow the narrow road, I got stuck and couldn’t create. I was almost 20 days behind. So I gave up trying to follow themes and prompts and just doodled. I got these 5 card in the last 2 days. And they were fun to do. The lesson – relax and have fun.
WaitingWe are so happyKamalathe DonaldXi Jinping
PS. I’m not a political animal at all but the time seems ripe to pay more attention, learn and be more involved. Thus the 3 portraits.
Another beautiful sunny morning. It’s day 24 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I love waking up with the birds and sun. I’ve had my cuppa, played Wordle and Spelling Bee. I can beat Wordle most days but having trouble with spelling. I’m in a spelling rut but I can leave it without frustration.
I’ve made my morning trek to the greenhouse and planted my first tomato – a Sweet One Million. I disturbed the earthworms from their sleep. The soil was alive with them. I will plant one more later – a Red Torch. And that will be plenty in there. Real estate is at a premium in there. I want to make good use of every inch. It’s hard to envision now but it doesn’t take long before it’s a jungle. Here’s what it looked like last summer.
Going into the 4th year of the greenhouse, I’m working at maintaining my health and vitality. I need both to keep on growing our own food. I was careless last year and I suffered for it. Now I working out in the weight room, training almost like Joan. Growing our food, maintaining my health and that of our planet gives me purpose and meaning. It’s easy to relax, slide and let everything go to pots. All my little every day things keep me mostly on track.
The snow came as promised. Along with it wind. It feels wintery except that it’s not cold. The snow is wet and heavy, weighing down the branches of the neighbour’s spruce trees, but not my spirit. I feel just fine, thank you very much. I’m happy we’re getting this moisture to quench the earth’s thirst. I’m getting used to the unpredictableness of the weather and life. It’s a rocky ride. I’m hanging on.
Everything is cool, meaning ok in the greenhouse. We have a little heater that turns on when it gets below 7℃. There’s the rockwall and buckets of water that hold in the heat during the day and give off heat at night. So the heater seldom runs unless we have a long stretch of cloudy cold days. Seeing that the snow was piled up by the greenhouse door, I filled 2 buckets to melt inside for watering. I see that 2 of the photos are a bit blurry. Drat! They will have to do. They’re good enough. So ends day 17 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
Friday morning coming down and it’s a cool one. Though the greenhouse temperatures are good, staying above freezing on its own even at night, things are not taking off just yet. I guess I’m impatient, wanting now, now, now! The snowpeas are growing tendrils. The seeded lettuce are poking their heads above the soil. The spinach is still skinny but the radish leaves are getting fatter as are the Gai Lan. They will burst forth all in good time.
The seedlings are doing well also. They are robust, thriving in the greenhouse. They get plenty of light in the day. The cool nights keep them from bolting and getting leggy. I can repot some while waiting for the other seeds to germinate. I can get swamp if I’m not careful. Even after all these years of gardening and starting my own seeds, I still have many doubts. It is still a miracle when I see them germinate and poke their heads above the soil. I do not take anything for granted. I tend to over seed – just in case.
This year I am being a little more bold and confident. I cut back a little. Prices have gone up and you get fewer seeds in a pack. I label the pots with the number of seeds I sow. That way I would know the germination rate. It would help for next year’s sowing. So far I’m pretty happy that it’s almost 100%. There are those seeds that’s too small to count. I’ve also started to date my seed packs so I know how old the seeds are. 3 years is supposed to be the best before date. But nothing is set in stone. Here is an interesting video about a seed grower in Saskatchewan. It’s inspiring me.
It’s day 6 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Only 24 more days to go and 54 more days for #the100dayproject. I’m experiencing a malaise and a dip in my spirit. In these moments I wonder why I put these commitments upon myself. It would be so much easier if I go with the flow. It would be but I do know where that could lead – stagnation. And it is just not me – to go with the flow. I’m prickly, sometimes known as an eccentric person.
What I need when malaise hits is action. Though I don’t advocate shopping on Amazon as a solution, that’s what I did. I bought an electric kettle and Lyn Slater’s book on How to Be Old. I was waiting for the paperback version but I decided I need to read it now. So ping! Now it’s on my Kindle. Not sure how useful it will be. Not alot of super reviews on Goodreads.What triggered my dippy mood is reminders of aging and what that could mean. I had a visit with my 92 year old mother yesterday. The conversation was largely about aging, declining strength, vitality and meaning of life. It left me feeling blue and deflated, wondering on how to age well. That’s when I remembered Lyn Slater, the accidental icon.
It’s good that the morning was sunny. I’ve started my daily early morning visits to the greenhouse before breakfast. Today I transplanted my radishes into the bed. After I thought I better do my stretches before I lose my oomph. It’s the first time in many months that I have no pain in my left foot. I had plantar fasciitis since before Christmas. Just as it was finally resolving, I stubbed my little toe on the same foot. Took 5 weeks for it to heal. I am motivated to keep pain away by doing my daily stretches.
Now it is almost 4 in the afternoon. We took a little drive out of the city to Crossmount to look at some paintings and pottery on display. We had some dessert at the restaurant and walked around outside after. There was quite a few people out enjoying the sunshine and the cider house. I’m feeling refreshed and renewed.
onethousandandtwo 