Whew. I have discovered GARDEN YOGA!
That bowl of strawberries might not look like much. But most of those are the first harvest of wild strawberries no bigger than a fingernail. I haven’t hit the set on the cliff face yet. But as anyone who has taken yoga and has spent an hour in various versions of the downward dog, you can guess just how much I was shaking afterwards. Not exactly looking forward to the warrior pose on the cliff side, but! I am definitely getting my all over body workout. Sans kitty assistance.
The parsley (Top row, right) is HUGE. And I didn’t even plant this one. It migrated from a container garden I had last year to the front box beds.
I do have evidence (Bottom left) of blossoms on a pepper plant. My GOAL has been ACHIEVED! Both the peach tree and chestnut are doing great. And the blackberries. I can’t get over this. My neighbor can’t get over this. The bottom right is one bundle about the size of my palm. I look out over my front yard patch and I am amused and concerned that the culms might actually wind up taking over someone’s car.
I’ve ordered several more bushes. I’ve decided that, since some of the poor diseased trees were cut down behind my house, that belonged to the cemetery, there is a lot more light and space. I know, a handful of years before I bought this house that a giant lilac was high on the cliff face. I had to rip the lilac out because it was sick and the termites were horrendous. I’ve tried for years to get rid of the honey locusts, hostas and day lilies that took over it’s place. A nice dwarf orchard would look great. And will attract a lot of birds. It will be nice to see.
Even better, I’m putting this knowledge into the Novo:Ridge Lake series. I know, yada, yada. It’s not a sales pitch. Part of why I love to write these books is that, in my heart, I think of all the wonderful things out there, just waiting, that make life… better. For most it’s high tech. For me? Herbalism and environmentalism has been my passion since I was so young. All these cool things that can be made. With what’s right around us all.
I’ve mentioned that I’ve redone my kitchen and how I shop. I’m starting to physically feel better. Just getting outside, even in the heat… I’ve stopped bothering with the gas mower. I have a push one now, because it beats doing pushups. I can see, literally SEE, the progress I’m making each day. Even getting up into the heavy grasses on the cliff face. The yellow portulaca that I planted for my grandmother (it was her favorite) is taking over. Last year? Last year, I got sick enough that I was in bed for nearly six months straight. And in my research, I’ve discovered plants that most people think of as common weeds killing their yards that our forefathers used as painkillers. Not just willow bark. And that, a hundred years ago, people ripped out grass fields to make room for dandelions because of how nutritious and beneficial it was to eat.
I’m not saying everything was better back then. Disease certainly ran rampant. I also know people have vastly different definitions of both homesteading and survivalism. I don’t care. Honestly, I don’t. I may live in a sort of suburbia and spend 14+ hours a day on a computer. I also know I can live quite happily without electricity or central heating or plumbing. I can’t tell you how much I’ve cut down on the bills since I’ve started putting this stuff into play. And I always have something interesting going on.
Since I’ve started focusing on this garden, I feel better inside. I have something good and positive to move on to, instead of letting my past continue to make me feel numb. I don’t miss the hurtful chaos one little bit.
And I have to say… something odd happened to me today. A sort of validation that came from a friend of mine. Positive. After years of criticism over a viewpoint I’ve taken since I was about 14, this person said that they were happy I had that viewpoint and acted on it years ago. (I’m paraphrasing, here.) Someone actually saw that I had been being nice and… well… The way it was stated, by this person, it came out like others have repeatedly done in the past, as a negative. It wasn’t meant that way and I didn’t catch on at first. I had no idea how to handle the observation as a positive. I actually almost cried from it. My head’s still in shock and a bit numb.
I have this wonderful space, outside and around my house, to work this stuff out now. I spent an hour hauling stuff around and using the push mower. Especially up the cliff. Worked out almost all of that confusion. Enough that I had the time and energy to sink into getting what’s needed for that dwarf orchard that I’m picturing in my head, instead of twisting myself up inside, trying to cope. I don’t need to “cope.” Those choices I made to stop dealing and just get on with things is blessing my day and helping to create something wonderful.
And, this fall, I’ll be making collapsible DIY greenhouses to put over my new orchard to protect it until it can be hardy enough on its own, with our harsh NY winters. How cool is that?
Hope your day is turning out as whacky as mine. Tomorrow, I’ll be out, doing the warrior on the cliff to get the rest of those strawberries to freeze for this winter…