Desperation Gardening

31 May 2013 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

It’s desperation time. What with the rain, rain and more rain and then cold and then frost and then hot and humid, and more rain, I had trouble getting out to plant some vegetable seeds.

I ran outside this afternoon and dragged a garden tool, not sure which one, through the dirt and ripped open some seed packets. Whimsically threw seeds in a trench and covered them so quickly because, guess what, it started to rain, again.

I’m embarrassed to even call myself a gardener doing this. I hope nobody saw me.

I’m not sure if anything will grow that I planted. And now I’m aware that I forgot to buy cucumber seeds. Oh well.

If every farmer waited for the optimal time and weather to plant, we humans probably wouldn’t ever have any food to eat.
So, with hope and desperation, I join the ranks of professional and amateur growers, and we just toss in seeds and let the proccess begin.

This garden isn’t going to look pretty with nice neat rows and stakes and string and cute little seed markers. Oh no way.
This isn’t a “Pinterest” garden. This is reality.

And I am thankful we have farmer’s markets and grocery stores to fill in the gaps. I am not self-sustaining. Not yet.

Blessings and happy growing

For no particular reason. . . or “Forrest Gumping it” through the parkway

03 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

For no particular reason today I decided to start running.  Well, okay, jogging.  Realistically it was like fast walk- shuffling, barely getting my feet off the ground one after the other.

So here’s what happened.  I was walking the dog, Twiggy.  We were on our usual Menomonee River Parkway trail.

There were few other humans in sight.

For no particular reason, I decided to pick up the pace.  Once I did, Twiggy must have thought, “Finally!!!” She went faster.  I tried to keep up with her.  Faster still she went.    She starting actually dragging me.

I tried to slow down.  I prayed that the good Lord would blind the eyes of anyone who caught sight of us.

I thought I might have an asthma attack.  I tried to slow down.  Then I realized I was keeping up with the Twiggster.

Please don’t think this was fun.  This was insanity.  I hate running.

When we got home, I thought I would try  “Forrest Gumping it” through a box of chocolates!  That’s really more my sport.

No chocolate in the house.

So I did what any reasonable human would do, I took a hot bath , some ibuprophen, and tried to regain my dignity.

If you happen to come across me someday on the trail getting dragged by a cute, fluffy dog, please have the decency to avert your eyes.

This will save both of us a lot of shame!

Finding the Beauty in “Past Peak”

17 Oct 2012 1 Comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

10-16-2012

Took a walk today, with my camera, to the woods.  I snapped some photos of what I would like to call “past peak”.  The trees and leaves are past peak in terms of fall color.  but I wanted to see if I could still find the beauty of nature in past peak performance.  It was overcast and pleasant temps.  The rainy weekend prevented any walking and I thought the dog and I really needed to get out.  I think I found beauty in some unlikely places.

There is a unique beauty to one tree that has some of its leaves gone and the others in the process of falling and others still holding onto their glory.  All the surrounding trees are bare or brown or evergreens.

It is this one tree that captures my attention.  It stands in stark contrast to its surroundings.  How brave and brazen is this tree?  How dare it still declare its flaming colors to the rest of the world?  When fall color was at peak, this tree didn’t seem so flamboyant surrounded by others sporting like colors.  All the trees melded together to form a vista of beautiful warmth.  But now, this lone tree gets more attention.

There is also this one spot where several tree trunks form a surprise linear composition.  The foliage is not so much the star now, past peak.  The underlying structure of the tree stands out.  I would not have noticed this on my walk two weeks ago.  The beauty of the trunk and limbs and their graceful balance is striking.

              Another beautiful composition that caught my eye is the willow tree and its reflection in the creek.  Also something that I would not have noticed a few weeks ago.  I was so mesmerized by all the color, I missed the lines.

Today I noticed.

These things in nature speak to me.  The beauty of the “past peak” stage.  The truth is, that my age would put me in the category of “past peak”.  A woman in her fifties, not noticed too much in a youth-oriented culture.  I can walk down a street or in the mall and feel invisible.  Overlooked.  I don’t attract attention with flamboyant colors or clothes.

I don’t have that dewy youthful glow anymore.  No one would turn back and look twice at me.

I really don’t mind.  It is freeing to be this invisible.  There is something that shows in me

that is more beautiful than a dewy youthful complexion.  There is a sassiness

and twinkle in my eyes now.  I don’t really care what others think.

I’m comfortable with me.

The beautiful graceful foundation of my character speaks louder than the quality of my clothes.  The audacity of my joy makes me a standout in a world of haters.  And the gorgeous reflection of who I am, I hope, speaks of the One I am trying to reflect.

Peak colors, or past peak, the trees still stand.

The ones that have fallen have fallen naturally, not cut by chainsaws

and the hands of man.

There is a quiet honor about the tree fallen in the woods,

like a soldier dying with his boots on.

     And then there is this peace rose that just won’t quit blooming, no matter how cold the nights have been.

It just keeps producing new buds and blooms.

When all the flowers in the garden were parading their finery, this rose was nearly invisible.

Now, when all other contenders have withered in the frost or gone to seed, this one rose bush is a stand-out.

There is beauty “past peak”.  It may be a different kind of beauty and you may have to search a little harder to find it.    But it is no less stunning.

Blessings, and have a great day!

Wrestling With the Garden Hose

19 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

This is a new workout!  Great for upper arms, lower legs, and everything in-between.  Requires strength, flexibility, humiliation, and endurance. 

It’s called:  Wrestling with the Garden Hose. 

Note:  this excercise is not for the timid.  You have to be willing to stand in the front yard for all your neighbors and passing cars to see. 

You have to determine ahead of time that YOU WILL WIN, no matter what the hose throws at you.

It began with an old hose reel, a relatively new hose, and everything was leaking.  And there was no sprayer.  After careful inspection, I figured I could make do with the hose, but needed a new hose reel and a sprayer attachment.  Maybe some new washers.

So a trip to Target and a new-fangled all plastic, durable hose reel was purchased.

I braved the front yard.  I made sure I was wearing a shirt long enough to cover my backside and any undergarments that might be exposed while bending over.  Remember, this is the front yard.

I began to unwind the hose from the old hose reel.  This sounds incredibly easy.  But, the hose had other ideas.  It became the spawn of satan and began coiling and twisting and wrapping itself around my feet, like it had a mind and a will all its own.

I was not going to let the garden hose win. 

I won’t traumatize you with the gorey details.  I have bruises.  That’s all I can say right now.

There were no instructions with the new hose reel.  I was left to my own deductive reasoning to figure how the contraption all went together.

I did get wet, when after connecting everything and turning the water on . . . well I’ll leave that to your imagination.

I was not going to let the garden hose win.  I retightened all connections.  I wrestled that d***m hose onto the reel.  It kicked, it squirmed, it fought back with a vengenance.

It looks really pretty now.  Tamed, conquered by the human female. 

I can barely move my arms today. 

But it was so worth it.  I won.

 

Small but Significant

30 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

“I strive for a sense of optimism, a feeling that as small as I am, what I am doing still matters in the scheme of things.”

p. 41, Finding Water  Julia Cameron

As I start my Friday and head into the weekend I find myself reflecting on the past few weeks.  It seems like a flurry of activity.  Rain today makes decisions for me.  I must work indoors today.  That is okay with me, as there is plenty to do.

I plan to be aware again this weekend of the many beautiful things in my world and fill up another “basket of beauties”. 

The grass is so vibrantly green it nearly glows!  That is one beauty for my basket. 

Have you noticed the forsythias and flowering crab apples trees around town?  They are way ahead of schedule, just as eager for spring as we are.

The magnolia trees are in bud and ready to pop open any minute. 

petunias on the porch saying Good Morning

Time to Dig Up Weeds

23 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

I am thinking about digging up weeds today.  After a beautiful rain like we had last night and this morning, the ground will be nice and soft.  The weeds will come up like melted butter.  If you’ve ever dug up weeds, especially dandelions and thistles, you know that getting the roots out is crucial.

If you don’t get the root, the weed will just grow right back.  I like to use a little gardening tool I call my dandelion digger.  When you stab it into the ground right next to the root of the dandelion and then lean the tool into the root, it snaps off with a very satisfying crunch.  It’s an addicting activity.  And then you viciously pull that bugger right out of the ground and say, die, die!  Pulling dandelions is also a great activity for burning off anger issues!

There are some correlations here between pulling up weeds in the garden and pulling up “weeds” in my life.  “Weeds”  like unhealthy behaviors, bad attitudes, negative thinking, etc.  I could just try to deal with the issues in a superficial way, like just put on a happy face mask and pretend nothing is wrong.  I’m fine, really.  That is much like just taking dandelion leaves or flowers and leaving the root in the ground.  The root grows in deeper and stronger and pretty soon the leaves and pretty yellow flowers are back for another season.

If I want change in my life that is lasting, if I really want to be rid of bad behaviors for good, I’ve got to get down to the root.  I have to do a little digging to discover why I sabotage myself.  When I get the root of the matter, I can expose it to the Light and the Son.  Like a dandelion plant dug up by the root, if I leave it out on the driveway to bake in the light and the hot sun, it will shrivel and die.  So, too, my bad habit, dug up by the root, exposed to the Light of God’s word and the Son, it will shrivel and die.

Then there will be room to plant desireable plants:  lush flowers, yummy vegetables, sweet fruits.

Happy digging today!

Blessings, Vicki