I hope I can get back into more active writing, as I get back into more active gardening again, but due to some sudden serious health issues in the family, and the fact that I started yet another business (more to come on that!) I have been swamped. Not to mention the end of the home-school year, and a son graduating from high school! I am happy to announce he will be entering Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in the fall. He gets most of the credit, since he really developed wonderful discipline and had a goal for an "Ivy League"-quality education, but I like to think I can take some credit for setting him on the right path and giving him good fundamentals! It's been an adventure, homeschooling six children all these years, but my children are very well educated, mature, and kind. And that was my goal. Two down, four more to go!
Yes, it seems to happen every year, that just as the "Last Frost Date" arrives, so does the endless rain! Most of our gardens are rather soggy, so at least two days must pass after a good rain before I can plant. Alas, in the last couple weeks, we have not had such a break from rain. It has given my back some time to heal without my feeling guilty, however, so I can be glad for that! But this picture was just so sweet I had to snap it. The sun came out between showers, and the raindrops covering the Lady's Mantle just shimmered!
I hope I can get back into more active writing, as I get back into more active gardening again, but due to some sudden serious health issues in the family, and the fact that I started yet another business (more to come on that!) I have been swamped. Not to mention the end of the home-school year, and a son graduating from high school! I am happy to announce he will be entering Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in the fall. He gets most of the credit, since he really developed wonderful discipline and had a goal for an "Ivy League"-quality education, but I like to think I can take some credit for setting him on the right path and giving him good fundamentals! It's been an adventure, homeschooling six children all these years, but my children are very well educated, mature, and kind. And that was my goal. Two down, four more to go!
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Well, I guess haven't actually gone to my actual website since November, because although I thought I was putting up wonderful seasonal pictures over the months in my banner, I just discovered they were not appearing on the website. The autumn pic was still up. Apparently, in order to publish a new banner picture I have to hit a different button than when I publish a new blog entry. Darn, I had some lovely Christmas and snow and spring pictures up there, too. Sigh. Well, now I know and you'll see the pictures change seasonally!
Well, this winter was no friend to our little pond, and Mother Nature did no favors for our frozen frogs, either. Not one full-grown frog survived (I'll spare you the gorey stories about cleaning up) nor did any fish, but we did winter over some tadpoles, so the frogs are back. And while the iris and rush are doing well, and some water celery and waterlilies made it, many other plants died. But what absolutely thrived was the string algae. Hurray. So, today my goal was to get into that pond and clean out all the sludge and algae, and start the summer ahead of the enemy! I purchased algae eaters, stepped into the pond, and began the job. It was pleasant to stand bent over in the cool water, scooping up wet leaves and algae and throwing them on the lawn - yeah, I'm a little weird that way. But it's soothing to make environments conducive to healthier life. So I bent and scooped, bent and scooped, then lifted pots out and scrubbed the sides to get off some algae so the products would not have to work so hard. Half way through the job, as I placed a pot back into the water, it happened - TWANG! "AAAAAAAAAH!" My back went. There I hunched, thigh deep in the pond, and I couldn't move. "Teresa! Teresa!" She had been at the window not too long ago. Soon after I received a not too enthusiastic reply from the house, "Yeah?" I croaked, "I can't move. My back went." Out she ran to rescue her poor mother. It would have been comical to watch, had it not been so painful. My 90 pound, 5'1" daughter had to practically drag me out of the pond as I climbed up her body. Once out and somewhat straight, I could stand while she ran to the attic to get Daddy's crutches - made for someone over six feet tall! I'm 5'5". What a joke. She shifted the crutches, then pulled my shoulders forward, shifted and pulled, shifted and pulled, and that way we made it to the house and a couch. Then she ran out and got some comfrey leaves, put some olive oil in a pan and heated the leaves to make a hot comfrey-oil compress for my back. Those who know me know I can't do nothing. Fifteen minutes on my stomach doing nothing and I was going crazy. So I had the girls bring me some paperwork, and little by little over the next couple hours I was able to move, make my way to the desk, and do some work. So here I am, sitting inside on a beautiful day, pond half cleaned, gardens needing weeding, and oh my achin' back. Well, I guess Angela's going to be doing most of the gardening this summer for our business. I'll have to give her a bigger cut! This past week Angela and I dodged rain storms and got out to plant a few cool-loving seedlings that were outgrowing their pots. As we dug she asked one of those burning questions of life: "Mom, how come soil doesn't smell?" Hmmm. She clarified. "I mean, considering everything in it is dead and decomposing, it should smell, but it doesn't." In my great maternal wisdom, I replied sagely, "Well, it does smell. We just don't notice it because we're used to it. For us it's the smell of nature. I mean, different soils are different, and this is the only soil we're used to. But I remember being shocked and even a little shaken to find truly red soil down south last time we went on a road trip to Florida." Really. I remember being quite put off my equilibrium. I don't want everyone to think I'm flakey, but really. It seemed wierd. I hadn't realized until then how connected I was to the soil, and how something so ubiquitous and inconspicuous could, well, ground me, and the lack of familiar soil could shake me - at least a little. I continued to Angela, "Everything in soil is already decomposed so it doesn't stink. But the smell of soil is just so familiar to us that we don't notice it anymore. But it's the smell of LIFE." She seemed to accept my pearls of wisdom, but a moment later I heard her speaking incomprehensible words: "quarter of results...the deal in Decem...said that...intupled from $428 million..." I looked over at her. She was leaning over a tiny scrap of paper. "...AG analysts... give a boost... IPO activity...lagged behind." Everything decomposed already? Apparently not ALL of last year's mulch. OK. So soil smells like LIFE and the Wall Street Journal. |
AuthorWelcome to Growing Goodness! This website is dedicated to growing good things, both plants and children. It's a gardening blog with maternal overtones, as I discuss the goodness and value of plants, both wild and domestic. In the process I hope to help you pass a love of nature on to your children. Happy Gardening! Archives
August 2011
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