What A Difference A Year Makes

OMG!  that's right...OMG!  What was I thinking?!  A couple of months back I started oh, gee about 100 OR SO seedlings. I figured with my green thumb NOT! that only one seed would actually turn into a plant. The other 99 were insurance.

Well, as luck should have it,  keeping the seedlings next to my bed, reading bedtime stories about other garden success and descriptive passages out of the Western Garden Book of what each should look like...you know, my version of affirmative action, piped in music, perfect light 16 hours per day, a gentle move to the larger set up in the greenhouse with the grow lights...  I had 99 plants...one died...oh well...maybe he couldn't take the pressure.

However basking in that somewhat limited success created a much larger problem. Where the hell do I plant all of these pippy upstarts in my now not-looking-so-big vegetable garden?  While pondering that I found myself in the parking lot of Tomatomania, a tomato fanatics candy store. Hundreds , no thousands of heirloom tomato plants...all screaming in their wee tomato voices, 'pick me! pick me!'  And so I did.  Home I came with my flat of tomato plants. Didn't even cross my mind to count as I was choosing....  Not thinking for one instant  that back at the ranch I had two in the ground already, one that had rescurrected itself, two in the greenhouse growing out of control and bearing fruit in March and oh yes, the other nine seedlings - that didn't die.  Not problem I thought. I'm going the intensive garden route.  Yeah right, there Ms.GreenThumb.

So after a couple of days wringing my hands and a couple of evenings soothing my panic with  a martini while sitting in the greenhouse and wondering how to negotiate more yard space  I called on the terrific Christy Wilheim of GardenNerd.  I thought better that than a round at the Betty Ford.

  We made a date and it was like a load had been lifted off my shoulders.

As soon as she arrived she started counting....16.....17...18....19.....oh my!

 You have 20...no 21 tomato plants here!  Oh really, I said ...like I knew that... NOT!

And you have 4....5....7.....10....squash...and how many peppers...10  oh and 4 eggplants.  OK. Well then. Our work is cut out for us!

Sigh

That's what I love about her.  She uses the word 'us' even though she will go home to her absolutely beeeutiful garden leaving me behind to make this one work.

We gave up on the celery, found homes for most of the tomatoes.  The strawberries will remain intact, the okra is OK where it lives, the parsely and cabbage are good along with the tomatillos that are already flowering.  There's still lettuce in the ground that really should be eaten this week and that will open up space for a couple tomatoes. Oh My.  I just know my wish for abundance in the garden is on the verge of busting into my universe and I will experience my own version of tomatomania - although more like tomatomaniac!

I offered that I was OK with sacrificing the squash since I really need some space for cucumbers and radishes and celery....oh my!  I felt a bit like a serial killer of sorts, but then again...what a little sacrifice for the good of the whole. It's a bigger picture way of thinking.

I also figured, hey...last year my crop wasn't exactly bumper...if you get my drift.  So what the heck...one or two will survive and the rest are insurance!

Stay tuned.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

I hope all your dreams come true this year.

xo

Jane

Happy New Year to Me NOT!

OK...so what happens in my garden between planting and harvesting?  Please anyone...just take a guess....  OK...well the answer is NOTHING.  In fact, there is no 'harvest.'   My biggest success this cool season has been to pick  a few leaves off a lettuce.  Not the whole lettuce mind you....just a few leaves.  Cuz the rest of the lettuce ISN'T GROWING!

 Truly.

My garden does not grow.

It just does not grow.

I plant seeds or seedlings and nothing happens.   NOTHING.  The beds look terrific for awhile and then...they look the same the next week and the next and the next and the next and the next...and as long as I continue watering..they look the same...as if they've been frozen in time.

Is this a lesson in patience?   Are the Gardening Gods on high rolling in laughter, barely able to catch their breath?  Well, if your listening, Gardening Gods...this is NOT FUNNY.  Look closely at this mug... not laughing.  Not amused.

I admit that I don't have luck much with things that need to grow.  I had a cat once, it never grew bigger than a kitten.  Kinda strange.  I had large fish tank with a couple fish in it that never grew - even though the pimply faced kid at the pet store told me they would grow bigger once in the larger tank.  The thought that  I could see them swimming to and fro from across the room without my glasses excited me.  Not only didn't they grow, they died.  So much for container serenity.

I have a problem getting yeast to grow and indulge me a perfect loaf of bread.

'Just add water' sponge figures don't grow.

My son is a slow grower.  Little scruff of a thing at 13.

Hmmm.. is there a bigger picture here that I've not stumbled upon.  Maybe it's time to burn sage.

Simply put - I'm not so excited about the pending New Year. Why?  Because I've just lived through my first full year of two great growing seasons that haven't panned out for me.  It's not that I'm a sore loser... OK, well, I am a sore loser - a frustrated farmer!   In fact, I'm about as BITTER AS THE LAST LETTUCE I CONSUMED!  OK, I pretended it was arugula...and everyone 'bought it.'   But the 'bitter Betty' that I've become can only live in my world so long.

You know, it could be that my biggest mistake was positioning my greenhouse in an area that gets full sun in the winter while my raised beds are in shadow most of the day.    !!!  Hmmm so much for planning!

AHA MOMENT.

I'm doomed.

Or, do I start growing inside the greenhouse?

What to do, what to do?

Any hints?

Garden Coach?

It's been some time since I've posted on this blog and for anyone that is actually still checking in - I apologize. I mean, you can only read about worm castings so many times, right?

The summer months were not good to me. After the overwatering fiasco, I experienced drought which was equally devastating to the garden and to my enthusiasum as a green thumb wannabe.

I attended another beginners class with SilverLake Farm's owner Tara and although she's the best there is, I couldn't translate her instruction to my garden and so it continued to fall behind the season. Tomatoes were OK, but not great. In fact a couple of my plants never even grew. And I mean that literally...they were physically small and never produced fruit. sigh.

I searched the internet in vain trying to find the answer to my particular garden woes. Neat the coast, overcast mornings, less sun and heat. You get the picture. Then the universe spoke to me - there must be someone who would be willing to come to my garden and help me. But of course! Why hadn't I thought of that before? Someone that would come to my house, to my garden and talk about my dirt and my plants and my sun angle and my overcast mornings living so close to the beach. And so the hunt began.

I stalked the garden at the church on the corner by my house but never saw anyone there. "How can the be?" I thought. "The garden looks so terrific. Someone must be tending it?" . I asked the plant guy at my office for tips. He seemed clueless to help. So I googled. G. A. R. D. E. N. C. O. A. C. H. and hit 'enter.' And there they were. A regroup on the search to add Los Angeles and there she was...the GardenNerd. Yeah! She not only coaches, she had a cool blog AND she was in my neighborhood...so she would totally understand the weather conditions! Now I had to examine my ego, banish it from the exercise and called for help.

I was giddy with excitement. I sent her a note pleading for her help. She replied and a date was set.

Christie arrived on time early one Saturday morning and immediately set an atmosphere of calmness by her open, friendly manner. I could tell right away that she knew her 'stuff' and I'd have a jam packed hour to pick her brain. I offered tea, (it seemed more appropriate than coffee) but she declined choosing instead to get right to work. With my notebook and pen in hand we headed to the garden.

Her first words were, "I'm jealous." I thought - we'll that's very kind of you to say, but I mean, this garden is pathetic - a jumbled mess of random plants with barren patches of soil in between. The greenhouse was vacant of life and the my rosemary which  I could count on year after year for beautiful blue blooms around this time of year was looking like driftwood. A graveyard of various sized empty pots and urns lay next to the dying herb garden.

"Soil looks good, " she said casually, crumbling some in her hand, breaking the silence. "you have quite a lot of space here." Is there any reason that you are planting your basil here and then over there and then over there? Do you like that scattered look?"

"well, I....I...."

Before I could speak she said politely, "your garden will work better if it's more organized."

Ding! there it was, the "O" word. Organization.

'well, I......"

"Have you even made a planting plan?"

Ding! There's the "P" word. Plan.

"well, I.....

"You really need a plan so you know what you're doing here."

"yes, well, I have made a plan, in fact many plans...," I stammered. "But when I get out to the garden, my plan sort of vanishes."

Before I could continue a more intelligent explanation, she started organizing the garden for me...

"All of your basil should go here, you'll do square foot gardening to make best use of these three beds...you are familiar with that, right? Plant some nastursiums here, here and there - they'll ramble over the empty pots there and liven that up through the winter. Put some violas here and here.

I was taking notes as fast as I could.

"Two bags of Bumper Crop and a cup of organic fertilizer in this bed and two and a half bag plus fertilizer in this bed...."

And on it went. As I tried desperately to take it all in, I realized that at the end of the day, gardening like life takes organization. Everything can't be spontaneous. I grew up with order. Friday was fish night. Spaghetti only on Saturdays and pot roast was saved for Sunday. The house was cleaned Saturday morning before noon. Tuesday was wash day. Could it be that I've been rebelling against the order my mother injected into our day-to-day upbringing? Hmmm. Possible. I would think I was a bigger person to let bygones be bygones. But maybe not.

When Christie left I looked around and realized I had my work cut out for me. I'd really spend my first season as a novice gardener wasting such precious time (not to mention money!) Or had I? Nothing is really wasted in the long run, it's all a learning experience, isn't it?

I decided to embrace Christie's suggestions with gusto and voila! Suddenly my hodge podge garden took on a beautiful order. I transplanted all the basil to one spot and there was suddenly more basil then I will eat the rest of this year. I put the broccoli that was scattered into a big barrel and interplanted gorgeous lavender violas. I put lettuces and spinach and strawberries in another bed creating a quilt of color. A pale peach viola here and there added punch. I broke down and took apart my herb bed and replanted it. Now it thrives. My parsely is happy, the beans are heading up the pole, the garlic is in the ground as are shallots, beets, endive and potatoes.

Next up I will tackle seedlings in the greenhouse with my new grow lights. I can still hear Christie's last words before good bye.... "if you start from seed it will be much less costly to garden and you'll be able to grow more interesting vegetables especially if you're into the heirlooms!"

Sigh. Plan. Organize. Plant. The mantra grows louder as box after box of seeds from all across the globe hit my mailbox.

Plan. Organize. Plant. Plan. Organize. Plant

where are the rain gods when you need them?!

The weather gurus keep teasing rain here in Los Angeles yet nary a drop has fallen. I've held off watering today in hopes that the garden would get a really good soaking from above although I'm not sure what will happen if the winds kick up. I haven't experienced a good storm since my little patch of organic heaven was born.  Guess it'll be a good time to see what I may need for times like this.

What's the best way to protect the garden and ensure that after a storm there's something left!?

the simple art of over watering

Yes, I believe I have actually accomplished the exact opposite of what I set out to do - over water my garden. If not that, then I am perplexed. The tomato plants look weary but the water meter says wet. I'm feeling just a wee discouraged on one hand and on the other, well, a bit like I may possibly be on my way to becoming a real gardner. Why? Well, because I know that in reality I'm not alone. That's the good news. The bad news is what now?

I run through the checklist in my head, soil, compost, fertilizer, mulch, too much or too little sun. Well, I know there's too little sun because I live just a couple miles from the coast. Our mornings, often into mid afternoon, are filled with gray skies and cool temps. What was I thinking packing eight heirloom tomato plants in my happy boxed beds? I don't know?! Maybe that people in England have tomatoes, too? 

My pepper plants have peppers on them that are bigger then the plant itself! Well, let me clarify - they each have ONE pepper on them. Since each pepper plant sports a different kind of pepper - well you get the picture. Not much you can do with just one pepper. My lettuce is insufficient at best. In fact, I think that were I to make a sandwich and need lettuce, that currently each head would be just enough for one sandwich. My eggplant has one, well, eggplant on it that I eventually had to pick off because it was weighing the darn plant down - no new buds on the horizon. I'm going to translate that to probably no more eggplant on the horizon either. My sugar snap peas grew just enough for a snack - for one. My squash isn't even growing! What's up when your squash won't grow? Anyone can grow squash! Well, I'm here to tell you apparently that is not a true statement. My strawberries are just starting to bloom - although I do believe the season is somewhat over? My beets are still just one beet ..the one I planted.....My chives are wimpy, my celery has not budged, my potatoes pooped out (although we did have enough for one meal, my tomatillos have given their all, my parsley could better be called 'sparsley' and my basil still comes from the grocery at $9.00 a sprig! This garden was suppose to save me money! ...oh, I'm not happy. Is this because I wanted to be organic?

The good news I suppose is that we have two seasons here in Southern California. I can always try again and quite possibly have success. Then I'll have next summer to look forward to. One way or the other I'll figure out this garden business and be able to fulfill my dream of sharing my bounty and bumper crops with friend and family or spend all my hard earned money on produce at the farmer's market! As is stands now, I'll have to sneak the only red tomato on the vine and tell the rest of the family that a raccoon must have eaten it!

If any of you reading this has any advice for me, I would sure appreciate it!

what's to eat tonight?

OK. As a lark this morning because I was up early and lord knows have nothing else to do...or possibly this was another method of procrastination to the real world at hand....I started listing my cookbooks here on the blog. (see sidebar) I'm embarrassed to say that the list is incomplete!

Why is it then that I can never think of anything to make for dinner?

Do you have a favorite cookbook I should add to my list?

No Kidding Boiled Eggs

For some, a hard boiled egg is nothing more than a bridge to an egg salad sandwich. Well, not anymore! Give this method a go next time you've got a dozen hangin' in the fridge and you'll be amazed at what an egg really tastes like. I'll bet it never makes its way between two pieces of bread!


Hard Boiled Eggs

1 sauce pan
Eggs * put as many as you like just use a pan that fit them all in the bottom
Water to cover eggs by at least an inch
Bring to a hard boil
Once the water has come to the hard boil TURN THE HEAT OFF, cover the pan and
set the timer for 8 minutes EXACTLY.
When the bell rings, pour off hot water, place the eggs in a bowl of ice water (yes, with ice cubes -- this bring the cooking of the egg to a quick halt.)

Cooking Note: a fresh egg doesn't peel as easily as a non fresh egg~

Peel and enjoy with a bit of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper! No mayo needed.

WARNING: After the first bite you'll be tempted to keep these little pillows of egg goodness to yourself, but be nice and share.

Where Does the Time Go?

I swear I was going to take pictures of the garden's progress this weekend but somehow, well, time got away from me! There are so many things I love doing, gardening, sewing, reading, cooking, silversmithing, knitting, etc etc etc. I've got a full time job that pays for all these sweet indulgences, but not enough time left each week to do them! I promise, new photos soon. In the meantime, enjoy this beauty that was taken on a recent trip to my hometown of Portland, Oregon. We were on a couple of garden tours just across the Columbia River in Washington and ran into this beautiful lavendar farm quite by accident. Serendipity!

Banana Fritters

Peanut oil for frying

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup cold milk

3T light brown sugar

1C flour

Pinch of baking soda

4 ripe bananas, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

2T confectioners sugar

Heat 3 inches of oil in a heavy saucepan or deep fryer to 375 degrees. Mix the eggs, milk, brown sugar, flour and baking soda together in a medium-sized bowl. Add the banana slices a few at a time, coating them well with the batter.

With a long slotted spoon, remove the banana slices a few at a time and place them into the oil. Fry the bananas for 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly browned, turning them once. Drain them on paper towels and transfer them to a serving platter. Repeat the process until all of the bananas have been fried. Sprinkle them with the confectioner's sugar and serve warm.

In a word - addictive.

Zucchini Fritters w/ Minted Creme Fraiche

Zucchini is never in short supply in the summer garden. This is one of the recipes from my culinary class yesterday. It was the class fave. Well, that and the banana fritters. OK...I'll share that recipe tomorrow.

Minted Creme Fraiche

3/4 cup creme fraiche

1 T minced mint leaves

Combine the creme fraiche and mint. Cover and hold in the refrigerator.

Fritters

4 lbs zucchini

salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 bunches chives, finely chopped

1/4 all purpose flour

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/4 cup olive oil

Grate the zucchini, place in a colander and salt generously. Allow to drain 20 - 30 minutes. Squeeze out all the liquid.

Combine the zucchini with the garlic, chives, lemon zest, flour and egg. Season

Fry in the oil in batches. Brown on one side. turn adn bron second side. drain on paper towel.

Serve with creme fraiche.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

The Garden Today

It's actually growing!

A Lesson From the Garden

I woke up this morning with an overwhelming sense of sadness. I didn't get out of bed right away, I lay there in my half sleep and thought about my mother. She's been gone now for almost 13 years. A stranger wouldn't know that this morning looking at me though - tears running down my cheeks and all. I wonder how different my life would be now if I were able to pick up the phone and call her for advice in this troubled time. What would she say to me? Would she cheer me on in my daily battles or would she soften and let me run back home and hide. Probably both. And maybe that's why I miss her so much today. Maybe I'm having one of those life moments this morning as I lament that my world isn't as I want it to be now. A class I'm taking isn't teaching me what I want to know now. My child isn't as tall as he should be by now, My job is not as secure as it should be right now. I thought my husband would have another job by now. Maybe what I'm really feeling this morning is that my life isn't what I think it should be right now.

When I first planted the garden several months back, I'd run out every morning to see if there were any seedlings poking their sleepy heads out of the dirt. I really wasn't very patient to say the least. Soon I discovered that the dirt brought in for the planter beds wasn't any good and had killed off my seedlings. So I bought some vegetable starts - interesting ones - from a new nursery I discovered out of a need to pick something up now on my home from the office one evening. I planted and the bugs came to dine. Oh my, the beds looked like I was growing lace! My desire to have an organic garden - well any garden at that point - was going up in smoke! I used row covers, made trips into the garden in the middle of the night to spray the offenders, used traps, implemented the remedies of old wives, read books, searched articles on the internet, chatted with other gardeners and drove the kind staff at my new found nursery crazy with my need to know now questions when all I really had to do was have patience. Instead of wanting it all now I needed to learn to live in the now.

My nursery man took me aside during one of my recent visits and said to me, "You've given your garden a foundation of good soil, water, fertilizer, compost and mulch. You just haven't given it any time." "Give it some time"

His words could not have been more true. In the last few days under the warm Southern California sun, my garden has begun to come alive. Plants are growing at record pace and I can't believe there are actually vegetables! Maybe, just maybe, I do have a little bit of a green thumb, or maybe just maybe the garden is teaching me patience.

Perhaps it's slowly showing me that nothing every happens now accept what's going on right at this very moment. Yes, I miss my mom and I wish with all of my heart that she were here now. She'd love my garden. Yes, I wish the economy would change for the better and at a faster pace so my husband could find work now. Yes, I wish my son were taller now. Yes, I wish my job were more secure right now. But none of that is true for now. One day all of it will come to pass because nothing can stay the same in this universe. It's all just a matter of time - like the garden.

For Someone Special

Here's something to go with your new starter...

Sourdough Waffles

(Two Day Recipe)

DAY ONE

4 ounces (1/2 cup unsalted butter)

8 ounces (1 cup) whole or low-fat milk

9 ounces (about 1 cup) White Starter

1 tsp salt

1T brown sugar, packed

About 1 1/2 C all purpose flour

Place butter and milk in the small saucepan and warm over low heat until the butter melts. Set the mixture aside at room temp to cool.

Place White Starter, cooled milk-butter mixture, salt, brown sugar, and flour in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the batter stand at room temp for 8 to 12 hours.

DAY TWO

Have Ready:

Waffle iron

Pastry brush

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp baking soda

vegetable oil

Preheat the waffle iron 10 - 15 minutes before you will be ready to use it.

Uncover thebatter and whisk in eggs and baking soda until well combined. The batter should be thick and elastic. Lightly brush the hot waffle iron with vegetable oil. The oil should sizzle on the iron, signaling that it's hot enough. Pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter onto the hot waffle iron. close the lid and let the waffle cook until it's golden and crisp. 3 - 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Recipe from Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery

Wise Words

Gardening is a humbling experience

Martha Stewart

Worm Castings

If you've been reading this blog you know I'd been on pins and needles waiting for the clearance to attend a gardening class with Tara of Silver Lake Farms a week or so ago. Lucky me made the cut and today was the day.

And oh what a great day it was!

I motored through the quiet morning streets on my way to the Silver Lake Farms beginner's vegetable garden class in of all places - Silver Lake! Although it took me over an hour - the shortest most direct route found on Mapquest to get 15 miles in LA - I didn't mind at all. I was in areas of the city that I only find myself in while skirting them at 60 miles an hour or so on the freeway. It was interesting to take in the neighborhoods as they changed from Asian, to Hispanic, to Armenian - each one having its own quiet way of coming alive on a quiet Sunday morning. I thought about the different foods, and ingredients used to make those foods. Yes, all relating to my much anticipated class.

I meandered down Franklin Blvd until I reached the gorgeous Franklin Bridge. My directions said once over the bridge, look for St. George Street and the famous Franklin Blvd steps. Ah, 'the steps.' Well, I figured I could get down them, I was more worried about getting back up. Although I found comfort in the fact that I had on sensible shoes.

I made my way down the steps and to the community garden. There wasn't a sound in the air. The lesson this morning was being taught on the grounds of the Francias Elysee. Better known to anyone not bilingual as the French/American School. Sitting high up in the clouds overlooking the city I took a moment to wonder why I had to learn French in an all American school in the middle of a hay field. Some kids have all the luck, I guess.

There were only ten of us -all a good bunch. We talked about setting up seedling, great organic seed sources, planting, crop rotation, watering, container gardening and pest control. We meandered in the garden, I discovered that one of my classmates lived just three block from me, and I finally understood the difference between compost and mulch. Then came my 'aha' moment.

You see, I have a thing about worms. I know they're good for the soil and that in turn is good for the plant which is in turn good for me. I get all that on some level. But I could never get past the fact that a worm is a worm is a worm. There've been times while gardening that if I overturned a worm I took that as a sign that it was time for me to put my shovel away and wait till that worm was no longer in my way. Like maybe the next day. I've even had nightmares about worms. Maybe it goes back to my childhood and the crazy, tow-headed boy that lived next door to us. He use to come out into his mothers garden with a paper plate and a spoon, find worms and then just eat them! I kid you not. Looking back I'm sure it was his passive aggressive way of getting out of tending the garden as a chore. He didn't want to pull weeds, his mother didn't want him eating worms. She won. He had to stay out of the yard. Whatever the catalyst for my phobia, it wasn't going away with age.

During the compost talk of course the worm bin came up. I squirmed. No pun intended. But then, from behind the compost bin, Tara pulled out a bag of - you guessed it - worm castings! Yeah! I could buy the worm poop in a bag! For ten bucks I could throw the darn stuff all over the yard and never have to be a worm farmer! Woo hoo! I almost did a flip. Gardening all of a sudden seemed brighter and lighter. And then she dropped the bomb. Interspersed with the castings were eggs. Worm eggs. Yes, so little baby worms would hatch in your garden. Oh well, I guess one moment of euphoria alone was worth the price of admission.

PS. I came home and planted 50 seedlings and saw only two worms. Stay tuned to see what happens.

It's No Wonder

When I was growing up my mother's first rule was that we get all our our house chores, homework and all other of life's obstacles to our perceived happiness out of the way before we could have fun.

Bummer.

It just dawned on me that although I'm an adult now - and far enough along in that adulthood that no one checks my I.D. anymore - I still hold that way of life to be true. Well, no wonder I have a bunch of unfinished fun projects sitting around my otherwise clean house!

I'm up at five in the morning, commute 14 hours to and from work each week, get my son to school on time, stop at the grocery on my way home several times so I can make dinner, pick up the madness I left behind in the morning, set the table, clear the table, throw some laundry in the wash (or put it in the dryer) unload the dishwasher so I can load in the dinner dishes, dog my son to get ready for bed, pay a bill or two, tuck my son in, take my bath and get ready for bed myself... and then comes the weekend - the grocery store, the dry cleaners, laundry, house catch up, garden chores, ...and it goes on....gee .where on earth is MY time?

I hear what you're thinking right now; Quit complaining! Your bills are paid, the cat is fed, the bed is made, fresh towels are hung, the laundry is folded, your son will be smart one day, the coats are on their hooks, the pantry is stocked, the car is washed.

But it's 10pm!

I'm going to bed.

Wise Words

People who love this world, people who pay attention, are gardeners.

People who are invested, people who are aware, they are gardeners regardless of whether of not they have ever picked up a trowel.

Because gardening is not just about digging. Or planting, for that matter. Gardening is about cherishing.

- Terry Hershey, Soul Gardening, p. 159

Im In!

I'm in! I'm in! I'm in! Sunday morning. 11am! Yeah!

The Bee

Like trains of

cars on tracks

of plush

I hear the

level bee:

A jar across

the flowers

goes,

Their velvet

masonry

Withstands

until the

sweet assault

Their chivalry

consumes,

While he,

victorious,

tilts away

to Vanquish

other blooms.

His feet are

shod with

gauze,

His helmet is

of gold;

His breast, a

single onyx

With

chrysoprase,

inlaid.

His labor is a

chant,

His idleness a

tune;

Oh, for a bee's

experience

Of clovers and

of noon!

- Emily Dickinson