Herbs a Planting, gardens a growing

Rain, rain, rain! Those 'April showers' seem to be here already - tho I hear there may be sunshine on the weekend! Yesterday I invited my granddaughters to help me plant the herbs I picked up for the garden out back that I'd been weeding. I practiced restraint, & only brought home a few plants; with the intention of getting them in the ground before buying more!!

Two thyme plants, Lemon Verbena (this one I'll plant in a pot on the front porch - tho it could be in the ground in the summer) & on the Right, Stevia or 'sweet leaf,' good for adding a 'sweet' taste to teas!

Here's the garden plot, almost ready - the sticks help 'remind' my daughter's huskey mix to stay out of the garden, please!! We'll be planting the newly opened area on the top left.




And the big girl; she planted ALL the herbs I brought home! She donned the gloves, chose her favorite tool (mine, too) & we proceeded to dig the holes. She remembered how to coax plants out of their pots, & how to loosen the roots before tucking them in!! Now it's time to pick up more herbs!!!

My plants came from Bi-mart & Incahoots. A local nursery (with an olive press!) Red Ridge Farm is celebrating having reached 300 Facebook 'fans' by offering a 15% discount through the weekend, if you 'mention' you're one.

Anything coming up in your garden yet? Or plants you are working on finding homes for??

Happy Spring Equinox!

We slipped into Aires @ 8:22 this AM - time to get out into the garden!! Here are a few things blooming in my yard - plus a section of the herb garden that's waiting for new plants:)

Peach in bloom - last year I got several LUSCIOUS large peaches from this tree - the blooms are so lovely!


The herb bed is thinned out (lots of lambs ears, quack grass (ugh!) & a sad old rosemary with just one branch - the little tree in the corner is one of my olives!! About 1 1/2' high! The honeysuckle rambling over the bush beside it will flood the garden with fragrance this summer. & the rue in front of the stones is growing up.







flush of Snowdrops










One of my 3 Asian Pears - these 'apple pears' are such a delightful treat - when I can wrest a few for myself - my grandkids LOVE them!!

What are your plans this lovely spring day??

Socks

What on earth do you do with your 'extra' socks??

This AM I decided to tackle the laundry 'pile' - fly-lady asks, 'where's your laundry?' & reminds us of the FIVE basic steps: Sort, Wash, Dry, Fold,& Put it away! (the link is to a variety of thoughts from 'fly-babies' on 'solving the laundry quandry)

I CONTINUALLY do all 5 steps with my massage laundry, (sheets, hand towels n face cloths) - so 'home' laundry is rather 'catch as catch can!'

As I sorted the singleton pile, I asked myself 'would I wear these if I did find the mate??? So thinking of sending them into the compost bin! & found several 'matches' that I do like, so put them in the official 'sock PAIR' basket, & saved some of the singles in another basket.

My son-in law is a pro at sorting/cleaning & all that! His solution - each family member has their own main sock pattern (the 5 year old: white with pink toes & heels, etc) so that it's easy to sort, & they ALL match! Yes, there are still some 'character' socks, but not as many!!

I enjoy more variety, tho I see his point! I've been knitting part bamboo socks -using 'left overs' from the fingerless gloves to do the cuff/foot, leaving the heel open, & knitting the toe with the bamboo mix! How fun these have turned out - a veritable rainbow! My intention was 'mix & match,' but I've done several pair (& left some toes open as well!) The photo on this link shows the first two pair, I've done some in 'thyme/green' which were sweet for St Pats :) - & 'of course' had to buy new yarn for pairs . . .

OK - back to the sock mine!! What's your task today??

Rants

A lovely - but cold - day! Debating whether to go out in it - I went out & practiced the dance to the Directions & then did Soaring Crane Qigong, but mighty nippy still. 'Fly Lady' suggests working on the kitchen this week - today is 'clear the counters!'

My 'rant' is - I had bible carrying ladies at the door this AM - why can't I just let them talk, or stay in my power?? No, I have to say that Earth Based spirituality, & a Universal (beyond 'father') God is more my style - & point to the harp, mention 'remembering' playing harp & healing time out of mind! & which early humans really thought 'god' (creator) was MALE, for heavens sake!! Which of the male animals around them was giving birth??

Sweet lady - her 'point' was 'we don't need to repeat suffering' & of course 'father & creator' god (ah, they're so much better coached now, with snippets of glimpses into other ways of thinking!) Co-creation & having any part of it all . . . nope :)
My women's spiritual book group is reading Carol Christ's 'She Who Changes,' & I find process philosoph so matches my sense of how it is (as much as we can see!) 'For process philosophy, the whole universe is alive & changing, continually co-creating new possibilities of life. . . . The world is a web of changing individuals interacting with, affecting & changing each other.' (p45)

Why do I feel the need to argue?? Sigh . . . it's more - I try to open the windows to thinking, beyond the pablum their ministers (all male) feed them. My mom had lovely discussions with some JW missionaries, until they began arriving SUNDAY AM (they're a Sat Sabbath bunch, which is historically 'correct'), knowing my folks attended Church every Sunday, rain or shine - unless we were camping. She'd sit in her chair by the open curtain, & 'ignore' their knocking - if they couldn't respect her beliefs, she didn't feel the need to open the door.

I open the door, & vary my response, today just went for it Hafiz & all 'The awake heart is like a sky that pours light.' (Persian poet, 1320-1389) . . . might I have quoted my favorite Celtic (fictional) 6th Cent religouse - Sister Fidelma?? Who lived in a time women enjoyed more freedoms & equal footing with men, lived in 'joint' houses (she was of Bridgit's mixed gender monastery)

So after they left, I went into my back yard & did a round of The Dance to the Directions, then & Soaring Crane qigong, sending some healing to the earth grid. Some of my friends have been working on manifesting (saying they feel there will be) an earthquake in the NW - I sent my intention of steadiness' to mama/sister earth, that if it's in alignment, may the NW be stable & assist in the Earth rebirth in other ways! O Sada - may it be so! & have been singing 'cleanse, clear, rebalance, illuminate' to the public places (parks, parking strips, well known trees, gardens) all around town; doing a 'tune-up' where I go.

** On Sat, my dau. attended the Gluten Free Friends group. There's a GF nurse that's a great resource for the group, she suggested going more for the whole grains, & less of processed things (noodles, bread) & adding nutrition, since our systems have been deprived while fighting off the damage of wheat. Sweet potatoes (I still have some from my CSA share) are one of the suggested additions.
So I made a mix of millet, amaranth, quinoa & a Tbsp of Teff (one of her favorites, but tiny) & ran peeled Sweet Potatoes in my mini processor - cook 20 min (a bit of kombu - kelp - as well) mmm - was Quite a hit with my dau & her honey - she added the rest of the pan into the rice she'd cooked!! Made another batch this AM.

While I was at it yest, I ran beet & carrot as well (I pre-chop into ~ 3/4 " pieces) & added them to my salad of fresh CSA & garden greens & a few dandelion flors, with some sprouts, kefir, & tahini, olive & coconut oil vinaigrette.

Among the herbs

Lovely day for being outside, again!
I putzed around in the kitchen for awhile, reorganizing my herb/spice rack, & clearing off that counter. Doesn't it seem like things like that take an inordinate amount of time?? But so nice when done!
I made yogurt out of the last of the goat's milk - will see how my grandkids like it! It's easy - & the milk is available from a friend - nice option. The 'milk' kefir cultures so well on the coconut milk - nice & thick, plus tasty!
It's funny - I ordered a case (12 cans) of the coconut milk, but I've noticed that it takes awhile for the message to get to the right folks at the natural foods store!! I saw 'more cans than usual' on the shelf last week, & asked if my order had come in - the checker went & looked (in the back) . . . . No . . . .
Last year I asked for them to carry the coconut OIL I like in a larger size - & there were several quarts on the shelf before I got called to say 'it's in.' So my sense is, when the 'special order' comes in, they just shelve it, unless it's the person who took the order doing the stocking! So I need to ask again, (seems like they were extra busy or I was in a hurry when I did ask) & suggest they come up with a more consistent system?

Meanwhile, yesterday a friend mentioned having smudged her yard, & I mentioned my 'land clearing process' as another option - so sent her the link to my post on that - tuning & clearing! It will be nice to get her feedback - I love doing it! In the afternoon, I began weeding & trimming my herb garden. Some of this garden was already in place when I moved in, & I've added to it over the years.
Lavender, sage, rosemary, bronze fennel, lemon balm, a vitex & a grape, rue, several Thyme plants, chives, catmint, parsley & feverfew (that self sew) . . . with a border of lambs ears that gets bigger every year, & stones. I trimmed lavender & thyme, pulled some weeds & roots, & decided to use a bit of that in the ground edging I got a few years ago at a master Gardner event as a border, & ripple the edge of the garden a bit.

I got quite a bit done before the light faded - plus had phone calls from two old friends that I hadn't heard from in awhile :) More tomorrow, weather allowing!