blessit

feelin' blessed, and blessit y'all..
 

the duckies are growing wonderfully alongside the garden; and as a friend reminded me this week, it does make you think about how lucky you are. how lucky we all are! to have a chance to grow and be a part of nature.

"nourish beginnings,

let us nourish beginnings,

not all things are blest,

for the seeds of all things are blest.

the blessing is in the seed"

-muriel rukeyser

not only are the duckies (i occasionally call them chicks, to be silly and to pick on them a little, hehe) growing wonderfully, but the garden is still rockin' out as well. i was a little worried that with all the early bounty and this crazy weather, it would make for a lousy few weeks of growing season while everything else that was just planted had a chance to take root and begin to grow, but i have yet to buy a vegetable since mid march, and its looking like i won't need to for while.. about twenty tomato starts and forty lbs of potatoes went in the afternoon of a hail/rain storm last week, and the next day the tomatoes were under a good thick layer of mud.

i had officially given up on them and planned to start more from seed, but with all this sunshine (and rain!) they've begun to peak their heads through the ground with bright green leaves reaching for the sun. and the hill of potatoes have begun to do the same. i do think all this sunshine is causing a lot of the greens to sprout and flower, so there's more lettuce, radicchio (yuck), spinach, herbs, ramps! onions and chives, brocollini, kale, chard, collards, asparagus, dandelion greens, and baby choi (half eaten by something.. can't wait til the ducks are old enough to be out there all the time and munch on pests!) than i myself know what to do with. ive made so much soup i dont have room in the freezer for much more, dried herbs, taken salad mixes home to durham and to work, but damn, it feels good. really good. ie: i made homemade creamed spinach last night. then i mixed in the last of the corn from last year. and then the last of the sundried tomatoes from last year, (and some fresh ground nutmeg)... kind of an out with the old, in with the new night/dins :)

in just a few short weeks the seedlings that are sprouting will all be ready to eat, and so far the daikon radish, mustard greens and peas are tickling my fancy. and the berries. oh, the berries. all this yummy food, grown from seed, by yours truly [insert curtsy], makes it very special for me, and hopefully for you too. its so inspiring to see your hard work and dedication pay off, and lucky for me, this hard work is my favorite work. it's beyond therapeutic for me to stick my hands in the dirt and to be outside, and i cannot think of anything i appreciate more after a long day at real work or when i'm planning my weekends/days off..

i hope that if this doesn't inspire you to do a little more for yourself, that something in nature does. be it growing your own food, which can be as simple as herbs in the kitchen window, or potters on the porch; or supporting local farms and nourishing yoursef with fresh, sustainable food; once again, it all comes back to you. and hopefully it can remind us all of how lucky we are to have the chance to be a part of it. so whether you are beginning, or returning, nourish it and bless it all the same. *and if anyone needs a little motivation or wondering where to get started, pleeease let me know.. i'd looove to help y'all turnip the beet! 

the little -ings (for ping and ming ming, the duckies) were staying in my bedroom with me, but the heat lamp and their peeps were becoming too much for my tired body this week (the craziness has yet to subside...) so i moved them just across the wall into my extra room. this extra room is my new play space and new inspiring workspace, although i do work a lot in my bed still...its just too comfy. their home currently is a plastic baby pool, that will soon be their swimming hole this summer, indian runners dont need an actual pond, although i'd like to have a small one with some fishies. they're pool is lined with pine shavings and newspaper scraps, with one half heated to ninty degrees. their little beaks once (10days ago!)barely peered over the top, and now they stand tall to greet me every morning and every evening as i call out "hey -ings!" these two are super silly and pretty chill. can't wait to watch them grow and play this summer.. and i cant wait to take them down the river!

happy super!moon (go outside tonight around 11:30 and take a look! its the closest its been to the earth since well.. last year. but there's also a meteor shower from my favorite, halley's comet!) the two should make for a beautiful mountain skyline on this wonderful cinco de mayo weekend. whatever festivities y'all are up to, blessit!



"squeak in to a gap in the soil, turn, and unlock a universe"

-annie dillard

 

strawpberries?!? ;)

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