I found this on FaceBook yesterday.
“Written by Henry Scott Holland (27 January 1847 – 17 March 1918) was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford”
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Last summer we had some delicious peaches. I stuck 14 pits in one of the potato dirt bags after reading around on the internet to see what would actually work. They need opportunity to freeze.
Two sprouted and, because I’m not always the sharpest tack in the box, I killed one. I didn’t recognize its tiny leaves and thought it was a weed. The sacrifice of the one saved the life of the other, however. And it has been moved to a pot my cat isn’t tempted to sleep on.
I realize that it looks tiny in that huge pot, but I don’t expect to move it for a few years.
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Found on Tumblr this morning by following #ordinary things. I”m saving it here because I really like the poem and want to remember it in December.
http://witchesandpagans.com/sagewoman-blogs/woodspriestess/bonewind-s-return.html
Bone wind has returned
mother of winter’s chill
sweeping through bare branches
and rattling dusty leaves.The remnants of summer
have completely faded
and the doorway to the new year
has cracked open.With the skeletal swirl of frost and freeze
I see the hint
of new things
waiting to burst from behind the door.Hibernating now perhaps
hunkered down to wait it out
resting, biding time, percolating
nestled in darkness
but, oh so ready, to grow.It is only on the surface
that the world prepares to take a long nap
underneath the crust
change boils
life bubbles
new ideas gestate
and time crowns anew
with the promise and potential of birth
held in cupped hands.The flame of fresh ideas flickers
and catches
until the blaze of possibility
envelopes the cold. -
I started Beauregard sweet potatoes a couple of months ago and have put 3 slips in my raised bed this morning. I put 3 eyes of a Yukon Gold Irish potato in the other end. I stuck the rest of the eyes in empty-ish places along the iris/blueberry fence row.
I had already planted nasturtium seeds in the holes in the cinder blocks along one long and one short side..
5 Arkansas Little Leaf climbing cucumbers have gone in the center holes on the other long side. 6 bush cucumbers have gone in the other holes, 3 at each end. One of the Arkansas Little Leafs didn’t sprout. But the Mexican Sour Gherkins are volunteering in their holes. I have 4 bamboo poles in holes and I have a bottom row of string ready for the cukes to begin climbing.
I have pulled my carrots so I can plant 2 rows of the Glass Corn popcorn seeds I managed to produce last year. I’ve put them in the middle of that bed. The garlic needs to grow another month or so, so I’m leaving it alone. I”ll put the jalapenos in there when they are bigger. There are 4 spindly plants in little pots, right now.Chuck’s carrots are bigger and more consistent, so I’ll make a huge dessert this afternoon with my multicolored ones. I hope they keep the colors when they cook. Purple okra doesn’t.
The sunchokes are coming up like crazy, so the bees should have a nice treat this Fall.Roses and kiwis are putting out new growth.
Dill seeds are sprouting in the herb bed.
Columbines are blooming in the front.
We have bitty plums forming and one peach.
Lilacs will not be blooming this year. Their buds froze.
Iris buds are popping up, And one has even opened.
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I think you should be able to find the floor. I think vermin should not be encouraged. When there are big pieces of dirt, they should be removed. That’s is, for the most part, my requirements about house cleaning.
This translates into dishes in the dishwasher as soon as possible (cooked on food soaking for no longer than one night’s sleep) and clothes going in the hamper as soon as they are taken off. Old wrappers, tags from new clothes, empty cartons and boxes go into the trash or recycling bin immediately. This keeps things, for the most part, picked up, making actual cleaning easier when the time finally comes.
My mother is a fan of what I refer to as “cleaning invisible dirt.” She wants the bathroom cleaned every week. I am fine with waiting until I see soap scum or whiskers in the sink. Or when company is coming. I dust when I see dust, too. Not on a schedule.
When I was young, I put more effort into living up to my mother’s standards. But, I was doing laundry at a friends house one day and struggling to fold a fitted sheet. And bitching because it was something I have never been able to do with any ease. And he asked me if folding a fitted sheet was something it was important for me to be good at. Was that a thing I wanted to be known for when I was old?
Wow! That was surprisingly freeing.
So, cleaning can wait a while. But, because I don’t want to live in filth, it does eventually come. And I do have standards of how much is too much. Fortunately, my husband and I have a similar level of tolerance. Sadly, my son does not. I suspect my mother sees my house in the same light as I see my son’s room.
I am the Audience 