The Hard Season

Just two nights past October's harvest moon filled the night sky.  The last two mornings frost has decorated pumpkins and windshields. Almost the last of the frosted garden plants are pulled and tucked into the compost bin.  At home I'm cutting and stacking a winter's worth of firewood and draining and rolling hoses. 
Its a hard time of year for me.  The urgency of spring and summer seem long ago.  The trees that just a few days ago blazed with fire are bare and stark. The dark increases daily and my heart wants to know where is the promise of resurrection?   My logical mind knows the hope is in the composer, the soil, the ragged deer-bitten strawberries.  But I am still filled with grief.

Saving string

When I was a kid, my mom saved string.  Every time she opened a sugar bag, she tied the string ends and rolled the new length onto the ball that lived in our kitchen cupboard.
I must have inherited some of her frugality because I save every use able piece of orange twine previously trellising tomatoes or beans or peas.  I never know when I might need a short length of twine for another project. Recycle.  Good stewardship. Reducing waste. Habit.

Coriander.  This zesty seed is used for seasoning sausage, brewing Belgian beers.  And guess what?

Coriander is the seed of the Cilantro plant!  In our gardens, some of the cilantro didn't get harvested to use in salsa or???? and left to grow leafy and tall, it first flowered with tiny white flowers and later produced round ridged beige seeds - Coriander.  We didn't really intend to grow coriander but got it anyway.
How many times has a mistake or something that didn't get done lead to something good - perhaps even something better than what was intended?  Isn't this grace? This God-thing?  No matter what, maybe even in spite of what we do or don't do, something good can come about.  The unharvested tomatoes become compost.  The green beans that didn't get picked become dry beans that can be eaten all winter.  The radishes that went to seed produced yummy seed pods for feisty salads.

Soon I will be brewing a batch of Belgian White Beer - with grace-filled coriander.

Thursday gardening

I will be at UTS gardens today a little after 10 am.  Stop by to chat or get your hands dirty.

Once again - planting seeds

It's community day at UTS and once again we are sowing seeds.  Planting tiny bits of hope into rich soil and expecting - anticipating a harvest.  In the gardens - and in this new class of students.

Rain rain rain

Rest and repair maintenance day.

Rain

When it rains most farmers switch gears.  Rather than field work rainy days make time for tool and machine repairs and maintenance, planning ahead and rest and renewal to be up to the tasks ahead.  This rainy day what is it you need to do?