I've been exhausted lately, and wondered if I had the strength to garden, so I tried a few minutes. It was invigorating weeding, but hard to go through the grunt work. I tried to focus on the joy that the flowers would bring mom, and the inherent beauty to myself, as well.
Knee pads come with gel inserts to protect soreness for people prone to that. Skilled trades have used these for years since construction, etc needs protection for that part of the body.
Dandelion root browned in a dry fry pan makes a coffee substitute that is supposed to be good for Arthritis. I guess I have the wrong kind of Arthritis, it did nothing for me. Doesn't taste that bad though.
It is going to rain so I hurried to mow the lawn in the heat. It is done and cooler now but a wheel fell off the lawn mower. Just one more chore. Might get a storm out of this.
Dandelion plucking had me on my knees focused on pretending I was a heart surgeon, and wondering what it was like for those relying on these greens for sustenance. These greens are a salad delicacy, anyway. I need a lot more practise.
I'm hurrying this morning and I don't like that, There are a couple of plant sales this weekend. I normally don't go to them but I'm short some stuff and some of mine did poorly due to lack of care. Too much to do with the added flower beds from last year and I added two more this year.
Humming birds want feeding too.
My troybuilt needs a new float in the motor before I can use it. And I only got half the lawn mowed. Tomorrow is supposed to rain. Fun hey.
I have time for another coffee though and I'm doing laundry. Laundry sort of does itself.
It is windy this morning, definitely going to get a change of weather. That is okay since I have work to do in the greenhouses. Oregano needs to be harvested and dried. With rain the Asparagus will get carried away. I'll have to freeze some.
I usually do baking on the weekend. Too hot this one. I'm opening windows already.
Some where in here I need to take my tractor and mower to the neighbours and cut the trees that are coming up in his pasture. This is the neighbour that kept the snow off my driveway all last winter. A fair trade I think.
It has also gotten too hot to labour in the sun. Time to switch to something less intense. Like house work. Not my favourite but it needs to be done. I need to make bread too. Of course I would rather sit in the shade of a tree and watch the swallows and robins. The novelty of humming birds wears off fast. A couple were sitting on me while I filled their feeder this morning. One of my neighbours (sort of) bands them every year. They come a long ways. He also grows different kinds of Lilacs. I have some white ones and some blue ones but don't know their names. Same with my fruit trees. Can't remember their names either. My raspberry bushes came to this valley around 80 years ago. I prefer heritage plants when I can get them. Voles (short tailed mouse) killed half of one of my Lilacs by eating the bark. They can even kill full size apple trees. They got a plum sapling too. Sunny didn't want to put out the poison boxes incase her dog got into them. There wouldn't be enough Warfarin in one to harm her and she can't get in them anyway. Luckily there was only a little damage. But next winter they have to go out. Theodore just can't catch them all. They also eat my tulips.
Plant lots if you intend to feed the wild life too. Potatoes and corn are planted now. I was still outside at 8:30 last night weeding a flower bed. The evening is so calm and again the sun went down red.
Time to put the mower on a tractor. I have a few acres I try to keep mowed, too big for a ride on mower. Some, like my Deer pasture is too steep too. I also have the trail around the ponds to do. Some of this probably doesn't qualify as gardening but the principle is the same. Producing pleasure. Last year we let the grandkids mow with the little tractor. Sunny paid them to weed while I was in hospital. Someone had to do it.
I still want to plant Caragana for a hedge. Just because I like it. My Grandfather on my Dads side had it. It does grow here. We thought the climbing rose was dead but I see one tiny shoot on it. Now that one is not supposed to grow here.
I find doing gardening doesn't cause much uneasiness, since it's hard to compare any result, like using a hedge trimmer to another place. I feel so sore though, and it's a good soreness. With some rain, it could help dislodge some weeds, and continue cleaning up the garden for seedlings from the greenhouse/garage, which are slowly germinating.
For some reason, a quote from writer Virginia Woolf comes to mind about readiness.
As for my next book, I won't write it till it has grown heavy in my mind like a ripe pear; pendant, gravid, asking to be cut or it will fall."
Maybe because I will become more in tune with nature by gardening, and better with others who are doing likewise.
In the U.S. we have container gardening for apt. dwellers and people who want to garden in the air conditioning - ha ha. A lot of herbs can be grown in small containers or even pots. There are also hydroponic tomatoes that hang upside down and use water instead of soil. There are also various miniature fruit trees of all kinds. It's interesting to research it all, but it's more therapeutic actually putting your hands in the soil. I have berry bushes in the backyard: blackberry, raspberry and blueberry. I fed the two Chihuahuas a couple of berries off the bushes and now I have to fence the area or both dogs will pick the plants clean :-) Tending flowers is therapeutic too and also having house plants. Nature is calming and peaceful. It feels good to get your veggies from the backyard or containers instead of going to the store. I had one garden, a few years back, and I planted just about everything and I got, literally, 6 green beans and, yes, I boiled those beans and ate them. The cucumbers and summer squash were prolific, to the point, that I could not eat any more summer squash for 3 years following. Great thread. It's good to talk about relaxing hobbies as well as the subject of anxiety. Good for you for starting it!
