Tag: spring (Page 9 of 13)

Transitioning the Garden from Spring to Summer

June 8, 2011 / Lindsey / 6 Comments

I had a wonderful day in my garden yesterday! I haven’t been feeling well enough to do much garden work lately — and a lot needed to be done — but yesterday the stars really aligned because I felt good, I’d gotten all my “money-making” work done and didn’t have any meetings to go to, and weather-wise it was a million dollar day! Usually I like to do my spring-to-summer garden transition in late May, but that didn’t happen this year, so I’m a little behind. But that’s OK! You just have to say “oh well” sometimes.

So basically I have two different gardens each year — “spring” and “summer” — all in the same beds. (You can read more about how I plan my dual gardens here.) The “spring carryover” veggies will stay in the ground through the summer, so I don’t need to worry about those. But the spring veggies (like lettuce and spinach) are at their peak right now and will be pulled out soon (but not quite, because they’re still producing like mad), so I like to plant summer veggies in their midst. (Click here for a list of spring, summer, and carryover veggies.)

In the photo below, you can see that I’ve pulled out enough lettuce to plant a tomato. This works well because the lettuce provides a bit of protection to the tomato seedling, and by the time the tomato starts getting big, we will have harvested all the lettuce.

I did the same thing below by harvesting enough spinach to open up a circular area where I planted winter squash seeds. The spinach will shelter the seedlings, and by the time the squash gets big, the spinach will be gone.

I don’t have a picture to show you, but in another bed I decided to just pull out all the spinach (it was ready anyway) and plant my cucumber seeds. Since I like lots of cucumbers and plant several rows, it just made the most sense to pull out the spinach completely rather than trying to plant multiple seeds in multiple rows in amongst the spinach plants.

But I do have a picture of the laundry basket full of spinach I harvested from that cucumber bed! Look at it all! Gorgeous stuff, and so delicious.

*****

What’s your garden up to right now??

Gratitude Sunday * June 5, 2011

June 5, 2011 / Lindsey / 2 Comments

Sunday’s a good day to remember what we’ve been grateful for over the past week, don’t you think? I’m joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition, and here’s my list:

– Being able to hang very low this week and not having to worry about calling in sick to a job.

– Letting my body sleep as much as it needs. I am so grateful for that luxury.

– The peony flower that scents the entire bedroom! I think that old fashioned pink peonies are one of my favorite scents on Earth!

– That my hubby knows so, so much about computers and can fix anything that ails them; his knowledge absolutely blows me away.

– The feeling of a warm summer evening.

– That my veggie garden is growing so well, and that even though it’s a very buggy year in general so far, the aphids are being completely controlled by beneficial bugs and I don’t need to do anything whatsoever. I truly appreciate this!!!

– More solar cooking. This week, more black beans, spinach, and sprouted lentils cooked with chicken bone broth, a bay leaf, and a clove of garlic left whole — one of my very favorite dishes!

– A nice little bike ride with F., over to see my parents & neighbor today, on this beautiful 80-degree day.

– My mom giving us a ride to the store today to do our grocery shopping — we felt pampered!!

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Gratitude Sunday * May 29, 2011

May 29, 2011 / Lindsey / 8 Comments

– That we live close to everything we need, don’t need to own a car, and can transport ourselves by bike, foot, and occasionally bus.

– The library!!

– The good, nourishing food in our fridge.

– The sun flooding into our apartment in the evening…and our apartment in general; it’s the top floor of a 100-year-old house and has charming vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. It’s a neat space.

– Grateful to be in my garden — instead of a cubicle — on a Friday afternoon.

– Incredible garden produce we’ve been harvesting! It makes my soul sing to be able to eat straight out of the garden.

– Wasps — they’re irritating and aggressive, but they sure do take care of the aphids!

– Lushness and greenery everywhere thanks to all the rain.

– My wonderful Hubby stopping at the store on his way home this week to bring me groceries that I didn’t feel well enough to get myself.

– Not having to report to a supervisor at work…and not feeling like someone’s slave anymore.

– Quiet, still moments.

– Sitting by candlelight, not caring how late it is, Federico Aubele in my headphones, writing in my journal, rain falling outside.

– Watching my cat have a party with the catnip I picked for her!

– This time of the year.

– Bit the bullet and got a dreaded, long-overdue doctor appointment over-with. I don’t see eye-to-eye with so much of western medicine, but I feel grateful for the doctor I have. I’ve never really needed to go see him before, but he’s good. And instead of leaving the appointment feeling scrambled, drained, and off-balance as I usually do after a doctor visit, I left there feeling calm and centered…and feeling like I’m in good hands. And I appreciated that he listened intently and took all the time that was needed for me to lay everything out.

– Testing out my new ultralight solar cooker “design” (reflective windshield sunshade & a binder clip!) by cooking black beans, brown rice, and a rhubarb crisp; a total success!

Ultralight solar oven, (c) The Herbangardener

Rhubarb crisp baking in the solar cooker

Solar-cooked, homegrown rhubarb crisp!

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!

*****

Our City Dawn Chorus

May 24, 2011 / Lindsey / 4 Comments

I love when I happen to wake up early enough to hear the early-morning birds, before the noise of the city starts up. Last Sunday morning I awoke and decided to record our dawn chorus because it’s so beautiful!

I really love birdsong. I come from a long line of bird watchers and nature lovers…my dad would take me on nature walks as a little kid, pointing out whose nest was whose (my favorite was the oriole’s sweat-sock nest!), and whose song we were hearing around us (my favorite was the red-winged blackbird). Hearing birdsong is one of my true, deep pleasures in life!

Here’s the sound of our city dawn chorus, with the hollow — almost haunting — song of robins.

Does it sound like yours? Is it different? Who sings at dawn in your neighborhood?

Gratitude Sunday * May 22, 2011

May 22, 2011 / Lindsey / 6 Comments

– All the incredible rain we’ve been getting, and then a gorgeous weekend!

– Rainy days & getting to stay cozy inside.

– Steaming mug of maté with milk. I love love love it!

– Being able to work from home, on my own schedule.

– Tax refund check in the mail — I’d completely forgotten it was coming! Nice surprise.

– Sprouted lentils & soaked brown rice cooked with chicken bone broth & a bay leaf. So delicious, and gentle on my still-feeling-delicate-from-the-flu tummy.

– Buying some beautiful flowers to plant outside in the pot next to our door. (photo below)

What about you? What have you been grateful for this week? Leave a comment!