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Every time you feel in God's creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: "O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all!
- Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain

You can’t get to joy by making everything perfect. You can only get there by seeing in every imperfection all that’s joy.
-Ann Voscamp

Friday, June 25, 2010

Eating the "Fruit" of our Labor

Gardening is something I didn't think I would like much. I know, that's probably surprising to some of you and sacrilege to others, but it's true all the same. Now, I can't imagine NOT gardening. It just feels "right" somehow. For one thing, it's very healthy. Your body benefits from it in so many ways. Good exercise and fresh air when you work in the garden, and good healthy, safe, nutrient packed food to eat - what could be better? Of course, I'm enjoying such a nice cool, bug free summer that it's easy for me to say I like it now. I guess we'll see what I think when the black flies are out full force some day?


It's especially fun right now, since we're eating some of the good stuff we've been working with all this time. It does require patience, however, and that's one thing I don't posses in great quantities. For instance, after planting seeds that say "10 days to germination" I am out there the next day and about 5 times a day after that willing the little seeds to grow. I'm almost ready to give up on them after 8 days, and actually mildly surprised to see the first tiny leaves peek out on the 10th or 12th day. How funny is that? I will say that because of this impatience, it is the most carefully tended and well watered patch of earth around - at least until the little ones show themselves! :)


Sweet basil ready for the spaghetti sauce for supper last night.




Spinach and beet greens ready for steaming (to be eaten with salt and butter). This will probably be about the last of the spinach, since it's beginning to bolt. Hopefully this fall I'll plant it again.

4 comments:

  1. Those greens look good! I am lucky in that I can grow them for much of the winter here, but all summer it is too hot here so when I have all the other lovely makings of a salad, I have no greens! I am going to try some in pots in the shade on my deck, I just sowed some seeds last night, now I will be checking on them way too often!

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  2. Thanks, Erin! We have the opposite problem here, for sure. No greens in the winter. I think Mama Pea probably wins the prize for the earliest greens with her cold frame. I'm going to have to get together with her and have a chat about that one of these days! I'd like to try it if I can get some help from the hubby to make one. I hope your "shade grown greens" turn out well! I wonder if the spinach would last longer if I tried growing some in the shade? Hmm... :) Happy pot checking, Erin!

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  3. I pulled my first spinach crop this past week. It was bolting too badly just like yours, Patty. But I immediately planted some more in a raised bed and have it under a shade cloth cover and am waiting to see how that works now that we're getting into more summer than spring weather. We love spinach so much I'm gonna miss it if I can't talk this second crop into doing something!

    You're welcome to come over anytime to check out our "cold frames." I'm sure your hubby could build one or two (or ten!) with no problem at all. A good winter project!

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  4. Thanks, Mama Pea. I'll give you a call soon. And, I'll be planting more spinach soon!

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