Yesterday, after I had updated my ‘final wishes’ paper I keep in my
wallet, I went outside to water my garden area. I say ‘garden area’ because my
garden is planted entirely in the 13 garden boxes my husband designed and built
for me: I live on a town lot on the outskirts of big town-little city Longview –
and the ground is cement hard.
Watering my garden area is no small matter … I can easily spend
5 hours out there watering, deadheading, weeding, tidying, and gleaning the
ripened fruits of my labor 😉
I pulled some carrots that were ready to be harvested/picked the
dried cannellini beans ready to be harvested off the bean plants and loosely tied
the celery in prep for blanching – and also to keep the garden bed tidy 😉
Preparing celery to be blanched later on.
Moving to the next garden box, I noticed as I was weeding, that the
purslane has decided to show itself again (I thought it had died off): I
was happy to see it; the miner’s lettuce is doing poorly this year, so the
purslane is a blessing. I have 2 ears of corn on each corn stalk, and they are
plumping out beautifully 😊
Purslane coming up in garden.
Corn plumping up. 2 ears on each stalk.
In the Red Onion garden box, I pulled every other onion to give the
remaining onions room to expand as they mature, now that the sun is deeming to bless
us with its warming rays … and I pulled 2 large Candy Onions – in a day or two,
I’ll pull a few more: they are maturing in staggered stages.
I fended off a territorial Honey Bee hanging around the flowers in
the tomato box that was making me nervous by buzzing me every time I tried to
water the tomato plants. I don’t mind sharing my space if the winged guys play
nice – this one was being a bully: if he had kept it up, I would have had to seriously
hurt him – when it comes to my life over an aggressive bee … I will choose
me every time. It’s MY garden, and I have a right to be there without the
bee’s permission; I am not going to sacrifice my life to save a bee intent on
killing me: one sting, and I will be a goner. There are millions of “cute”
bees, but only one of me - I'm a limited edition. I choose me. And I really don’t care if
yuppies are offended with my point of view or not.
Busy Honey bee on a Bachelor Button flower.
I also gleaned a few Swiss Chard leaves, Collard greens, and Beet
greens – and clipped some cut-n-come again lettuce leaves; and cherry tomatoes
that were ripe enough to pinch off the vines.
Yesterday's garden gleanings.
Carrying my meager harvest to the house through the carport, I
caught glimpse of Bob’s begonia blooming – I call it ‘Bob’s Begonia’
because he liked the flower, and he liked the color yellow … so I bought the
corms 19 years ago and planted them for him. The meaning behind a begonia is
tribute towards a good person (Bob was a good person – generally a good person;
and a good person to know). Yellow represents happiness, wealth, and
contentment – and red symbolizes passion, romance and love: the flower fits Bob’s
character and personality - every time it blooms, I smile.
Bob's Begonia blooming. His grandmother, Myrtle Smalley made the shell plant hanger.
Today I spent the whole day slicing and dicing the Onions, cutting
the Swiss Chard-Collard-Beet greens, shredding the carrots, and snipping the Parsley
and Chives: all this went into the freezer around Suppertime.
Today's work ... 11 Red Onion-2 Candy Onion-1 Swiss Chard. Collards, Beet Greens-Shredded Carrots-Parsley & Chives
It may not look like much … but there is plenty more where this
came from, and it is enough for 1 😉
