CONTENT IN THE GARDEN

The second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, I travel to La Crosse for Spirited Women's writers group.  It is a very important part of my writing life.  Several weeks ago, our facilitator 'assigned' us five questions (regarding the group) to answer before the next session.  As poetry is what I most often choose to write, I answered each question in the form of a poem.  Here is the one entitled:  

The Meaning of the Group

Gathered at the glass-topped 
wooden table,
each here drawn by the magic
of words,
knowing how their placement,
just so on the page,
births a beauty
provocative and pure...
powerful, 
and above all,
essential.

We gather here 
knowing that the word
is the beginning,
the word
is with God,
the word
is God.

We gather here
on our journey
to the light.

  Despite this deep feeling for the group, yesterday I choose not to go, in order to plant the myriad tomatoes and peppers awaiting the garden in their tiny pots.

   Gardening, sinking my bare hands into the newly tilled soil, gently tamping each plant in place, carrying water, even weeding, are essential activities for me as well...just another journey to the light.

 I spent most of the morning, garden rake in hand, pulling the finely tilled soil up into mounds in which I would plant peppers, broccoli, etc.

  Looking west from my garden.  The tomato fences and the spade that replaced the garden rake when times really got tough.

A look at the garlic which was planted last November.  It seems to be doing really well.

The peas, which were planted in the early March warm spell.  They are profusely flowering, and we are anxious for their crisp sweetness.

I am trying, for the first time, growing my cucumbers on a trellis.  This saves garden space, and I think makes for better cucumbers.  (In my delight in purchasing plants, and seeing so many beautiful cucumber plants at my favorite Amish greenhouse, I realized when I got home that I had 12 cucumber plants.)  I gave two away.

)

Ten sweet potato plants, planted as the Amish, do under black plastic, in a mound of dirt.  I've done this now for many years, and the sweet potatoes are huge, and so easy to harvest.

Looking east towards the house.  Cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, etc.  

I mulch between the rows with straw to keep the weeds down.  But mostly I mulch with straw because of its golden beauty.  Always I think of Rapunzel.

Lettuce and spinach and radishes, which we have been eating daily for many, many days.


I love my garden!  I love the chance to be vitally in the out of doors, I love the air, and the kiss of the sun, and the smell of the soil.  Such magic is holy.