Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Gardening can bring unexpected pleasures: a walk through growing things, the scent of blooming flowers, and the ability for a spontaneous snack!

My mom has been tending the garden this year. (I've been so busy with my turning production work that I've scarcely had a moment to get out there!) She's been planting, weeding, watering, and the like, and FINALLY her herculean efforts are paying dividends. (The growing season here in Wyoming is very short and starts quite late, so we're only just now starting to harvest).

May I present a harvest of peas from this afternoon (along with a smattering of spinach):



Chard is coming up, so is the bok choy, spinach, radishes, beets, etc. The strawberries are fruiting tenderly, but the birds are pinching all the bounties! Our tomatoes and cucumbers are just beginning to flower, and so are the zucchinis and squash.

All the while I was meandering through our trellises of snow peas, an old Shaker song kept repeating itself in my head and my heart: Simple Gifts. "'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free..." Gardening certainly qualifies as a precious note of freedom in our busy world.

Katherine