Mothers Day

Plants purchased from the Friends plant sale this past weekend. A wide variety of herbs, strawberries, two gooseberry, a serviceberry, two manchurian apricot, and assorted curiosities not commonly found in local nursery’s.

The focus today is on this boulevard. There are about two hundred sapling elm and maple to be pulled, including quack grass. It is rough work, made more difficult by the delicate spring plant growth; it would be best to pull these earlier in the season, after the earliest rains. But it can be done at any time, though always best a day after a rain.

Half done. This is the view from the corner, the full length of the boulevard weeded on the sidewalk side. Plus planting a few starts of lemon grass, sweet grass, trout lily, "arctic" strawberries, and leeks - about two hours. I consider it less like work and more like art; it is necessary to the aesthetic and health of this garden. While I weeded, a man dressed in synthetic running gear passed by, nodding to me, then stopping on the other side of the intersection and shouting, "I check out your house every week! I love it!" A beautiful woman walked by later, smiled at me and said, "I love walking by your place."

Another woman I do some gardening for, called yesterday and said, "Just so you know, I sprayed blue foam poison on the trees in the fence, and the thistles. In case you were coming by, I didn't want you to freak out." It's your yard, I said, basically.

I did this to my spade, pulling this elm. There were about two dozen like this, along the edge of the sidewalk, elm I have tried to pull in the past, which I ended up cutting off mostly out of laziness. Indeed, there are some now so deep, holding so fast, I cut them a few inches below the soil and hope for the best.

I get why people resort to poison. Saplings especially, as they are not easy to pull if they are more than a year old. That is the importance of pulling them the first year. It gets easier every year in this garden, as the soil is healthier each year. The woman who spread that poison, would be healthier if she spent time outside regularly, weeding her garden, pulling saplings, planting and harvesting. It is too much trouble, she has no passion for it, she is busy, she would rather watch television. 

Done. There are more saplings throughout the garden, but I will wait until after the next rain, to make it easier. There are other things to be planted, a house project inside, I am needing to finish. There is gardening to be done at that woman's house. She is a mother of two. It is a service I do.

The wild onions have taken well here, revealed after pulling the mini-canopy of maple. They will flower in a few weeks. A staple of the plains Indians, high in vitamin c. The corner smelled of onions, as many were damaged in the process.

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We have been conditioned to throw poison at every problem. Indeed, it is difficult to participate in this society economically, without contributing to systemic toxicity. Indeed, we are not encouraged at all, to treat the soil, air and water responsibly, but to consume without care for stewardship. They say that cancer is an old people's disease, but that is mostly because they have been immersed in this systemic toxicity the longest, and they haven't lived otherwise with respect for either their body or the body of the earth. And in fact, cancer is no longer just an old person's problem, increasing among younger people. Each of us contributes to that, reaching for the toxic consumer product, before thinking what else might be done that is healthier for oneself, others and for the earth.

Many people say "mother earth." Few respect her. On this day, this Mother's Day, be good to your mother. Consider, every day is mother's day, like every day is earth day. Be blessed.