11-28-2013 Thankful for my garden...

On giving thanks…

The last canning for this year: pickled sweet banana rings.

   What better place is there to express your thankfulness than in the garden? This little patch of black dirt where sweat, toil, care and attention turn what used to be harsh clay into black dirt and its fairy carpet of greens, yellows, reds and blues, of the crunchiest green endive to the sweetest Asian pear or fig without forgetting those plump little cherry tomatoes that never make it to the kitchen, appreciated as they are on the spot, from lovingly picking to appreciating lips in less than a second, with a taste lingering into the new morning. What better place is there to appreciate nature’s spell surrounding its disciple and follower with enchanting perfumes, awe-inspiring beauty and flavors hardly tasted anywhere else?

   Sure, at this time of year, our little corner hardly looks like the garden of Eden I get lured into throughout all summer; banana leaves look pitiful, dried and frozen, more like an army of ghosts trembling in winter’s cold breath. Even our house now stands in its midst in utter nakedness, having lost her leafy vestments, in the middle of what can only be called desolation. After the last few frosts, our little piece of paradise looks more like the Flanders trenches after the harsh 1917 winter with its black, dried stems, its bare branches, and the few green vegetables shivering under pale shrouds of winter covers, helping them survive those frigid nights.

   Good thing is, a gardener is an eternal optimist, not really living in the now but planning for six months, a year or multiples from now, already living into next season or planting to harvest ten years from today. Despite the cold wind, I already have noticed the seemingly tender leaves of poppies volunteering by the mail box, soon to be joined by corn flowers, tulips and daffodils. Before we know it, our garden’s bareness will again be covered in a wild tapestry of colors, shapes and looks. What better place to reflect upon my thankfulness than on this little spot where decay turns into beauty, where tiny little seeds provide sustenance for so many, in food and in appreciable beauty? What better place to soon meditate on the beauties of life, to appreciate the bounties and the knowledge that this makes me a better member of my small community, partaking of the goodness, sharing the knowledge, helping create more gardens in our neighborhood?

   While nature may seem dead right now, she is just dormant, taking a little break, maybe forcing us to appreciate her absence but soon we’ll be surrounded by her gifts again; gifts I am very thankful for, today and every day of my life. Thank you for my garden and everybody in my life, right here or connected on line.

My life wouldn’t be quite this full and satisfying without all of you.