SIVAN MORE THAN HUMAN WORLDSPRING INTO SUMMER
We’ve just passed the holiday of Shavuot. This marks the end of the grain harvest in Israel, but for us in a continental ecosystem, it’s more like the end of most of our planting. Sure there is more succession planting to be done—in a few weeks I will plant more radishes, and I was thinking about putting in Fall carrots in the space the Zucchini currently occupies when it quits in August (and I’m sick of Zucchini by then).
The garden is growing well. I harvested the first early banana peppers and pea pods this past week. I’m overwhelmed with lettuce, the chard looks great, I should start harvesting cucumbers next week and the tomatoes are just starting. Green beans should start coming soon as well. My aforementioned Zucchini plant wants to take over the garden. The Broccoli plants look big, but I don’t see any little broccolis forming and the leaves are starting to get eaten. Whenever something doesn’t work in the garden, I always assume that it is a function of the gardener not knowing what he is doing. But it also seems right that some things are really prolific and some aren’t working. And the weeds are of course growing through the mulch. No black plastic for me.
The woods also feel calm, the birds and the mammals being busy raising their young, the trees settled in and growing. The chipmunk about whom I wondered if I should say Kaddish has seemed to return, unless it is a different one and I only see one. I want to ask him/her where their mate is, but maybe I’m seeing two different ones just never together at the same time?
Whenever I sit in the woods, I am truly cognizant of my ignorance. This morning I saw a male cardinal flying like all get out parallel to the power line, and a few seconds later a grey bird of similar size (a female cardinal?) flying after him like there was no tomorrow. I wondered if there was something pursuing them, but nothing followed. Was he a runaway groom or did they hear some kind of baby alert and they were flying to protect their young? As I said, I know so little. There’s this dance of life and death going on all around me and most of it goes right past me.
I am blessed to be able to sit on my bench and watch this dance happening around me.
My questions for this month are all taken from the garden, but the questions of what just needs to grow equally apply to trees, fawns, the fox kit I saw on someone’s driveway in the sub division.
QUESTIONS
What has already been planted that basically just needs to grow?
What needs to be weeded?
What is ready to start being harvested?
What is nearing completion of being harvested, like lettuce?
