November Watermelon
Today I am eating the fruit of my watermelon vine. It is November 3. I harvested the last pair of melons just today. Actually I didn't even know that I still had watermelons on the vine until yesterday. I thought I brought in the last one a week ago. Surprise! They were hiding behind the fence and vines. It is a testimony to the hot summer and fall we had and I got my little plant in late. Most people boast of having the first tomatoes, I have the last watermelon and the last tomatoes.
I enjoy taking an active role in providing what I eat. Mostly I now plant only those things that are hard or expensive to get like snow peas, peas and certain winter squash. This year I put in 2 watermelon plants and a couple of tomatoes. One is in the greenhouse attached to the house. I am seeing how long I can get fresh tomatoes. I have more buds than ever right now.
A few days ago I was shelling Lima beans and washing turnips greens. The timing wasn't convenient but they couldn't be put off. I pulled my attention to the task and got into it. I bought them from the farmers market. My local produce farmers had a really hard time this year from the early frost and the hot dry summer. I believe in supporting them, even if turnip greens are not my favorite. It is late in the season and not many customers are showing up anymore. But because of their efforts, I don't need to have a big garden of my own right now.
We are getting the dormant garden ready for winter this year though as I plan to plant gourds again next year for my artwork. I may even plant more garden again.
There is something nourishing about playing in the dirt and growing something myself. A couple of weeks ago I was planting daffodil bulbs. To make the space to plant them I also had to dig up the bulbs that had gotten overcrowded before. I pulled up 5 gallon bucket of bulbs to plant 70 fancier ones. Now I get to replant
the small bulbs in my drive around circle where they will have space to expand and multiply. Finding each bulb was like finding a treasure. LAter that night I was reminded why gardening is such good exercise!
When it is so easy to buy supplies from the store it is not hard to understand the kid who thinks milk comes from cardboard cartons. I have a strange little habit I have cultivated when I shop. When the clerk tells me the total, I respond, "What a deal"! It helps me remember how I would need to be spending my time surviving if all of these products weren't so available.
One of my clients was complaining over the price of propane gas and I said it was easy compared to chopping and stacking wood for 2 weeks to have wood for winter. I know. I did that. And it wasn't so many years ago. Then I was young enough to think of it as an adventure. Now... let's just say I'll happily pay for the heating fuel.
Gratitude is all a matter of perspective. What a deal!
And I have fresh from the vine watermaelon. How cool is that!
I enjoy taking an active role in providing what I eat. Mostly I now plant only those things that are hard or expensive to get like snow peas, peas and certain winter squash. This year I put in 2 watermelon plants and a couple of tomatoes. One is in the greenhouse attached to the house. I am seeing how long I can get fresh tomatoes. I have more buds than ever right now.
A few days ago I was shelling Lima beans and washing turnips greens. The timing wasn't convenient but they couldn't be put off. I pulled my attention to the task and got into it. I bought them from the farmers market. My local produce farmers had a really hard time this year from the early frost and the hot dry summer. I believe in supporting them, even if turnip greens are not my favorite. It is late in the season and not many customers are showing up anymore. But because of their efforts, I don't need to have a big garden of my own right now.
We are getting the dormant garden ready for winter this year though as I plan to plant gourds again next year for my artwork. I may even plant more garden again.
There is something nourishing about playing in the dirt and growing something myself. A couple of weeks ago I was planting daffodil bulbs. To make the space to plant them I also had to dig up the bulbs that had gotten overcrowded before. I pulled up 5 gallon bucket of bulbs to plant 70 fancier ones. Now I get to replant
the small bulbs in my drive around circle where they will have space to expand and multiply. Finding each bulb was like finding a treasure. LAter that night I was reminded why gardening is such good exercise!
When it is so easy to buy supplies from the store it is not hard to understand the kid who thinks milk comes from cardboard cartons. I have a strange little habit I have cultivated when I shop. When the clerk tells me the total, I respond, "What a deal"! It helps me remember how I would need to be spending my time surviving if all of these products weren't so available.
One of my clients was complaining over the price of propane gas and I said it was easy compared to chopping and stacking wood for 2 weeks to have wood for winter. I know. I did that. And it wasn't so many years ago. Then I was young enough to think of it as an adventure. Now... let's just say I'll happily pay for the heating fuel.
Gratitude is all a matter of perspective. What a deal!
And I have fresh from the vine watermaelon. How cool is that!
posted by Patricia @ 1:45 PM
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