Saturday, April 14, 2007
Step It Up 2007
Today is the day when thousands of Americans in all 50 states will be gathering to demand action on global warming and the climate crisis. The events are organized through Step It Up 2007, an organization started by Bill McKibben.
I wish I could take part, but I'm home with Jane. As our hospice experience enters its 15th week, it's important that I spend as much time at home as possible.
I sent an email to Bill McKibben explaining this, and got a nice note in return. McKibben, if anyone, would understand; his book, "Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously," details a year he spent getting in the best physical shape of his life, while simultaneously his father slowly died of a brain tumor. It's a remarkable and inspiring book; read more about it here, and get a copy through your local bookseller or ABE Books.
In many ways this spring has been a remarkable time. Because I've spent so much time at home tending to Jane's needs (with the devoted help of her parents), I've been spending a lot of time in the garden, and have a great start on the summer vegetable season (beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks, carrots, potatoes); the apricot and lemon trees are loaded with fruit, and the orange tree with blossoms; I try to eat something from the yard every day, and that will get easier and more (ful)filling as plants mature. I'm planning to do much less driving in the coming year in an attempt to live frugally and simply, do less environmental damage, and improve my physical condition. We've been basking in the kindness and concern of loving friends. It really feels like the cusp of a different life.
I wish I could take part, but I'm home with Jane. As our hospice experience enters its 15th week, it's important that I spend as much time at home as possible.
I sent an email to Bill McKibben explaining this, and got a nice note in return. McKibben, if anyone, would understand; his book, "Long Distance: Testing the Limits of Body and Spirit in a Year of Living Strenuously," details a year he spent getting in the best physical shape of his life, while simultaneously his father slowly died of a brain tumor. It's a remarkable and inspiring book; read more about it here, and get a copy through your local bookseller or ABE Books.
In many ways this spring has been a remarkable time. Because I've spent so much time at home tending to Jane's needs (with the devoted help of her parents), I've been spending a lot of time in the garden, and have a great start on the summer vegetable season (beans, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, onions, leeks, carrots, potatoes); the apricot and lemon trees are loaded with fruit, and the orange tree with blossoms; I try to eat something from the yard every day, and that will get easier and more (ful)filling as plants mature. I'm planning to do much less driving in the coming year in an attempt to live frugally and simply, do less environmental damage, and improve my physical condition. We've been basking in the kindness and concern of loving friends. It really feels like the cusp of a different life.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Garden Successes
Because I've been staying close to home since January, I've had more time than usual to work in the garden. Today I'll share photos of three successes: a pair of giant (yet still tender) leeks that I left overwinter, some Iceland Poppies casting a lovely shadow by the front door, and a salad of mixed greens cut about five minutes before this picture was taken.
Labels: garden
