Our Community Garden went to sleep this year. LEAD Agency has had a garden in that spot ever since Scott Kreeger bought the property and cleared it for us. There were so many plantings and re-plantings this season to have so little survive. That is partly why I kept the lamb’s quarter and let it go to seed for the birds. The drought made easy crops not make it. Years ago, Flossie, my friend who lived at the end of our alley gifted us a batch of Egyptian Walking onions and they have made it through.
Yesterday while out in the back garden a young man saw the Community Garden sign and stopped to investigate. He found not much in it. Though the Tarragon is beautiful and spread, still lush and green. The little white asters show on a few of the stalks, but the evening primrose stalks are bare and leafless but topped with the seedheads that will bring us TONS of the plants next spring. But there in the wine bottle bed were the new batch of onions, bright green short ones that caught the young man’s attention and he drove in to dig one up and found a nice size onion, brushed the dirt off and ate it, saying he was hungry.
When was the last time you felt hungry and sought out food? And delighted in a simple onion?
The Community Garden LEAD envisions would be as ours is un-fenced and inviting. We spent all summer trying our best to keep a row of newly planted blueberry bushes alive through this driest year since the dustbowl years. The purpose? We planted them all along the sidewalk on Steve Owens that runs along the south side of our office, so we might have some, but to have the beginnings of a food forest to have the fruit tempt and be shared by the many people who WALK by every day. We notice the foot traffic and delight in the many people who stop out front and take a book or magazine from the Little Free Library out front, or who stop and load us back up with MORE books.
During abundant garden years we have added freshly grown tomatoes to the library, which is the second iteration of libraries. The First one Gary Sherrard constructed and Dawn Hill’s Art Class at MHS painted it. We made it last for YEARS, but when it gave out, and couldn’t keep the books DRY during rains, Brad Anderson had the best idea! He brought out a little wine refrigerator and we installed it and have had wonderful luck. The full glass door shows what is inside before anyone has to even open the door.
A fellow who was one of our neighbors in a rental apartment next door came by one day and had become homeless and needed to wash up. From that time on, we have had a soapdish and wash cloth hanging by the outside faucet for his or other’s use.
It doesn’t take much to be kind. Plant a few onions, and find a way to provide for the little ones and the ones who are less fortunate than you.
I am deep into this year’s Miami Library book selection, John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. Pure poverty is written so well in that book that it has helped me focus on the dignity of strangers and how we help make sure we don’t contribute to taking that one thing away from them.
Feed the stray cats and its time to start filling your bird feeders. Vicki Kelly dropped by a birdbath and so many feeders! The box with all the hummingbird feeders got lost, but we will be filling them come summer and watch them dive-bomb them!
If you want to plant a pecan tree, I know where you can find some that are going dormant and they are FREE to anyone with a little shovel, or actually anyone who wants to use OUR shovel. Our garden didn’t provide a lot of food this year, but, hey, the squirrels planted LOTS of pecans and we have TREES for you! How do you know where they are? Look for the bright green tape that is wrapped around the top, looking like little green flags for the future!
Gird up your garden jeans and join us in prepping our garden for the spring we know will be coming. There isn’t a fence to keep you out.
Respectfully submitted ~ Rebecca Jim
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