I gardened a lot yesterday in my vegetable garden. Several weeks ago I planted tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, cabbage and some herb plants, as well as seeds of onions, beets, carrots, peas, bean, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale and a few other herb seeds. I haven't planted a vegetable garden in years, and I am loving it. We have lived in this house for nearly 5 years, and our yard is very shady thanks to a lot of big, old trees along the ditch at the back of the yard. I love the shade because it helps to keep our house cool, and the challenge has been where to grow vegetables that need a lot of sun.
Last year Steve had cleared out a lot of juniper bushes that were right up against the front porch and had planted a few ornamental grasses. This year I finished clearing the bed in front of the house, and with my oldest son Andrew's help, prepared the bed with lots of compost and rich top soil.
After I had watered the other day just before dusk, I went out to look at the garden and saw lots of movement by the soil. When I stooped down to take a closer look, I saw lots and lots of long, thick worms all over the bed. Each one was 6 or more inches long. I was thrilled and felt that my garden was blessed in their presence.
The seeds are coming up and life is happening in my garden!
To honor the rich abundance of movement and life, I weeded yesterday, put down mulch all over, and staked the beans and peas. The hard part was putting up a fence around it. I wanted to just be able to enjoy my garden and to walk into it easily. Yet the reality is that we have deer here who love to eat vegetables and flowers. I would have hated to come out one morning to find my garden decimated by visiting deer. So, untypical for me, I recognized the great likelihood of this happening and proactively put up a fence yesterday. Just a simple one with netting that is almost 7 feet high. You can easily see through it and I am creating a simple gate at the end near the front steps of the house.
I just realized that this is a boundary.
Somehow I can hear myself saying that it's not okay to put up a fence around my beautiful garden - that a fence takes away from its beauty, demonstrates a lack of trust on my part, and doesn't honor something, that I am not quite sure what the something I am not honoring is. I should be open and loving.
Hmm...at what point do I get to value the garden I am creating anda provide simple and effective boundary that says I care...I want you to survive and thrive? And without feeling like I am doing something wrong?
I've got the first part because I did put up a fence. Now I am working on feeling okay about doing it. I just realized that I get to go down and water my garden this morning before heading off for the day! I am really excited to get to do that and that I have planned for it by making the time to do it. So, in that case, I've got to go.
There is a connection here between my garden and healing the split. I know there is. This challenge of putting up a fence, honoring a boundary, is part of that connection. How does one put up a boundary to honor and protect that which is like a young plant and give it time and space to grow, become hardy, and produce its fruit? How do I do that with what is growing and developing within me? How have I not done this for myself before?
These are the questions I will live into today as I move through my life.
Suseya!
Sahara
No comments:
Post a Comment