Our Garden

Dear Mom,

We finally have a little sun today after many days of rain, thunderstorms and clouds. I do love the rain and especially thunderstorms and due to the plethora of them, the temperature has stayed in the 60's to 70's.

Last month proved to be one of the wettest months on record, having around 25 of the 30 days producing some amount of precipitation. I spent many a night with the windows open listening to the soothing sound of rain and rolling thunder throughout the countryside. I also didn't have to water my garden at all. I wish I would have had some rain barrels out to catch all of that rain though like you have in your garden.

Out of everything I planted this season, the spinach was the only major fatality. It never quite grew past a few inches and ended up shriveling up and turning brown, looking as though it was burnt from the few days of sunlight. I think it had something to do with the soil quality and abundance of water. A couple of the heavy storms flooded them and other sections of the garden.

I also lost a couple of eggplants and the peppers aren't looking too good. I wonder if I have some kind of pepper curse from the incident growing up. I think I need to spend some more time with them in my garden and ask for forgiveness. I still don't know what came over me that infamous day. One of the plants the leaves are turning brown though the others seem to be looking a little better.

The kale on the other hand looks and tastes delicious and nutritious. It has almost been flooded but not quite. We grew those from seeds inside our window in March so I'm most proud of them, as well as our mesclun greens which we also grew in our windows around the same time.

One exciting plant is the ground cherries which are looking fantastic. There are already little husks where the little white berries will grow. I gently squeezed one of them to see if there was anything inside but couldn't fell anything.

I just noticed the tomatoes are starting to produce little round beautiful fruit. I have three different varieties but I can't remember any of their names off hand. They're all organic though as is most all the veggies in my garden. Our friend farmer Rob Maddox gave us some for helping him with his garden on Memorial Day.

I just harvested a good crop of radishes last night and they look beautifully plump and red. It's interesting though, some of the radishes I planted that have the longest, bushiest leaves have little to no actual radish in the ground. I don't know why that is. My only thought is that the soil didn't have the same nutrients in it.

I've been keeping a minimal account of my garden this year in a hand made Tibetan journal that Mike gave me. I was thinking about scanning them but then just decided it quicker for the time being to type my account of our garden thus far. Looking forward for your and dad's visit.

Love you, Baba

Garden Drawing

Dear Mom,

It's been over a month since my last post. I woke up this morning and after a peaceful meditation and making the bed, I came downstairs to Lizzie on the phone with James. His deep smokey voice came through the black speaker phone saying, "You haven't blogged in over a month." Yes, I know, I responded. It was a good kick to remind me to write again. So I opened up my silver laptop and here I am.

Blogging has been creeping slowly back into my mind, though I don't know when I would have sat down to do it again if it weren't for James comment. Thank you. I want to say I'm going to take my blog in one direction of another, but for write now, just writing something I think will suffice. The direction I was thinking about taking is keeping a journal about my garden and then posting its progress here. I still have the journal you gave me for Christmas, I think it was Christmas, that I've been saving for my garden. Right now it's just putting the pen to the paper and doing it. The only thing stopping me is me.

The Yale School of Art has it's summer school in Norfolk and has been offering free figure drawing every Tuesday night and Saturday morning lead by the head of the Yale Art School. I've never tried figure drawing before, nor worked in charcoal and the last art class I took was in 7th or 8th grade. The name of the teacher slips my mind now. I've been really enjoying drawing like this though and is opening my mind to looking at the whole picture and figure. Sam, the instructor kind of meanders around the room and helps anybody that asks for it. Being a beginner, he would come by and give me some techniques to try that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. It makes me really enjoy having a teacher again.

I've had teachers for the majority of my life, especially in piano. Since leaving college, I haven't had a formal teacher of any kind. I think I got a little burnt out on formal teaching at the time and wanted to go out into the world and see what came from me. Having this informal art class is reminding me how great it is to have a teacher and how much another eye can help and stretch you in ways that you won't find by doing it yourself. You might find it but it will take a lot longer.

I've also been working on an album of songs that I've written and have been working on lately. My goal is to do one song a week and so far I have two songs completed. I'm not sure how I'm going to compile them or release them but right now I'm focusing on capturing them.

Summer is here and it feels great to walk around in short sleeves, to be in the garden, to have the windows open, to hear the sound of the birds and live in the green, green, green of nature. Looking forward to you and dad coming to visit.

Love you, Baba

Instant Gratification

Dear Mom,

The overcast week has had moments of sun, though mainly a cool gray atmosphere has filled the days. Yesterday, we planted onions, kale, spinach, arugula and mesclun greens in the first bed of our garden. Last nights rain gave them a thorough drink as they sit in the cool black New England earth, slowly taking root in the freshly turned soil.

I'm finding that being my own boss is not as easy as it may seem. I'm so thankful for the freedom it allows me and love the life I am living, though am finding that it is easy to loose focus on my personal goals. When you are the one to report to and hold yourself accountable for your work, it is only you who can be held responsible for the action or inaction you take. It is also easy to forget that everything is a process and takes time to conceive of, carve out and give life to.

Instant gratification is an element that has woven its way into the fabric of our modern life. In the material modern world, when we want something, we, more likely than not, can immediately get it; exotic food, fuel for our auto, a piece of furniture, clothes, news, drugs, music, sex, books etc. If not physically getting these things we can virtually get them.

I doubt however, that it is commonly thought when purchasing something, the amount of work, energy and time that went into getting any of these material things to the store or place where you're purchasing them from. They're just there, and you expect them to be there. If there wasn't gas at the gas station, you'd find another station that had fuel. If the store was out of bacon, you'd go to another store to find bacon. We depend on instant gratification and expect it.

When we grow something ourselves, create something from a seed, whether it be music, art, pepper, potato or chair, we have a deeper appreciation for it. We were there through the various processes of growth and helped it grow to fruition to the point of where the creation can support itself and or fulfill its ultimate purpose.

Conceiving of a creative idea, a song, a piece of art, story, book or poem can at times come out in one sitting, and give an instant form of gratification to it's creator in the form of a complete accomplishment. Great art however, usually takes time to conceive of and see a whole thought or idea through. Like a seed planted in a vegetable garden, or nut from a tree, it takes time, patience, persistence, love and unseen positive and negative elements to grow that idea or seed into a full fledged being. It will only give instant gratification if during the process, the observer or creator loves the process as much as they love the final outcome.

If I am truly at peace with the process, I know that I am in my process and it is all good. This to me, is easier said than done though writing about it helps clarify my thoughts. It is however beneficial to reflect on my growth, direction and goals so that I am not like a dandelion, popping up quickly until turning to seed, waiting for the wind to blow me somewhere else. I rather, want to be a farmer, tilling the soil, intentionally planting each seed so they grow roots and bloom beautiful plants. I take note of where I am, and give thanks for that all that I have that exists in the visible and invisible.

Love you, Baba

Garden Spring

Dear Mom,

The birds are singing their morning songs on this warm spring morning. This past week we saw a fox, black bear, a few beavers beavers, wild turkeys and a couple of porcupines. I love living close to nature, hearing the constant flow of the creek call of the robin, knock of the woodpecker and hoot of the owl. There's also the occasional chainsaw, jet and passing car too but nothing close to the major cities not just a few hours away.

The green budding leaves are starting to break through the tress as the wind gently strokes their new lives. My garden is coming along and I hope to have the beds dug up in the next week or so. I've been digging up a bunch of rocks in this rich New England soil. I have a 7' fence I plan to put around the garden in protection from deer. The guy at the nursery said that deer jump anything under 7' high. The robins are enjoying the freshly turned earth, giving them easier access to the many worms I've uncovered.

The Chicago blues wind chimes you and dad gave us for Christmas play their beautiful pentatonic scale in the breeze hanging on the tree outside Lizzie's writing window. I look forward to getting back out into my garden. With the warmer weather here, I want to spend as little time in front of my computer as I can. Happy gardening.

Love you, Baba

Village Concept

Dear Mom,

Times the river bends to keep kneeling from becoming a sport makes my ears ring. The distance in space of writing comes with ink and paper, away from photos that dance in the digital lens. Rapid response retards into a plagal cadence with a recapitulation and a coy coda. I've traveled to the village and back with red suitcase filled, brass locked in one hand and Paul E drums in other hand. Googled out by the speed of pigeons and trash compactors wonders my belly with bread handles. If I ever see a coupon for 2 free nights again I'll toss it in the fire and call Ken Lewis, asking if he'd received his bailout. Everyone's got an idea how to fix the budget accept the people that don't. Forward: the brass or gold lady on the top of the Madison capitol says:

Dear Mr. President,
Patriotic Retirement: There's about 40 million people over 50 in
the work force. Pay them $1 million dollars apiece Severance Pay
with these stipulations.
1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings -
Unemployment fixed.
2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto
Industry fixed.
3) They either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing
Crisis fixed.
DONE! Economy fixed.

If only simplicity came in stars and stripes. But we, constitution bound by radicals and thinkers, have been given the blue pill in our toothpaste to forget why we care. But all is exactly at where it needs to be. Paying for change with paper and promises to cover fraud in freedom fries with Heinz 57. All is where it is and no place else. So thank you for all that is and all that surrounds these words and beyond. Past the eyes, ears, fingers and senses into the shell to sit with the soul before it bursts out into effervescent circles, connecting with the unseen, with the dream.

Love you, Baba