Once again, it's been hundreds of days since the last post--936 to be exact. Shame on me. This is definitely not how one keeps a "well-ordered" life. I keep a hand-written "weaving" journal (it's now up to 15 volumes), and a detailed journal of what's going on in the garden, but I put off the blog to the end, so it never gets written. I will try to do better.
Right now, I'm obsessed with gardening/landscaping. I'm blaming it on the world in general, my changing responsibilities, and the stress from both. I've always enjoyed gardening, as it gives me a thrill when tiny plants that I've grown from seed display their leaves. Gardening also keeps me humble--Mother Nature has a way of reminding the gardener that she is a lowly creature, incapable of keeping a plant alive. I treated myself to a year's subscription to BritBox so I can keep current with the British gardening show, Gardener's World. There isn't a lot of specific gardening similarities between Northern California and Herefordshire (where Gardener's World is frequently broadcast from), but there's a good amount of general information, and between it, and my ever-handy copy of The Sunset Western Garden Book, I manage to muddle through pretty well.
I should explain, once again, the difference between "gardening" and "landscaping," as what I'm doing is more the latter than the former. Gardening is a pleasant activity that involves small hand tools, plants, and a nice beverage at hand. I love gardening. On the other hand, landscaping is hot, dirty work that requires lots of building (raised beds), moving dirt, paving stones, and other heavy objects, and trips to the garden center for building materials, sacks of soil, compost, and soil amendments, and plants and seeds. I do not love landscaping. However, it has to be done occasionally, and that time is now.
