The Good Earth will provide

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Each day in the summer I’m reminded how short the time that’s left could be, for the garden, for me, for humanity as a whole. As an individual, I can’t do anything about what is happening around us, everywhere all around us. All I can do is continue living as I always have: being as kind to the earth as I can, giving it respect as it gives so much to me.

It’s been a good growing season. A strange cool and wet spring didn’t look like a good way to get started but it straightened itself out then and things caught up.

There are disturbances in the wildlife this year tho, some things that are just odd, like insects we have never seen here before, like the awful invasion of spotted lantern flies, and some other things that are a real cause for alarm. In the 40 years I’ve lived here, there have been yellow jacket nests in the ground 2 times. This year there have been 4 nesting colonies in one year: 2 in the ground, one in a bedroom window frame and one in a post on the porch. All of them had to be treated with poison, which is something I never do, but there can be 5000 bees in one colony and they are aggressive and dangerous bees in such great numbers. Locally some large colonies have broken thru plaster board in houses and came inside. 2 exterminators both said they’re horrible this year. It’s a scary situation.

So, we look at the wild life and try to understand what is happening with that, and protect ourselves from it when necessary, and go on enjoying summer and gardening!

The magic of the earth has provided so many tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, 2 kinds of lima beans, some squash, some roses to enjoy and some to remove and dry petals for, for lizard salads in the winter.

I’ve been able to make tomato sauce, freeze lots of tomatoes and lima beans, and have enough tomatoes to share. I even played with a new idea this year because my Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are such good producers. I dehydrated a bunch of them and ground them and made tomato powder. It’s fun to try something different and it will add good flavor to foods in the winter.

Life is strange now, and life is short and always has been. Today is still the day, so go out and enjoy each Today in whatever ways you do. Be good to yourself and to others.

11 responses to “The Good Earth will provide”

  1. Nature sure is acting strange where I live. I haven’t seen a bee or fly or spider or insect of any kind all summer. Except for annoying fruit flies. Bees used to be everywhere in the parks buzzing around sweet drinks and trash cans but not anymore. I see only an occasional fly in the parks and not at all like they used to be flying around food. Come to think of it there haven’t been ants in the parks either. Hmm, maybe I should go have a better look at the park.

    My tower garden hasn’t done too well so far. I believe it’s the high heat and the serious lack of bees. Feral cats have caught all the squirrels and many of the birds too. I used to see lots of birds but there are only a handful now and then. It just feels weird.

    • Oh no, no bugs there! I think there have been fewer of all the normal ones, but still a lot. I’ve been paying special attention to the number of bees (not those damn Yellowjackets) and there have been a lot all summer. Feral cats, enough to kill the squirrels and birds, that’s horrible. That is all strange for you. 😥

      • I do plan to go back to the park when the temperatures get below 90 and check the insect population. I don’t believe there are any squirrels at the park either. It could be they are just staying in their nests to avoid the heat.

  3. Thanks for this update about your garden! I always love to see how things are changing during the year. It also reminds me of my dad’s garden. Working in his big garden was one of his favourite things.
    I can imagine having your own vegetables is much more fun than buying them in a store. And it’s also so wonderful to see all that life in the garden.

    • I don’t grow a lot of different things and can only preserve a few kinds of things, but those taste better than any like them from a store. 😍

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