It's been awhile

There has been a long pause in my blog entries, the reasons for which are health, weather, laziness, and me wanting to have my thoughts fully processed in my mind before I write it. I have had some extended breaks from my garden that have caused me to see different perspectives on what my garden could represent in my life. As usual, I've also lost a bunch of plants. And with all that, I still find the encouragement I need to keep working the land and celebrate the life that does come.

The first thing I learned, from my health not being good and the weather holding me back from biking, was that the garden was a pretty accurate description of my long-distant relationships (family/friends). The fact that I couldn't get to the garden everyday and that I had to ride a good distance to get there, as well as the fact that sometimes I just couldn't get there to tend it, showed me insights into the fact that I really am limited in being able to consistently communicate and be with the people I care about around the world. (No, I'm not using that as an excuse to not try, because just like with my garden I try and do as much as I can.). The significant side of all this isn't me realizing that, but the fact that out of around 100 plants, of over 20 varieties, the only things that grew were squash and beans. That really opened my eyes to the fact that at home as well as around the world, I've seen certain seemingly random relationships ending up producing fruit, where as some of the other plants that I might have longed to flourish, didn't seem to hold up in the distance. So I've learned to celebrate the squash and beans in my life, and be satisfied with reality. I've been loving eating the squash each day as well.

The second thing I've learned over this extended break is once again, how amazing composting is. Instead of me getting disheartened over the lack of "success" in my last 3 months of gardening, I've been spurred on knowing that with the death from this season, I'll be able to turn into compost for the next. And it will continue to build from there. Maybe by next year, or the year after, the garden (and my life) will be better soil for new seeds to flourish.

As for my laziness... well... still got a little ways to go. I've grown a lot, but long-distance gardening at 6am is still a bit out of my reach. 6am surfing on the other hand, is a little closer. Ha.

Plant update:

• The girl Madison's plants are the best growing plant I've had so far (maybe it's because of her innocence. Ha). Her Squash is great, as well as her Tomatoes.
• My herbs: are growing great. I had my first fresh peppermint leaf tea a few days ago. I've got Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, and possibly Oregano. 
• In the Garden: I've got the Squash growing great. There are 4 big squash plants. The beans are done. 9 Garlic cloves. And I have some really late transplanted tomatoes that I'm praying will survive and produce fruit. A cucumber plant. 
• In Pots I've got the herbs, as well as some corn that is growing fast.
• The Sunflowers have now bloomed and are struggling to stand on their own so I've supported them.