Quote of the Day: Dalai Lama
“Cleansing your environment is a ritual means of also cleansing your mind”
Dalai Lama
(found in The Wabi-Sabi House: The Japanese Art of Imperfect Beauty)
I feel this way about weeding, for me, there’s nothing as clearing to the mind as spending some time in the garden putting weeds.
What task do you find helps cleanse your mind the best?
Share this:
The Simple Things…
“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand,
Rejoice, for your soul is alive.”
-Eleanora Duse (Italian Actress. 1858-1924)
The dandelions have been blooming beautifully in the driveway and earlier this week they set their seed heads. Brings back memories. Who didn’t LOVE blowing the seeds off of a dandelion when they were little?
What simple thing are you enjoying today?
Share this:
Morels Can’t be Trusted
Morels can’t be trusted. They’ll be nowhere in sight when conditions are just perfect. You’ll hunt in the ideal places and end up scorned with nothing but an empty basket. Then another day they’ll throw themselves at your feet, carpeting the ground before you. They are fickle, wily tricksters. But, God help us, we’re totally shameless if our passionate pursuit of these little dimples darlings.
Connie Green
(The Wild Table: Seasonal Foraged Food and Recipes)
I’m wondering if we’ll have a morel season this year here at Chiot’s Run. I found three small mushrooms in the garden a few weeks ago, but no more have been spotted. I think the hot dry spell we had a few weeks ago may have made the mushrooms decide to take a year off.
Only time will tell if the morels will be up this year, they’re elusive that’s for sure, which is what makes them so great. I won’t write them off until mid-May, if I don’t have any by then I’ll know they’re taking the year off.
Have you ever eaten morels? Do you hunt them in your area?
Share this:
Quote of the Day: Buckner Hollingsworth
“I think I yet see what I have so often beheld both in town and in country,” Mrs Grant continued, “a respectable mistress of a family going out to her garden, in an April morning, with her great calash, her little painted basket of seeds, and her rake over her shoulder, to her garden labors.”
Buckner Hollingsworth
found in Her Garden Was Her Delight. Famous Women Gardeners.
If you’ve never read the book above you should, such a fascinating book about women gardeners throughout American history.
I’m getting a little backed up sharing images since we’re focusing on cleaning. Here’s the update, scenes from around the gardens of Chiot’s Run this past week, harvest, blooms, and life. (if you are my personal friend or if you follow Chiot’s Run on Facebook you might have seen a few of these).
Remember those tulips that I forgot about in the garage? They are just starting to come into their own and they’re stunning, obviously no harm done by the accidental blanching. They are parrot tulips ‘Rai’, ‘Green Wave’, and ‘Parrot King’.
The tulip hillside is in full bloom, photos of that in the coming weeks complete with photos of each individual tulip variety in case you want to know which ones to order.
Do I really need to say anything about these photos? These show exactly why I garden; it’s peaceful, it’s beautiful, it feeds my soul and it brings me much joy during these busy, busy weeks!
What’s been bringing you joy in these last few weeks?
Share this:
Quote of the Day: Nigel Slater
Mrs Pearman’s house was a home in every sense of the word. A place where a daughter or son would suddenly turn up without warning, expecting, and getting, supper or Sunday lunch. Where every piece of furniture seemed to have a history and where every daily event was faithfully recorded in photograph albums. It was warm and happy, untidy and cozy. There was always a jug of garden flowers on the kitchen table and milk in the fridge. And like all good homes Mrs Pearman’s also had an overriding smell of golden retriever.
Nigel Slater from Toast
Around here it’s hit or miss. You can come to my house one day and it’s clean as can be or come the next and it’s a bit crazy. It all depends on what’s going on, how many seeds I’m planting, if I ‘m canning, or if we’ve been traveling all day for a few days. My house is usually clean, but it’s often a tad cluttered (there is a difference).
I used to be quite a neatnik, sweeping and mopping several times a day, especially after we first got the chiots. Then I lightened up a bit as I acquired more and more hobbies. Now I’m actually a little more comfortable when the house is a bit cluttered. When you live in a small house and the dining room table is the craft table, sewing table, seed starting table, work table, and the canning table it can get a little messy at times. I used to try to clean everything up when people came over, but then I realized it didn’t matter. People know we live here, and sometimes, life is messy.
If you ever stop in for a visit our home will look like people live here. A whole lot of life happens at Chiot’s Run and at times it really shows, especially on our dining room table! You can always tell how busy we are by what our dining room table looks like.
What part of your house starts to show life first?
