Cardinal eying the baby chard. I really ought to start greens inside. Ganesha looks on. The still exuberant saga in front of him was three times the size. It was not hard to find people who wanted some. I also have been offering lots of mint and yarrow. Locals, let me know any time you want to know what’s available for sharing.
Along with sufficient nutrition and shelter from the storm for as many as possible in greatest balance with the ecosystem,
Don’t get too attached, including to ideas about yoga and practice.
One of the delights of my trip to Tucson, was visiting the Native Seed Search’s shop. Native Seed Search works to gather, safeguard, and distribute native and adapted seeds to farming and gardening communities, and to educate farmers and gardeners about the uses of those seeds. When I go to Tucson, I make sure to visit the shop (so much more fun than shopping on-line) to buy unique varieties of peppers and beans for cooking.
The first time I went — three years ago — I did not buy any seeds. I was not certain that I should be bringing seeds from the southwest to DC for planting. This year, after the last two years of heat and drought, I bought a few varieties of southwestern greens and some pink green beans to try in containers. I had a good chat with the workers in the shop about shifting what we plant as the climate changes even as we might otherwise try to avoid bringing new species into the area.
I went small with this experiment. As long as I do not let the amaranth (to eat as greens not grain) go to seed and pick the beans to eat or replant, nothing will spread. It will be interesting to observe if these plants require less water or tolerate more heat here than the greens and beans we are more accustomed to planting.
It was also wonderful, on this icy cold day, to take the seed packets out of my bag in anticipation of spring. Planting season for cool weather greens, etc (etc meaning beets, turnips, and radishes) is only a couple of weeks away.
What does it really mean when we think, when we say that we have power?
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Today’s walkabout circumnavigated the Capitol, went down to the baseball stadium and then along the Anacostia River Walk past the Navy Yard, and then angled back to the Yes Organic Market for a few things.
Last night when I arrived to teach, I found that the room where I teach had been booked with something else (mistakes happen) and the alternative offered by the space just was not viable. I was peeved, but just canceling class did not feel right for the space (which has treated me well), my students, or myself.
Instead, I waited until class time, gathering the students together and giving the options. Fortunately, class was small because it is summer. Two students agreed to drive us to my house, which is usually a walk, but one already had her car with her on her way home from work; and the other had hers just a couple of blocks away at her house. All the students, including two brand new students who came along for the adventure, arrived at my house less than 10 minutes after the usual class start time. To honor everyone for being so flexible, I turned the class into a donation class, with the proceeds going towards July’s cause: the ACLU.
This turn of events seemed to me to fit well with the message of the Shiva archetype Nilakantha, which just happened to be the name of Shiva that I have been contemplating this week as I have been preparing my classes.
Shiva drank the poison that was stirred up when others were searching for the nectar of immortality. In the quest for the unrealistic, these beings brought to the surface a poison that would have killed all humans. Shiva drank this poison and trapped it in his throat, which turned it blue. This gave him the name blue-throated, or nila-kantha.
The challenge I encountered yesterday was certainly one of the well-off middle class. If it were not for our lifestyle, the abrupt change of plans and disruption could not have even felt poisonous, but we are creatures of our place and time. We took the potential chaos from having been stirred up and instead of letting it ruin our evening, we made it into a celebration and an offering.
And I am working with the space not to have it happen again. Many thanks to the students who came and were so gracious.