A Vision

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time." ~ Thomas A. Edison

 

 

 

This week has been a little busy.  I picked up an extra shift at work and altered my schedule around that.  My mother-in-law stayed with my sister-in-law for a week allowing my husband and I a small break from our caregiving roles.  I spent a lot of time regrounding myself with my daily duties and passions.  When I move at a too fast pace some things in my life get pushed to the back burner, such as my poorly neglected plant corner, also known the Jungle.  I watered my plants, and brought each plant out for my mother-in-law's inspection with the Scissors and she is RUTHLESS when it comes to trimming plants.  I have a tremendous ability when applied to help things grow, whether it's plants, animals or people.  My weakness is that sometimes there are some aspects of the living object that need to be adjusted for them to continue their healthy growth, such as plants that need the dead or weakened aspects of the plant removed so that the entire plant can continue to grow.  Enter my mother-in-law, also known as the "little" mother.  That woman is only 5' on a good day, and in her day, as she'll tell you, she was a redhead and was a "little bull headed".  I'm grateful that I'm not a "little bull headed".  As I like to tell my family I balance them out, and then they laugh as I realize that my nose has grown a few inches after that statement and that I might be more stubborn than all of them combined.  I like to say it's misplaced optimism; the hope that never dies.  ;)

    As far as my landscaping goals I've taken a tiny step in that direction.  I set a goal of 1 raised bed by October 1st.  I like the idea of raised beds due to their low maintenance.  At some point over the extensive history of this property, the Garden Spot was used a dumping ground and old pop cans and glass shards were found last year while tilling the ground.   I'll use some wood to outline the raised bed.  I'll use a cardboard kill mulch on the bottom, probably layers of newspapers, followed by straw from cleaning the Chicken Coop out and compost.  This should break down nicely over the Winter Snows and provide weed free, nutrient dense soil.  We also acquired a Pet Rabbit for my daughter and myself.  She's a 1 year old Brown and Black grey lop that we named Thumbelina; yes we read to many Fairy Tales at our house.  Thumbelina's house is a small pen constructed of wire with a house attached for night time and cold weather.  My husband is going to put some old Lawnmower wheels on it and a handle so we can move it to various parts of the lawn as a Rabbit Tractor allowing Thumbelina to fertilize my lawn, fresh grass, and protection, especially from my Chicken Killing Chihuahua Mix Dog..  A win-win situation for all. 

    Last but not least I rediscovered one of my passions.  A vision for where my life is headed.  A combination of gardening, farming, frugality and the simple life, on a small scale.  It was called homesteading, the modern term for it is Urban Farming.  It is simple living:  Choosing things in your life that bring you passion, like gardening, animals, family, cooking on a practical scale that anyone anywhere can accomplish.  For me it is cooking with whole foods, spending time with my family and friends that I love, my animals of course, gardening, reading and writing.  All done cheaply, because I am not made of money, and I don't know anyone personally that is.  I have the wrong connections I think, lol.  



    



An update on the growth of my Moonflowers in all their glory. I'm going to have to find homes for some of them I think.  6 15' tropical vining plants will be a bit much.  Check out their progress.
    As far as my writing I have done some planning on my novel, and have been writing some poetry.  What I LOVE about Poetry is that if it's done correctly, it can describe a situation and evoke certain feelings with only a few words.  The following is a poem that I wrote.  It gives a tiny glimpse into my writing ability.  Until next time, hang in there one and all. 

Forever Yours Yoko

 

The Darkest Night

The night was icy cold, the sky an inky black and all the world was silent, mute except for the frozen breaths she expelled as she sat there, lost deep in thought.  Thoughts of freeing herself from the shackles of the past, longing to embrace the hope for the future, but stuck enmeshed in the quandary of the present.  As she sat there watching the barren landscape, feeling the tomblike atmosphere around her; she saw it.  The sky began to lighten, shimmering a silver in the distance.  Slowly grey tendrils of light crept across the land as the Sun began to rise.  Soon splashes of Crimson Red and Golden Yellow filled the sky brightening the sky to a Turquoise Blue.  A ghost of a smile crossed her face as she realized what she had forgotten.  It was always darkest before the dawn, even the darkest of nights.