As first harvest is upon us, and the lazy days of summer crank in to full, long days of preparation for the coming chill, I find myself stretched thin. Work that was scarce mid-summer has returned with full gusto.. I find my days and to do lists chock full of stuff, and try my darnedest to navigate harvest, cool weather prep, back to school and 3 or 4 part time jobs depending on the week. It’s zero to 90 in just a few days notice once more, but I knew it was coming.
When I made this transition of lifestyle, I fully embraced living intentionally with the flow of the seasons. This pattern was foreign to me the first year, but has become familiar and welcome now. We work like mad in the spring, to refill coffers, refresh, and sow promises and crops for the coming seasons- days run long and hectic.. As summer rolls around and Mother Nature turns up the thermostat, things pull up to a sudden coast and go on autopilot. It’s a welcome respite that lasts about 6 to 8 blissful weeks before we kick back in to high gear.. This is precisely where I am and will be for the next 10 weeks or so, before the calm and cold decendends. Then we will draw into our nest to enjoy the spoils of our frenzied preparation, tackle indoor projects, relax, and bake!
I’ve come to love the ebb and flow of the seasons and the corresponding work and pace that comes with each. I greet every transition with a longing for the change of pace be it a trot or gallop- excited to launch into the new tasks at hand, invigorated by the change of scenery, and then greeting the impermanence of the work as it edges the range of tedium.
As intentional as I’ve come to be in my journey for right livelihood – I often hover between the rhelm of “be here now” and “this too shall pass”! It’s a work in progress, but I love the wisdom that each passing season imprints on me.
I wish you a happy harvest time- and I hope that time will grace me with a few moments each week during this franetic season to share my journey (and a deal or two) on the blog before passing out face first on my mattress! Until then- blessed be.
behind as i start
in pennsylvania this year, spring was slow to level out, as temps swung wildly from 70 to 30 degree weather for most of march and april. couple that with my current status of working 3 part time jobs to replenish my winter nest egg (drained to a sad 2 digits after the long winter) and i have been behind all spring on getting my plot prepped and plants going! I started tomatoes in my kitchen this march, so they aren’t nearly as far along as I’d like- they will be going out this weekend as tiny 3 leaf seedlings.. it makes me nervous, but the only chance I really have to catch up is by getting them out in the warm, humid air! note to self- start tomatoes by valentine’s day next year.. get domes for 10x20s, folding table and light rig for basement to double production!
i’m also anxiously awaiting my new smart pots (i use them for 90% of what i grow) so that I can direct sow greens and carrots, transplant cucumbers, and get the rest if my herbs established. in addition to more 5 gallon pots, i bought 5- 65 gallon smartpots after pricing out galvanized troughs and gagging at the prices! i can’t wait to get my hands on them!
spring is truly my favorite and most busy time of the year, and am always up for the long hours outside. after a long winter- the dirt under my nails, return to physical work, and comfort of being out with nature is always renewing. it’s been a crazy one this year, and i feel like the greenhouse i’m working for this year is getting the best of those hours! it should be an interesting game of catch up the next few weeks- but that’s all I can do! once these smartpots arrive, i’ll start trying to figure out how to fit them with hoops so that next year i’ll be better equipt for whatever temps nature throws our way! another lesson learned.. be equipt so you can counterbalance whatever the weather throws at you!
a home in the city
i bought my home nearly 4 years ago, and as much as i like to think that i have improved it- i now realize that the real change is what this place has done to me. i needed to escape my trendy and oppressively expensive loft apartment downtown- complete with 14 ft ceilings, industrial ductwork, and exposed brick charm. seeking a lower payment and some additional room for my growing children.. it was time to leave the refuge of my pretty bachelorette pad. there was an insatiable urge to put my own stake in the ground after 3 years of licking the wounds inflicted by a financially and emotionally draining divorce.. the apartment was a facade, being the first place i had ever truly been alone for even one night.. reflecting back i can so clearly see now that the life that i was living while there was some sort of social camouflage. overcompensation to prove to the world that i was “bouncing back”… i was in debt, subsisted largely on starbucks and cigarettes, and had a series of high paying, high stress managerial jobs that i absolutely loathed. in other words, i was the picture of success to the american general public. i hired a mortgage broker to help me clean up my bombed out credit report, and started looking at listings. my home was the 5th i walked into, and an offer was submitted before the close of the day. love at first site.. silly drunken love.
having never lived anywhere in my adult life for more than 2 years, it was business as usual when we first moved in. the house was where i crashed after working long hours, binge shopping, and shuttling children.. but slowly and unknowingly, my roots unfurled here. i watched seasons come and go- each imparting it’s own different kind of beauty on my little plot. with this constancy, i was able to feel real security for the first time since i left the comfort and ease of my parent’s home. i stopped desiring the climb for success and my urge to go go go was taken over by a palpable need to stay stay stay.. the drive for wealth, success, titles fell away. the sales goals and business objectives were replaced by the beauty of time and a calming sense of enough.. the desire to be here was so strong that my focus shifted to how i could meet my family’s needs within our home’s footprint. i crunched numbers and diverted expendable income to eliminate everything but the basics. expenses were slashed, ingenuity was employed.. days and hours were freed up to dream, observe, and get to work! i shifted to flexible part time work (sometimes stacking several jobs to meet new goals) and have mastered living a full life on very little income. sustainability, good health, and happiness are just a few side effects of this lifestyle- a marked change from being broke, depressed, and having an almost constant stress-induced eye twitch 😉
each year i learn a little more of the lessons that our property has to teach me.. this blog is dedicated to this evolution. i hope to share my triumphs and my failures here to help you on your own journey. i have come to find that knowledge is sometimes the most rewarding harvest in urban gardening.
hortus in urbe 