Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Harvest Report

Looks like our 19 tomato plants will produce as least a dozen tomatoes. Gee, the garden is coming along slowly this year. My planting my seedlings late may be the reason the plants are leafing rather than tomato-ing at this point. The sugar snap peas also seemed to sink more energy into vining than pea-ing this year. They were a sweet luxury while they lasted.

Can't complain about the pumpkins though; the elephant-eared leaves snake across our plot as though chasing a mouse AND hover over smooth green globes, soon to wrinkle into orange ribs. Also can't complain about the abundant garlic harvest. I dug up a dozen or so bulbs yesterday and hung them to dry. They should be ready right about the time I collect basil for pesto. Yum. Our beets are sweet with striped flesh as luscious to roll on the tongue as their name: chioggia.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Postcard

Been thinking about enjoyment lately. Good summer subject, eh? The only thing better than thinking about enjoyment might be lounging on a quiet Lake Michigan beach enjoying enjoyment ~ an engaging novel, minted iced tea, cool waves lapping my toes. Or beurre blanc sauce from my entree at a favorite French restaurant, a lovely Cotes du Rhone, dark chocolate mousse with mango coulis ... mmmm. Or even rounding a bend in the road to happen upon a field of sunflowers stretching to the horizon or hundreds of brown sheep with white heads bleating roadside.

Everyone can list his or her delights. Even people who have forgotten how to enjoy life can strain their brains to find former delights. Although they may wonder if they still enjoy those things, with time, their fun-muscle memory kicks in. I'm convinced of this. I will not rhapsodize here about the importance of pleasure in our lives.

I was ju
st wondering why I don't want to take my watercolor paint stuff off the dining table and stash it back in the basement. It's been four days since my niece Bethany and I watercolored a rose and some lemons at that table. Her rose painting is frame-worthy. My lemons are well, lemons ~ literally and figuratively ~ useful for avoiding future mistakes. But every time I pass the table and see the brushes, palettes, and pale violet droplet stains on our water pots, my heart warms to remember sitting at that table with Bethany, playing and painting, creating something, hoping it would be pretty, seeing new colors emerge from swishing other colors together. It's as though the pile of pots, paints, and paper is a postcard we sent home to remind me of our trip last Thursday to a pleasurable place in time. I'm just not yet ready to put the postcard away.