Vibes 10.30.2023
Current temp: 55° F @ 4:56pm PST | High/Low: 58°/39° – dry, bright, and sunny today
Here’s a quick look at some of the garden projects and seasonal delights I indulged in this past week with my solo and family time. (And now that I’ve written that, and since this is my garden journal, I’m questioning why I’ve called them indulgences vs. legitimate, joyful pursuits. Looks like a script worth rewriting.)
Northern sea oats, peony leaves, hardy hibiscus stems, sedum seedheads (all from the back garden)
Winterizing the back garden a bit and doing anything to put off pushing the mower one last time
The last of the spearmint turned into a simple syrup for hot cocoa and tea treat pick-me-ups
Fiala Farms corn maze play date with Ryan, Sydney, and a friend on Saturday 10.28
…
I neglected a small 2’x3’ corner of my garden this year: I let a REALLY BIG pile of sunflower seed hulls pile up all spring, summer, and fall. I also let a long, shaggy matte of turf grass grow in the space adjacent to it, all out of sight. But, honestly, it never was out of mind. It nagged at me. And I forcibly ignored it. I’m trying to imagine and understand why. The cleanup wouldn’t have been hard or a time suck. But, I resisted. Every day.
Even knowing that the wet, gluttonous pile and matte were living as a mark in the fame and reputation center on the property (and in the garden itself), I let the pile and the matte of grass grow despite it’s diminishing energy.
Did I need rest? Yes.
Did I need to step back from the fire energy of startup life and my rise to meet it and attempt to direct it? Yes.
Did I realize that what I thought I cared about in terms of my professional recognition and reputation had shifted inside me, and I needed to make space outside of me to embody that (reoxygenate)? Yes.
…Huh. Look at that. Maybe that’s the why behind my resistance.
For whatever reason, this Sunday I was ready to shift it out. I put on my boots and gloves, grabbed my favorite shovel and trusty Japanese trug, and went out there to clean it all up and out. And it feels better. I feel better.
I can tell the work was important because I didn’t actually have time to clear out all the grass, and I’m troubled by the unfinished business. The state troubles me significantly more than it did before I’d started. That feeling tells me there’s definitely something there to finish, to completely clear, to remedy, or ready for activation and shift.
I’m compelled to mulch it, too. Put a little formal finish on it. So, I’ll make time for that tomorrow before the rain stirs back into the region.
