I am in full-on ostrich mode.
This week, though I am clear on the other side of the country from Boston and have never been a fan of Texas politics (hey, I’m a California girl!), has been very hard on my spirit – and I would *never* wish such hell as those two places and the people who live there have gone through this week. It’s been hard on the spirit of everyone I know, for that matter. The news (such as it is) has been unrelenting.
So without further ado, let me share what I harvested from my garden yesterday with you.

Artichokes, a small green pepper, strawberries, green onions, and spinach, all fresh from the garden.
This made an excellent salad, and leftover spinach went into my morning green machine drink (which helps keep my spirits up). The onion smelled sharp and the spinach was so thick, deep green, and crisp. Packaged spinach pales in comparison.
This picture leaves out five or six of the new beds that Tom and the boys put in this year, off to the left. Most of those beds have tomatoes and zucchini in them. And the firepit (a repurposed dryer drum) is where we sit and drink wine and Tom plays guitar as the sun sets.
In the garden, there are birds and bugs, bees and butterflies and beauty everywhere I look. It is a place where I can take out frustrations as I weed, where I can sink my hands into soil that we’ve amended with our own mulch pile, where I can feel the sun on my back and the wind in my face. Where I can plant, to add a bit of beauty to the world that seems in desperate need of beauty.
I’m supposed to go to work, I’m supposed to go see a friend in her play tonight, I’m supposed to…so many things. All I want to do is be an ostrich for a day and stay in my garden (with my booted foot and all) and think on simple things. Beautiful things.
Shaun Rosenberg says that watching the news is bad for you, and he’s not the only one. Here’s another post at Disrupting the Rabblement on why watching the news is bad. James DelCamp Junior ALSO has a post on the news = bad. Google it yourself – you won’t run out of sites, trust me. It’s all over the place.
So I shall load  up my car with music, and I shall ignore newsfeeds about the outside world. If I need to get caught up, it won’t take long. In the meantime, my bloodpressure and my anxiety level will go down about a million points or whatever by not focusing on all the bad.
You shall find me, metaphorically at any rate, in my garden, looking at the flowers that wintered over just beautifully.
And if I’m not in my garden, I’m cuddling the biggest cat I’ve ever seen. Zaphod is a polydactyl and he prefers to sleep draped across my chest. If the husband is home, he likes sleeping across Tom’s throat. But he purrs and he licks and he head butts me, and I love him to bits.
Here’s hoping your weekend is better than your week has been; here’s hoping next week will be a better one for our country.
~oOo~
Be good to one another. Spend your love rashly instead of hoarding it, for by spreading it around, more will come back to you. Till the next time, hugs!
I look forward to all your garden postings each year, and this really lifted my spirits today. We’re still having to keep the starters indoor, as we’ve had freezing temps for most of this week–late in the year for us, but it just means I’ll be able to look forward to the garden longer, Right? 🙂
Love your cat, too. He definitely sounds like a keeper!
Joanie
Aw, thanks Joanie! And absolutely, the late frost means you’ll have your glorious garden for longer in the fall. Hugs!
Your garden looks awesome. Add a chicken or a goat and I think you can officially call it a farm. 🙂 I can’t claim a green thumb, but we have an overambitious lemon tree in our yard and it always lifts my spirits to glance outside and see those bright yellow bundes of citrus and sunlight.
LOL Samanthe – I wouldn’t mind chickens. I think. If my yard were bigger. I envy you your lemons – my trees are all still very small. I’ve killed many a lemon tree, sigh…
I envy your produce! Nothing in our garden yet except kale that over-wintered and a lot of tiny seedlings. I planted the first tomatoes today (Oregon Spring, more cold resistant than most), mainly because I had to do something positive. You’re smart to keep away from the news. I told myself I would, but it’s so immediate here that it’s hard not to keep checking in. And of course Jeff, working for the police, can’t escape it. Our force isn’t directly involved, but if you’re in law enforcement in New England this week, you’re involved in the craziness to some extent.
Teresa! Happy birthday, my friend. Hey, can’t hate kale – I planted seed, and I think the birds got it all. Sending you and your hubs hugs…
We’re just turning the ground over here in Jersey to get ready to plant. Hubby does all the big stuff and I handle the herb pots. I can’t wait. We had fresh spinach tonight that I got at the grocery store, nothing like fresh.
I think you need to send Zaphod to my house for a visit. We won’t keep him, I promise. It’s just that our two rescues don’t file and I could really use the help. I’ll even let him sleep on Hubby’s neck, but he might have to fight our Jakette, since that’s her territory. LOL
Pat, sorry. I am far too attached to Zaphod to allow him to roam outside. He’s strictly a my-house cat, I’m afraid. I’m very possessive, you see! Besides, he does a terrible job filing. Keeps putting everything in the “pets” folder, so we have to re-do all that he does. Quite a waste of time…hugs honey!
Wow, you’ve got it going on Christine! What a lovely garden. I love it! Looks like lots of fresh, organic veggies on the Ashworth table this season. I would like to grow our own too. But we’re in a Condo. But…I found these cool above ground containers on wheels that you can move around. They come in two heights. So I may have the opportunity to grow a few veggies and herbs. I’m excited about it really. As you know, I’m a SoCal girl also and want to take advantage of our beautiful weather. Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
Karen, for pots I suggest herbs. They are the best bang for your buck, as herbs are by far the easiest things to grow that are also by far the most expensive thing in the grocery store. But a cherry tomato is also worth it’s weight, too! Get a sturdy, hardy variety. There are some that are called “patio” tomatoes, meaning you can grow them easily in a pot. Have fun!