Butterfly Hill Farm: Planting Garden

Banner Photo

May 20:

The Farm is really greening up. Plants are breaking into buds and flowers, under our ever watchful eye. Buffalo Gal, a rose we brought with us from North Dakota, is covered with buds and today she presented us with her 1st flower.

Irises began blooming yesterday. And we were not surprised that the 1st to flower were Irises from Melanie's 2 Grandmas (Ethel and Dorothy, who have both passed). I noted that the Yellow Columbine is also breaking into flower. And the Bleeding Heart just continues to throw out cascades of flowers.

We got 1 inch of rain last night. We did lose a few limbs, but otherwise, the countryside is in that luscious, after rain, spring-moving-into summer, green.

I do remember that my Dad, when he came to our Farm in 2007 just 2 months before he passed, said: "This is paradise. When I go to Heaven, I want to come here." It surely is beautiful here. The landscapes are radiant.

And the Hummingbirds, with all their energy, have just arrived. They buzz about. I don't know how they have all that energy. They wintered in the Yucatan, crossed the Gulf on those tiny wings, and now are setting up home here. I supposed you could say, they are setting up home just like us.

All this makes a perfect backdrop for wedding preparations and for the wedding itself. Is this for real?

Photos

Except in very specific circumstances, all photos depicted here were taken on our Farm. Those circumstances off the Farm relate to the purposes of this Farm and this writing exploration. Almost all were taken by 1 of the 3 C's. If not, I try to make sure others are credited. I (Glinda) am usually the one carrying the camera, but not always.

I do my best to gain permissions of Folks whose pictures are shown on this Blog. If for any reason, you are pictured and would like your photo removed, just let me know. Thanks.

Glinda

...began her professional career as a Home Economist, later serving as a Home Economics Teacher Educator for 2 decades. In 1995, she moved into analyzing the Human Side of Environmental Issues. She went from studying Humans in their Little Homes to studying Humans in their Big Home, the Earth. Those 2 leggeds were, after all, creating a substantial problem for the Earth, which sustains them. After 30 years in higher education, she became Professor Emerita of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies at the University of North Dakota in 2005.

Glinda has a special interest in analyzing the split Humans have with Nature. Her focus is bringing Humans home to the Earth, opening at long last to the awe, magic, and love of this beautiful Earth whirling in the Great Cosmic Sea. She is a writer, teacher, poet, artist. She is the writer for this Blog, the substance of which will likely become a book she has known she would write.

Recent interview with Fast Recipes: http://www.fastrecipes.com/latest-news/nature%E2%80%99s-recipes:-living-off-the-land-in-missouri-2010061740080/

Richard

...grew up on a 120 acre Farm about 5 miles west of here. Those humble beginnings have had a profound effect on his Life. He was trained as a Wildlife Biologist and later responsible for the Wildlife Management Program at the University of North Dakota for over 3 decades. Retiring in 2007, he is a UND Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biology.

Richard brings to the Farm a lifelong interest in the Natural Sciences (Birds, Wildlife, Prairie Restoration, Ecosystems, Gardening) and the Humanities. As his wife (Glinda) says: "He is one of those few people in our Culture who can still read Nature's story and make it accessible to those around him."

Melanie

...would list a bio a little shorter than her Mom and Dad. That's because she hasn't lived quite so long, which is the normal course of such things. But her bio would be no less interesting and perhaps even more so. She has come to this work and this walk far earlier than her Mom or Dad.

Melanie has an interest in healthy lifestyles. It's not something you read about; it's something you do. She brings her love of life, her travel near and far, her love of people known and unknown, her playful curiosity, and her knowing to Gardening, Raising Chickens, Herbal Healing, and the Culinary Arts. She makes a place for Kids of all Ages on this Little Farm.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Planting Garden

We have been intensively planning, constructing, planting these last few days. We are trying to grow as much of our own food as possible, so this is serious stuff. Yes, it is like the Old Days when People had to do such things, except we have a back-up: the supermarket (which we would rather use to the least extent possible).

We have been ever vigilant. As parts of the Garden have dried out, we have moved forward, ever watchful of expected rains. In the middle of these simple but highly complex acts, one ponders that which Gardeners know:

One must move when the time is right and that is the time that Nature sets.
We are not in control here.
We have to pay attention to the lessons of Nature in every step.
We have to be open to learn.
We have to be open to change, sometimes in midstream and sometimes when we least want to.
The Garden's success is dependent on our knowing.
The Garden's success is dependent on a Force far greater than that we can ever know.
We can plant seeds and follow all the rules; but we cannot make the Garden grow.
Somehow these Gardening acts connect us with all Gardeners before us and after us.
Growing food is about sustaining life.
Nothing tastes better than food you have grown with your own hand and in your own soil.
You can't buy this stuff in the store.
Every year is different.
Nature is bountiful and generous.
Gardening is a deeply spiritual act.
Gratitude and awe are at center of all that we do.

Some little pictures of this stage of the process are tucked into this little post: (Picture 1): Melanie works on configuration of her garden. (Picture 2): Richard plants the heirloom Tomatoes that he grew from seed. (Picture 3): Richard plows a furrow with his Mother's garden plow. He thinks it may well have been an antique for her too. (Picture 4): Rachel Long joins me (I am behind the lens) in planting the trellises Richard built according to my overall design. The stakes are Sunflower stalks from last year. Rachel is carefully tucking in seeds for Gourds and mini-Pumpkins. Play has a place in the Garden too.