Author: lwcmartin@bellsouth.net

My dog, Sadie, asked if she could write the blog this week. Reluctantly, I handed over my computer.

Nature Based Blog: By Sadie Martin-Burch

I know these are truly magical times. When else do I get 5 or 6 walks a day? When else have my people been around ALL day long? When else have they not left me to go travel to parts unknown (well, they’re unknown to me, I never get to go!).

But even I have faced a few challenges during the past few months. For example, last week my woman-person decided to switch from pruning shrubs to cutting hair. When I saw her exchange the clippers for scissors, I began to get nervous.

She got to my Man-person first and I heard her say, “Relax! I’ve pruned lots of shrubs, I know what I’m doing!” And he JUST SAT there, a towel around his neck, meek as a lamb. I groaned.

She jumped right in and began clipping and pruning. “All you have to do is just cut until you get the shape you want,” she explained to my Man-person. He mumbled something about not being a boxwood but just continued to sit patiently.

I’ll have to admit, it actually didn’t look that bad when she finished, but then, she turned and looked at me and my heart stopped. I started to run but she grabbed me before I could bolt. I’m not really a vain dog but I do have great hair and lots of it. And, frankly, I LIKE my shaggy look, but apparently, SHE does not. Thank goodness she practiced on HIM first.

The first thing she did was to give me a bath. I hate cold water. Then she spent a long time just studying me. When she finally began cutting, she was very slow and very careful, much more so than when she was working on HIM. She clipped and cut and combed with only an occasional “oops.” At this point, I knew my best strategy was to sit as still as possible and hope for the best.

She finally finished. I thought. And it actually looked okay, not like my regular hair – dresser does it, but I know – these are special times and you have to make allowances. But now, sometimes when I’m just minding my own business or even half -dozing, I’ll hear her say, “oops, missed a spot,” and she’ll get the scissors and begin cutting away again.

As I said, I have LOTS of hair and I wonder how long this is going to go on. It all makes me feel kind of sorry for the boxwoods.

Thanks for reading. I hope she’ll let me write again some time. I know A LOT about digging in the garden. Stay safe and keep your tail wagging.

The first time I heard it, way back a lifetime ago in March, I thought “social distancing” was a clever phrase, little did I know that it was going to become a way of life. But all this talk about keeping a healthy and respectful distance from each other has made me look at my garden in a whole new way.

Now when I look at some of my garden beds, I want to shout – spread out! Please, distance yourselves! oh, if they only would do it themselves. But of course the plants are only where I put them and where they could grow from there. The problem is, I have VERY happy plants and this year thanks to luck and the forces of nature, my plants have gone crazy and leapt the bounds of good social distancing.

Even though I know it’s best for all involved, creating distance in the garden is often hard to do. Lenten rose, for example, has multiplied so much that the roots are entwined like knots. To separate them, I’m literally cutting as much as I can and pulling with all my strength (who needs to go to the gym?) So I have dug up, divided, given away, thrown away and finally composted many of my perennials this year, just to provide them with breathing room and space to thrive.

But it’s not just the old, established plants that need space. When you plant things from seed, the instructions are to thin the seedlings (usually) 6 inches apart and I hate doing that! I’m just supposed to pluck out these tiny little beautiful plants that I’ve cared for and nurtured for weeks and put them on the compost pile? Oh, life is so cruel. But I know that if I don’t, none of the plants will have enough space and nutrients to grow into sturdy, happy, productive plants. So, I do. It’s tough love in the garden.

So, I’ve been tough this year and provided lots of space between my plants so that they’ll be happy. But of course, nature abhors a vacuum and gardeners hate it even worse. So now, when I look at all those beautiful, empty spaces in the garden, all I can think about is what I can plant in them to fill them up!

At the beginning of the quarantine, I wanted to do something for my grandchildren Rivers (12) and Ellie (10). We weren’t seeing one another at that point so I decided to bake one of their favorite treats (banana bread muffins) and leave them on their doorstep. As I looked around for something to put them in, I happened to think about “the” basket.

This basket has quite a history. One day years and years ago, I was stuck at home with a cold and my Mama, bless her heart, brought me chicken soup and a small vase of flowers, nestled down into a rather ordinary looking basket. I recovered quickly and a week or so later, I wanted to do something to thank her so I baked a loaf of bread. Looking around for something to put it in, I saw the basket she had used and it seemed about the right size so I put the bread in it and took it to her house. She wasn’t home so I just left it on the doorstep.

A week later I came home one day and on MY doorstep was the basket this time filled with some trinkets that she had painted for me. Well, it became a game, and then a habit and then a cherished tradition. That basket went back and forth between us for almost thirty years, until she died. Sometimes it would be weeks between baskets. Sometimes it would be a matter of days, but it was always a thrill to find the basket and we loved having this special way to send treasures to one another.

So, when I thought of the basket, I dusted it off, put the muffins inside with a note to Rivers and Ellie, explaining the history and the importance of this basket and suggesting that maybe we could renew the tradition. It was only a few hours later that my doorbell rang and on MY doorstep was the basket filled with hand drawn thank you cards from the kids and a bar of my favorite chocolate.

Since then the basket has gone back and forth quite a few times. Occasionally, there are strings attached. One evening I found the basket with a string attached to a full take out meal!

I have to admit to a few tears. It’s so meaningful to me to renew this tradition. Not only is this a special and fun way to interact with my daughter and these grandchildren, it’s also a wonderful way to remember my mother and the love that we shared. I love to think that when Ellie is a mother, she’ll be leaving treasures in “the” basket for her children and telling them about LaLa and how in the middle of the 2020 epidemic, we exchanged this magical basket.

Would this have happened in a “normal” year? I don’t know but I suspect not. Strange times have created new opportunities. And now, sandwiched between memories of my mother and dreams for my grandchildren, I’m taking advantage of the these times to renew a custom that has brought me joy for so much of my life. But that’s what tradition is all about, right? Remembering the past while bringing joy to the present – and thinking about the future! Besides, it’s just fun and who doesn’t love to find a little magic on the doorstep?

When I had a question about vegetable gardening, I knew just who to turn to. My very good friend Bob Hicks is not only the best gardener I know he’s also the oldest. When I called for advice, his lovely wife, Micheline, told me he’d call me back as he got off the tractor, he was currently busy grading the driveway. Did I mention that Bob is a very happy and active 94 years old?

It didn’t take much encouragement to get Bob talking about gardening. When I asked when he had his first garden, he laughed and said that when he was six years old, his mother gave him a small garden plot for his own and he’s been gardening since.

Bob grew up in Dublin, Georgia with his parents and 6 brothers and sisters and lived in this childhood home until he joined the service in 1943. His mother, he says, was a wonderful gardener and grew all kinds of vegetables including butter beans, field peas, green beans, collard greens, okra, onions, sweet potatoes and of course, corn and tomatoes.

“Most of our fertilizer came from chickens. My mother had an ingenious design for a chicken house and yard that actually fenced in two different garden plots. She’d garden one for one year and let the chickens in the other, then switch the next year.” (See Bob’s drawing below.)

When I asked if his mother preserved the garden harvest, Bob’s eyes lit up. “We had a wall about 14 feet long, 9 feet tall and by the end of July it was filled with mason jars that had been canned with everything from tomatoes to okra to butterbeans. It was the prettiest thing you’d ever see.”

Bob’s love of gardening, begun as a six year old, has lasted almost nine decades. And maybe this love of the earth, this life-long habit of finding simple satisfaction in caring and nurturing for something has kept him active, interested and interesting all these years.

In his”real” life, Bob was a successful and very well respected lawyer. In 2009, he won the Georgia Bar Association Tradition of Excellence Award. When Justice George H. Carley introduced him at the award ceremony, he said that Bob was “a lawyer’s lawyer.” Well, I can’t testify to that, but I can tell you that Bob is a “gardener’s gardener,” who successfully blends knowledge, experience and pure joy in growing things. His thumbs are green and he still has garden dirt under his fingernails. May I be so lucky when I’m his age! My I be so lucky to someday BE his age!

Stay safe and sane and keep gardening!

Laura

I have always considered myself a “back yard” kind of gardener. I love the peace and solitude, the hours of alone time that the back yard provides. Which is why, during these unusual days, as soon as my gardening day begins, I run out to the FRONT yard!!

We live in a neighborhood that’s good for walking and during the last few weeks, our street has become like a pedestrian mall. People! I love people! I love just seeing their masked faces, their awkward distance from one another, their dogs peeing on my flowers, it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad to see humanity streaming by in front of my garden.

I wave and chatter, call out to neighbors, compliment people on their babies and their dogs…….all of which is a little out of character but who IS in character these days? In between the chatter, I weed and move things around, spread pine straw, build cages to keep out the squirrels, clip, prune and enjoy the sunshine.

We’ve all had to make adjustments, especially the kids. My granddaughter’s 10th birthday was last week and her mother organized a parade of 13 cars to drive past with music blaring, horns honking, balloons and gifts thrown out the car window. What a fantastic use for my front yard!

Though I still love my cool, shady quiet back yard, I’m grateful for the busy excitement of the front. And who knows….. maybe I’ve just become a front yard kind of woman!

There’s nothing like sunshine after a storm.

We had another big tree go down on the hillside at the lake house during the Easter Sunday storms. A large oak which came up from the roots toppled everything in its path (which fortunately, did NOT include the house), leaving a mass and a mess of smaller trees and shrubs.

Which meant only one thing: time for the chainsaw. I’ll have to confess that using a chainsaw is one of my guilty little pleasures. On the surface a chainsaw is not a likely candidate for my love. It’s loud, it uses fossil fuels, it’s destructive and potentially dangerous. But, oh the power! and the glory! and the speed at which I can cut and trim and begin to organize the chaos.

My chain saw is the smallest one available and I’m sure a real lumber jack would consider it nothing more than a glorified toy. But I can handle it (though I’ve found that two hours is my limit) and am comfortable with it. And, I am extremely careful, not only to prevent injury but also because I’m afraid that even one slight mishap would result in someone (like a well meaning family member) taking it away from me.

I know my limits and only tackle the smaller branches and limbs. Even so, chainsawing takes total concentration. Not only is there danger from the machine itself, there is also always the unknown of how the trees and limbs will react. It’s sort of like a chess game. “If I cut here, it will (probably) fall there” sort of thing.

The hillside has changed and while I grieve what is gone, I am already beginning to plan how to go forward. While I’ll never again enjoy the shade of this mighty oak, I do have the opportunity to make a different kind of garden. There is fertile ground here for making some positive changes.

You know where I’m going with this. What are we going to do when the chainsaws have silenced, after this storm of the virus has passed and when the threat of contagion no longer dictates our lives? Inevitably, things will not be the same. There is fertile ground for change here as well. I hope that the lessons we learn from this global catastrophe include a new and lasting appreciation for one another. I hope that the renewed interest in gardening and cooking and nature remain. I hope that we reprioritize and find that the things that are most important are love, family and a simple joy of being alive.

Stay safe. Keep faith. Remain hopeful.

Laura

My husband, Jack, observed the other day that the Beatles have all the philosophy needed to get us through this current crisis. I think he’s right!

Maybe I’m Amazed at where we are right now. And for all my friends out there, I Want to Hold Your Hand!

But Sgt. Pepper is always shouting Help! or Get Back! Get back to where you once belonged.

Just think how difficult it would be to stay six feet apart if we were all on A Yellow Submarine.

Quarantine has been more difficult for some than others.

Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn’t last

Jack and I talked about where to quarantine. There’s always Abbey Road or Penny Lane or even the Octopus’ Garden. I considered Strawberry Fields but didn’t want to stay there forever. Just as long as I’m not Back in the USSR. I think the best bet is to join Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Jack says if he stays in quarantine much longer, he’s going to feel like Nowhere Man. Every morning I wake up and think Another Day and every week seems as if there are Eight Days a Week.

I miss my friends, including Lovely Rita, Eleanor Rigby, Michelle, Jude, Dear Prudence and even Uncle Albert. But basically, I Feel Fine. I wish I could take the Long and Winding Road – to just about anywhere. But we’re content because every morning, Here Comes the Sun.

Imagine all the people and how happy they are going to be when we can Come Together. But in the meantime, We Can Work It Out. Just Let it Be and remember

All You Need is Love.

Thank you George, Ringo, Paul and John!!!

One of the good things about sheltering at home is that I’m spending almost all day every day outside. I never knew my garden was so versatile, but take a look!

My mother used to say that sunshine was good for whatever ails you. Not only is my shelter my garden but my garden is my shelter as well. Just looking at all the exuberant life in my garden makes me feel better. I hope that all of you are spending time outside, soaking up the sunshine. Mama’s right, It’s good for whatever ails you.

Stay safe. Be healthy.

Laura

I would really like, right now, to invite you all into my garden for afternoon tea. The weather is balmy, it’s too early for peak mosquitoes and the spring flowers in my backyard are in their prime.

But, it seems that today is not the day for a social gathering so instead, I’m taking you on a virtual tour of the garden. Enjoy! And stay healthy.

Laura

In a response that I’ll admit is more instinctive than logical, I planted a “Victory” garden over the weekend. During World War II when food supplies were scarce, everyone was encouraged to plant “Victory” vegetable gardens to help the cause. I don’t really think that food supplies are going to become scarce because of the virus, I really don’t. But, some sort of survival mechanism has kicked in and I find myself being more careful and appreciative of my resources and less prone to waste them. Chief among these is food. Thus the victory garden.

If I am successful with this venture, my “cause” will be defeating the squirrels. If you know me or read my blog, you’ll know that I place squirrels in the same category as cockroaches. Despicable little varmints.

A few years ago I was growing so much kale I couldn’t give it away. Then the squirrels ate them down to a nub. I switched to Swiss chard, which worked for a year until one morning I walked out and they were all gone. Totally. Since then, I’ve been buying my greens at the market, complaining and grouching every time I do, until last time, when I decided that no squirrel was going to best me. And I declared war.

Armed with chicken wire, metal stakes, shovels, and bird netting, I went to work. In the front yard, right in the middle of my beautiful flower garden I dug a trench about 6 x 2 feet. I placed stakes at regular intervals and carefully wrapped the chickenwire around the stakes, securing them with plastic ties and burying the bottom of the wire in the trench. I planted my little greens and closed off the top with bird netting and clothes pins. And sat back to wait. My prayer is that the squirrels will line up outside the cage and look longingly at what’s inside and won’t be able to get to it. Ha! That would make my day. Despicable little varmints.

Now, a few days later, it’s looking good. Kale, collard greens and bright green lettuce all seem to be perfectly happy and untouched by despicable little varmints.

It feels good to have something real to fight these days when so much of our time is taken up by simply waiting and worrying. I would declare my little venture a complete success except, I have yet to see the squirrels lining up at the fence, looking miserable. Sigh. I can only hope. Then I truly would have a victory garden.

I hope that you are all safe and healthy. Do some gardening while you have a bit of time at home. Try building a fence around your plants. If you’re lucky you can make some squirrels absolutely miserable. What a victory!!