I have to admit this is the first year where the cold weather is a serious deterrent to my outside activity. I still haven’t pulled my dead tomato plants out. In fact, my planting beds are a jumbled mess right now.

January is the last month I can leave anything sitting. February is soon enough to start onions, garlic, potatoes. Though I do wonder what is to come weather wise as December and January have been so dry. I suspect February and March will be a deluge of all the pent up rain.  So may not be the best time to plant roots. I did notice my raspberries are enjoying a spurt of growth. Unbelievable to me still that I have raspberries growing at my house. They seem to exotic to me.

Though I have been indoors staying warm more, I have been busy there. Some home restoration projects and I finally got around to making candles with the wax I have been saving. It was insanely easy and only mildly messy. I looking to these gorgeous and delightful smelling candles as inspiration to kindle the fire I need to tackle my overgrown beds. That and I recently listened to a story on The Moth (my all time favorite podcast) told by Aimee Mullins (view/listen here) which led me to this TED Talk by her. A definite watch if you are seeking inspiration:

“I’ll begin to sing of what keeps the wheat fields happy ….” Excellent post on the East Bay Urban Agriculture Alliance site, check it out (clickety click)!

Wow. I stepped away for the briefest few days and the plants saw an opportunity for a take over. The above image is of a Morning Glory winding around a chime hanging in my kitchen.

The above image is an orchid that some nongardening ladies chopped to pieces. When I wanted to keep the remaining roots, they said “Sorry to say, Esperanza but that’s a gonner.” Well ladies, get to know your plants. Plants can teach you about survival,

patience

healing

nourishment

and beauty.

Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese word best translated as “a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.”

During a lovely conversation with a fellow gardener, urban agriculturalist, philosopher and general all around amazing person, we touched upon soil and ecology- about how soil, the foundation for life, is made of decomposed things. Imagine that- to accept and celebrate life is to embrace the cycle that includes death.

I am pleased to be a part of an article that celebrates growing and raising your own food! What I appreciate the most about the article is that its focus is not on urban farming as quirky but rather on why so many people have chosen this lifestyle. Its hard to be trendy with growing and raising your food because it  requires so much labor to keep it going. The choice to do it is sincere.

I also think its hilarious that so many folks reacted to this article calling it a “hippy notion.” That’s plain crazy talk. Non-hippy ethnic communities have been growing and raising their own food for generations in the U.S. (see the book The Earth Knows My Name). We do it because it is a sacred act that retains our culture and brings us closer to our source of life.

The Perennial Plate Episode 57: Lord, Lord, Lord from Daniel Klein on Vimeo.

An attempt to save a separated buttercream frosting resulted in decorative trimming that looks dead on like bird poop. However the droppings were packed with espresso flavor so they got incorporated into the top. The resulting cake was a chocolate cake with salted cajeta frosting, topped with a thin layer of espresso glaze. It was delicious.

Another cake fail features a meringue frosting that did not set properly. For the record, I did not make this cake. It was in fact made by a child. Which at least is a better excuse than my bird poo cake.

The days have been a blur and somehow my Mother’s Day post is behind schedule. So, here it is…a few days late.

I think most of us can agree that mothers represent a vital life force. They bring us into the world, they nurture us from their own bodies, they often push themselves to their limit to meet our needs. Moms. Really, few others will ever go the length a mother goes.

When I think of motherhood, I think in terms of natural metaphors (and I know not all females are naturally mother’s…look at Anabelle- who by the way is doing fabulous and even lets me pet her now). I think of alert senses, hunting, nurturing, creating, and protecting. And while in reality- moms are people with their own faults and limitations, most still try their darndest.

My own mother has always excelled, and I mean excelled, in the realm of creativity. The woman can build a civilization with a stick of gum and a paper clip. I distinctly recall a day with her when I must have been four years old. She was showing me how to craft something and my hands were too clumsy. I got upset and said I’d never do it as well as she could. She said its because she is an adult and has been doing it for longer. That I just have to practice. I’m in my thirties now and I can tell you, I still can’t make things as well as she can.

That said, the lesson of re-purposing came at an early age for me. Whether its reusing items to make a craft cottage style garden, or finding another use for plastic shopping bags,

Mama’s got the touch. Its hard to introduce her to something she has not done before. However, for Mother’s day this year, we made some goat mozzarella using the generous kit the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company sent as a thank you for being in their newsletter.

That all said, I leave off with Ani DiFranco lyrics that always remind me of my ma, and my gramps.

i do it for the joy it brings
because i’m a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it’s the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
i do it just because i want to

In preparation of a Mother’s Day storytelling event where people are invited to tell stories about Mother Earth and mom’s in general, I have been thinking about the metaphor of earth as our mother. As a person that grows food, I have been thinking specifically about the soil. Since the soil represents a raw creative element, it is feminine to me. If I were to personify her, I might start with she is dirty, she is rich and she is full of life. Already I like this woman.

Hmm, it’ll be interesting to see what I come up with to share at the event. Come on out if you’re in the area:

Don’t forget to submit your stories!