Saved By A Donut And A Cup Of Apple Cider

 

Nothing ties people together like a love of food, and nothing ties a community together better than opportunities to share that love with each other via local gatherings like festivals and fairs. Our community is no different but this year, sadly, just about every festival and gathering has been cancelled or postponed. So far we've lost the Maple Festival, the Strawberry Festival, July Fest, and even, possibly, the State Fair which is seriously in question. Our biggest event of the year locally, The Spedie Fest and Balloon Rally, is tentatively rescheduled for October and we're all keeping our fingers crossed. So when the brave folks over at the Cider Mill announced that they would be opening August 1st as usual, you can imagine the cheers that went up all over the county and beyond.

I've written about the Cider Mill just about every year that this blog has been active but this year it is bringing a special dose of much-needed joy to all of us. In case you have somehow missed previous postings about it, let me bring you up to speed. The Cider Mill is a local establishment that opens for the season in August of every year. Their specialty is anything and everything made from or with apples: cider, pies, candied apples, apple butter, apple jams and preserves, plus the best donuts you've ever had. As the surrounding farms start to bring in their harvest, the outside bins are filled with every kind of apple imaginable (did I mention that just an hour's drive from here is the home of the much loved Cortland apple?) for eating, cooking, and baking. By September the autumn harvests of pumpkins, gourds, and every kind of squash are added along with other goodies. It is a paradise for those of us who live for fresh, home-grown produce and a nice, cold cup of freshly made cider. It wouldn't be August let alone Autumn without the Cider Mill.

Yes, they are following social guidelines and only letting a few people in at a time. Yes, they have added curb-side (or should I say parking lot side) service. Sadly, the tours to watch them actually make the cider and the donuts are closed for the present, but when we drive by I can see the trucks starting to pull in and the outside bins being set up to bring in the harvest. I can't wait to get down there and get my first glimpse of those lovely red beauties - applesauce, here I come.

These are sad times for everyone but when the community comes together and steps up to the plate, we all benefit. When I took my first bite of one of their donuts (cinnamon), and washed it down with my first swallow of cider, it was like coming home after being away for a long time. Sometimes it's the little things that bring us the moments of happiness that turn into happy memories. My family and I are blessed to live in a community that gifts us with those kinds of moments. Seriously, who can't smile over a donut? 

And so it is. 

When It's Time To Weed And Prune

My, oh my, where has the summer gone? You'd think we'd all been out and about, traveling here and there, when in reality many of us have spent the summer turning our yards and gardens into "staycation" paradises, or as close as we can get to it. For those of us who don't even have a yard but must depend on our tiny container and tabletop gardens, we've been just as busy trying to be ever so creative and to not only think outside the box but create a whole new box to boot. However, no garden, regardless of how big or tiny, can get away without a whole lot of love, attention and, when needed, some serious, sometimes ruthless, weeding, dead-heading, and pruning. A tiny tabletop garden is no exception.

Over the last two weeks I've had to seriously prune back my herbs, saving some to dry and use in cooking, and taking some cuttings to start new plants. I've had to dead-head my begonias and impatiens, and, believe it or not, actually weed my pots. I use an organic potting mix that has compost in it and it is not unusual for me to be pulling clover out from around the bottom of my rosemary and spearmint. Just like any other garden, if you don't pull them out when they first show themselves, they will take over your garden as well as your pot. Sometimes I think people who don't garden don't understand the time and attention it takes to grow something not only beautiful but healthy as well.

Our gardens of life require just as much time and attention to weeding, dead-heading and pruning as our nature gardens do. We all have some nasty weeds - old habits and past beliefs that we thought we'd weeded out but that keep coming back - that need to be pulled out as soon as they pop up again. When we feel days just going on and on, one after the other but with no sense of growth, that's the time to prune from the top, pinching off the topmost growth to encourage side shoots to spread out and send their energy into growing more fruit or flowers - the rewards of living a life with passion and purpose. And, of course, when something that worked before is no longer working and, in a sense, is dead to us, that's the time to dead-head with great abandon and send our energy into new growth and new opportunities to thrive.

I've always been a fan of finding connections between the natural world and our own lives (hence the purpose of this blog), but if there is one lesson I've learned from old Mother Nature, it's this: the work you put in now will reap great rewards in the future. All that back-breaking work will be worth it when you sink your teeth into that first, juicy tomato, or cut that first beautiful rose to take indoors and enjoy. So, too, will all that work you put into tending your garden of life be worth it when you wake up one day and realize: What a glorious day to be alive!

And so it is. 

After The Storm

"The earth laughs in flowers."

Ralph Waldo Emerson''

We had quite the rain storm blow through here last night after a day that was the hottest of the summer so far. The temperatures were in the low 90's while the heat indexes were right up there as well. This morning the sky is once again blue and the colors of all the flowers and foliage are bright and bold as they sway in the morning breeze. It's as if they are laughing with the joy of a sweet sunny morning after a much needed deep drink overnight. Across the street I see a huge planting of Black-Eyed Susans in a neighbor's front garden with yellow's all bright and beautiful, and hydrangeas lifting their huge, round heads towards the sun to dry them off. All around me the grass is greener, the trees seem happier, and, as Emerson says, the earth laughs.

That is one of the things I think I love most about Mother Nature. No matter how dark and stormy  the world gets, nature goes on and can still find ways to make us smile. Even after the long, dark days of winter, sooner or later, we see tiny green shoots poking up out of the ground and the first green buds begin to sprout on the branches of trees and shrubs. After the storm comes the sun, always. An old Native American saying that Wayne Dyer loved to quote was this one: "Even in nature, no storm lasts forever." The storms that are pummeling the world we knew right now seem like they are going to last forever and there are some days when it really feels as if the storm is getting worse. Yet even in the face of all of it, no storm lasts forever. If we do a good job of preparing the soil and planting the seeds now, they will grow strong, healthy roots that will one day produce healthy, happy plants that will nourish our bodies and our souls. That works for people as well as it works for nature. It's what we do now that will determine what will grow later. I don't know about you, but I want to plant things that will not only make me smile, but will make me laugh out loud in joy. So what are you willing to plant?

And so it is. 

Hand to Hand, Heart to Heart

"Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the Universe." 

Thomas Berry

My favorite poem of all time is "Renascence" by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It was written when she was just a teenager and yet its epic journey takes us from life, to death, and back to life again. The line that touched me the most comes at the end when she speaks of what she has learned:

"I know the path that tells Thy way

Through the cool eve of every day;

God, I can push the grass apart

and lay my fingers on They heart.!"

That line often came back to me in the days when I would be on my knees in my garden, digging a hole and putting a new plant in. Letting the dirt sift through my hands was like feeling Mother Nature's very energy feeding my soul. When I back-filled the hole and patted the plant down to help it establish well, I could feel exactly what the poet meant ... I could feel God's heartbeat in the earth. Sitting back on my heels and looking around me at the trees, the grass, the plants, and the sky, while birds sang to one another and squirrels scampered up and down branches, I knew I was in touch with the powers that be, with Mother Nature, God, The Universe, and all life, hand to hand and heart to heart.

So many years have passed since those days and I am just now finding my way back to that touch, that feeling. Even though my garden in inside rather than out, tiny rather than yard-size, and the dirt comes out of a bag rather than from the earth itself, when I let it run through my fingers I can once again feel the earth's energy. Bag or not, it started out in the ground feeding itself with the lifeblood of nature. As I place the plant in its new pot and pat it down, touching the stem and the roots connects me once again to the heartbeat of God. You can't feel it through the concrete jungle we call civilization. You can't taste it in the processed foods from the supermarket or hear it through ear buds. You have to go out into nature, part the grass, and feel the heartbeat for yourself. 

And so it is. 

There Is Always The Garden

"When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden."

Minnie Aumonier

I added a bit of color to my tiny garden this week with the purchase of some New Guinea Impatiens. After giving it a day to acclimate itself to its new surroundings, I potted it in my very favorite pot and within a day she gifted me with her first flower. 

Another new addition to the garden - my water feature complete with frog:

Since every garden needs a bit of whimsy, allow me to introduce you to Mrs. Pots-a-lot and Rosealie (pardon the thumb):

Of course, every garden needs insects and wildlife to help it to thrive, so I brought in a bumble bee and a lady bug:

And of course, every garden needs a little zen-like atmosphere, so a Buddha and a bamboo are essential:

I haven't had this much fun making a garden in many years and there is no end in sight as far as I'm concerned. I still have two window sills that are begging for plants now that my sweet cat, Charlotte, who was the climber and jumper, is in kitty heaven, and her sister, Laura, has old legs that don't like to climb that high any more. She prefers spending whatever time she isn't sleeping enjoying videos of aquariums:

So my indoor gardening adventure continues. I'm thinking maybe some begonias, and maybe some petunias, and, and ....

And so it is!

Rain Is A Good Thing

We finally got a good dose of rain this past weekend after over a week of warm, sunny, beautiful weather with just a passing sprinkle in the late afternoons here and there. We certainly needed it, and the crops and gardens in the area really needed it. So after days and days of beautiful weather with only two of rain, why were some people complaining? I know we've all gotten beyond crazy being inside so much and hate to miss an opportunity to be outside, but it's not just about us, it's about "the big picture."

Growing up in the city we looked at rain as just one more thing to stress us out as we ran around like crazed rats in a maze. Since becoming a country girl, I always think of rain as part of Mother Nature's plan to cleanse and nourish the world. Everything gets a good drink, the dirt and dust get washed away, and the air after a good rain smells fresh and clean. How good do you feel when you step out of the shower after a work-out or at the tub at the end of a long day? Renewed, refreshed, and healthy, I'd guess. So why not extend that good feeling to the natural world? 

Let's face it - the folks that complained about the rain are the same ones that complain about the snow, the heat, and everything else. However, I'll bet when they sink their teeth into that yummy ear of corn dripping with butter, or bite into a fresh tomato, they won't be thinking that without the rain they complained about, those delights wouldn't be sitting on their plates. Rain is a good thing. Like Luke Bryan says in the song by the same name:

"Start washin' all our worries down the drain,

Rain is a good thing!"

And so it is.

The Most Important Thing

I've added a few decorative touches to my tiny garden. I wouldn't be known as Flower Bear to my friends and fans if I didn't invite my little furry friends into the garden, now would I? And, of course, a garden fairy is mandatory as far as I'm concerned. Still holding out hope for the lavender although I may be ready to accept defeat here and bring in something else. Still, being able to pick my own basil and mint to use this past week made me all kinds of happy. After all, isn't that what it's all about?

Last week as I was watching an episode of Gardener's World with Monty Don on BritBox, I heard him say something that he's said before only this time it really sunk in:

"The most important thing in the garden is the gardener. If your garden makes you happy, then it's exactly how it should be."

In thinking about that for a while I realized that the same would hold true for anything we do in life: if what we do makes us happy, then it's exactly how it should be. If you love to paint, then paint. Don't judge your work by the standards or styles of others. Does it make you happy? Then it's a masterpiece. Love to write? Do you lose track of time when you're writing because you love what you're doing? If it makes you happy, it doesn't have to be a best seller or an award winning piece. The same holds true for the work that you do, the cake that you bake, the fact that you actually sit down and meditate for 10 minutes even though you're not sure you're "doing it right." Are you happy when you do it? Then it - and you - are the most important things in the room. 

I gave up trying to be a House and Garden award winning gardener, or even a trendy small space garden expert. I just water my plants, talk to them, give them some tiny teddy bear friends to watch over them, and pull up a chair in the afternoon with my cup of tea in my hand to bask in the glow and happiness it all brings me. I am surrounded by green (my favorite color), and wonderful smells, and happy sights, and, the gardener in me is, truly happy. And that, my friends, is the way it's supposed to be.

And so it is.