Category Archives: Life

It is too early to start mowing

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As I was sitting outside soaking in the magical spring weather, I heard the sound of a lawnmower. The first thing came to my mind was, “Shit, not already!” I surveyed our lawn, already a beautiful lush green, and decided that it wasn’t that high yet. What is wrong with these people! It is the end of April and still cool in the evening. It can wait.

A week later, I heard the lawnmower again. The sound makes me very anxious, because once I start mowing; my life is committed to mowing 3 hours a week, every week until the fall (we have a rather large lawn, unfortunately). That’s a lot of time and fossil fuels (we have too much lawn for a push-reel mower) committed to keeping the lawn shorter than 4 inches tall. So of course, I start thinking of reasons why I should and can put mowing off. The first reason that came to mind seemed very reasonable. Mike did not check out the mower to make sure it is in good working condition. Therefore, it really didn’t make sense for me to start it up, because I couldn’t fix it, if it needed fixing. Heaven forbid if it broke while I was mowing.

A couple of days later, I heard the same lawnmower again. This time I noticed the beautiful buds on the Redbud tree, they were starting to open up. Then I surveyed the lawn for violet ~ there were starting to emerge too. Well, that was a no brainer and my best excuse for not mowing. There is no reason to mow a lawn until after the violets have been harvested from the lawn for at least five or more salads. Sure, I can go into the woods to harvest them, but nothing is better than harvesting flowers and herbs from your lawn. And you cannot harvest flowers and herbs after you have mowed over them, yuck! So folks, I have the best reason (besides using fossil fuels) for not mowing our lawn for a little while longer. I need to harvest my “lawn” first. It’s good to be a forager!

A salad made last spring ~ now that's the perfect reason to not mow the lawn.

My first spring salad of the year ~ now that’s the perfect reason to not mow the lawn.

The songs of the wind

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wind chimesI have a very deep respect and passion for wind and its power. Wind is amazing. It is a powerful invisible force that provides relief on a hot summer’s day, or can simply rip a house to pieces.  The dichotomy of wind is very profound. I can list numerous positive attributes along with its destructive powers. However, today, I am going to focus on it musical qualities.

When I was child, we lived in house surrounded by a forest and babbling brook. There were huge boulders scattered throughout the land. I spent my time lying on the boulders, looking up, watching the trees sway and clouds move, while listening to the wind flow through the leaves and pine trees. The wind created music in the forest. It was so exciting and awesome.

Over time, my fascination with wind has continued. I started buying instruments for this invisible force to play. I am excited by how diverse and beautiful my wind chimes collection has grown over the years. I have scattered wind chimes throughout our land so they serenade us daily. I love the music the wind makes.

I have been fortunate in the past to live near the Woodstock Chimes Warehouse, which has warehouse sales every spring and fall. This has allowed me to indulge in my passion at affordable prices. Woodstock Chimes make beautiful musically tune chimes, gongs, bell instruments. The next sale is May 18, 19, 20 & 21, 2017, 9am – 5pm each day.  If you are in the area, go early, as it can become a mad house.