Just back from this year's frosty final farmers market. Johnny Cash and Chris LeDoux, are stacked up on the stereo with Dwight Yoakam twanging as I type. A cool and cloudy day outside. Way too much Halloween candy 'hidden' in the next room. The boys of October will be finishing their seasons with the World Series. The garden will stretch out a bit longer with all thoughts of too hot to work outside banished to the past. Our 1st winter lies ahead. It's October in Oklahoma.
Our haul from the farmers market was an eclectic mix. Way too large a bag of hot peppers from a fellow selling honey. He clearly wanted to get home and gave us the whole lot for 2 bucks. A pretty little bench of local cedar from Curtis who was staying warm in his truck. Curtis is one of those interesting artisans that you see at farmers markets. Some of his pieces are not quite the thing and some well, catch your eye just right. Cooper was thrilled to see we didn't forget him with a knee bone from a local rancher. The rancher and his wife were doing their marketing from camping chairs bundled for the weather. Yeah it's Oklahoma October. My soul was refreshed with the walking around but would have been happier to be one of the vendors packing to go home. A farmers market is like baseball in October. Everyone is finishing up business thinking and hoping for next year. For me a garden full of produce to sell at a market would be a dream - an odd dream for some but it's October so just a dream.
Not all dreams are a goal. Even in Denver my intention was to grow a diverse garden, not a market garden with a 1/4 acre of tomatoes. In a diverse garden you might come close to feeding yourselves with perhaps the odd bits to share with neighbors. It's different for Curtis and most of the vendors in the market. How many tables and benches can you build for your house before you're full. To become a craftsman that's not happening on the first table. So you have to sell - improve, sell - improve. Me I can eat my mistakes! Hard to do with a thousand jars of honey or the cut flowers that weren't popular that year. It's a tough game to play at that level.
I might be playing Little League but my goal is actually progressing. For me it is as satisfying as progress is for any big leaguer. Tiny little steps towards building a garden that inspires and will feed Deb and me. As I look out my office window the mizuna will start being picked this week. I'll certainly be planting the garlic in days. We'll see if the spinach adds to the progress. Plenty of spinach seeds spread but just tiny little plants at this point. Last week was a push to finish the second raised bed and build a separate small stacked stone retaining wall. The retaining wall catches the slope under our maple tree. So I've no clue between shade and roots what if any food might be grown there. Perhaps ferns or some greens and herbs. That will be decided later, the stone was available now. So yeah farmers markets to fill the plate and inspire the work, little plays, small ball - stone by stone.
For me the goal isn't a spot on the map of the future. It's more a head north and explore along the way. Take advantage of opportunities and interesting things as they present themselves and keep heading north. Sometimes it's stone dug by machinery from a trench or rabbit manure to fill raised beds. Sometimes the most interesting exploring is my fellow gardeners. Met a fellow two weeks back while I was looking for stone in an older neighborhood. Big garden and right in the middle a banana tree. OK that'll get you to hit the brakes and knock on the door. Wrong door and nobody home but a return visit got me to the right door and a long talk with Tom.
Tom told me the banana was an experiment. Two years and no bananas yet but not dead either so.... I saw a lot of myself in Tom and around his garden. Bee hives buzzing in the driveway next to a garage filled with stacks of pecan planks. Stacked with no purpose yet known but he'll see... We talked about the drought this spring and how he adapted his garden. How he only grew tomatoes 'cause his wife liked 'em. I left with a handshake an invitation to come back and an arm load of cucumbers.
Johnny Cash is singing Sunday Morning Coming Down. I'll put the laptop down till my Sunday, tomorrow, and pick up with an arm load of politics the world has offered up.
Wellll, it's Monday and Sunday just snuck by. Johnny is still on the stereo tho' so we'll see if the writing gets back in the rhythm. My political blather has to begin with a recognition that in my last blog I missed on my call that Vivek would clear the field at the Republican debate. I was closer in calling that RFK jr would continue his run for President with the monumental task of running as an Independent.
The second Republican debate was simply a yell fest. Perhaps desperate candidates with no traction were, well, desperate. No matter the cause yelling and talking over others has never settled anything, let alone educated or explained a candidate's purpose in pursuing leadership. The kindness, for me, was it reminded me of the near hopelessness of getting a message through in politics. Thich Nhat Hanh in his book PEACE IS EVERY STEP has a chapter Hope as an Obstacle. He offers that "Hope is important, because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear." He goes on to explain "but that hope is not enough.... you will not bring yourself back entirely into the present moment." Which he goes on to explain will keep you from the "joy and peace right in the present moment, inside of yourself and all around you."
Deb and I are incredibly lucky, or in the local vernacular, blessed. I spent this morning's walk with Cooper exploring the neighborhood and waving to every car that went by. Some neighbors I knew, some I don't know yet. Our town is not some heaven on earth but my life is easily in the top 5% of the world for happiness. Maybe I'm just becoming the senile old fellow going Forrest Gump and being too stupid to know you don't wave at all the cars. Gosh I hope so - Hopes nice, I'll wave to her if I see her!
No political discussion this week would be complete without speaking about the least happy neighbors on earth, the Palestinians and the Israelis. There is no way to have a rational discussion about this war. If you begin with a recitation of the horrors Hamas inflicted on innocent Israelis. You won't be half through your words before someone is yelling and talking over you reminding you - BUT!!! Begin with a litany of religious insults, theft, and murders of innocent Palestinians inflicted by Israelis and there will be that yelling and talking over you -BUT!!! The BUTters on both sides seem stuck in the least happy 5% of people on the planet. If they have a hope it is a hope of peace based on the 'other' changing their evil ways. Me I'm going to keep waving at cars, I'll hope my 'leaders' are wise enough to stay the hell out of it. BUT that's just a hope.
Before I go ' have to recommend an old book I'm barely halfway through STEALING FIRE. If you think AI will make mankind redundant this might give you some hope. Hope that perhaps within man there is not only an untapped resource of mental ability but perhaps an ability to raise and touch our finger to the divine (however you define God).
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