And don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there riotous.
Rumi
So true! Because of these days of freeze, I gathered the rest of the
tomatoes (can you believe it? fifty or so), basil, and pulled a few beets up for
tonight’s dinner. I'll slow roast the beets with onions and carrots, whole,
drizzled in olive oil and some sea salt. The kale made it fine, as did the
collards, and arugula, but everything else is just a memory. Even the
nasturtiums wilted. It rained last night, so it saved many more plants from that
seasonal fate. The water protects the plants by raising the temperature a bit,
protects the roots, too. How lovely the sight of what’s left! Tomato vines
draped over their metal supports, spent squash plants still attempting to
produce more. Our garden gives and gives. Flowers poke out here and
there...Calendula, and even some Shasta daisies, as if to say "there is still
life here, we're just resting".
Living in California, even here in the San Francisco Bay area, can spoil a person, in terms of weather. We usually get a few short weeks of freezing cold, and/or rain, and that's about it. Friends and family elsewhere are in the thick of it, with snow and wind chill factors, black ice, and power outages because of downed power lines from the weather. It can become about survival, a life or death situation. Having enough, being safe, being comfortable, as nature shows her might.
And while it is freezing here today, and we have a fire going, and fresh chicken soup on the stove (yes, we already ate all those beets), I am in absolute gratitude for having plenty, for being safe, warm, and loved.
I see so many completions, and endings; changes, both big and small, in my evolution, and in those around me.
My changes this year were subtle on the outside, and yet earth shaking on the inside. How about you? As this year ends, what changes have unfolded for you? Did you plan them? Were you surprised? Proud of yourself? Scared and quaking in your boots, resisting every moment? How have you grown, and what lessons did you learn?
You are, and I am, like the garden in winter, still surviving, and thriving, yet resting, and allowing for nature, and changes, to move through us. In less than 2 weeks, it will be the winter solstice, and the light will be reborn once again. Use this moment, and this opportunity, to temper your life, to allow your "roots to be riotous", and your external to slough off a layer or two of what is chaff, ready to be let go of. Make a list of all the things you have let go of these past few months, while your growth has been going on in your core. Letting go, releasing, allowing things to die off, naturally, as you go deep down in your inner core, your inner cave, to rest, and revitalize. You are exactly where you need to be right now, so relax!
The darkest night, the wheel is turning, what will you give to the night?
~ Helena
Rumi
So true! Because of these days of freeze, I gathered the rest of the
tomatoes (can you believe it? fifty or so), basil, and pulled a few beets up for
tonight’s dinner. I'll slow roast the beets with onions and carrots, whole,
drizzled in olive oil and some sea salt. The kale made it fine, as did the
collards, and arugula, but everything else is just a memory. Even the
nasturtiums wilted. It rained last night, so it saved many more plants from that
seasonal fate. The water protects the plants by raising the temperature a bit,
protects the roots, too. How lovely the sight of what’s left! Tomato vines
draped over their metal supports, spent squash plants still attempting to
produce more. Our garden gives and gives. Flowers poke out here and
there...Calendula, and even some Shasta daisies, as if to say "there is still
life here, we're just resting".
Living in California, even here in the San Francisco Bay area, can spoil a person, in terms of weather. We usually get a few short weeks of freezing cold, and/or rain, and that's about it. Friends and family elsewhere are in the thick of it, with snow and wind chill factors, black ice, and power outages because of downed power lines from the weather. It can become about survival, a life or death situation. Having enough, being safe, being comfortable, as nature shows her might.
And while it is freezing here today, and we have a fire going, and fresh chicken soup on the stove (yes, we already ate all those beets), I am in absolute gratitude for having plenty, for being safe, warm, and loved.
I see so many completions, and endings; changes, both big and small, in my evolution, and in those around me.
My changes this year were subtle on the outside, and yet earth shaking on the inside. How about you? As this year ends, what changes have unfolded for you? Did you plan them? Were you surprised? Proud of yourself? Scared and quaking in your boots, resisting every moment? How have you grown, and what lessons did you learn?
You are, and I am, like the garden in winter, still surviving, and thriving, yet resting, and allowing for nature, and changes, to move through us. In less than 2 weeks, it will be the winter solstice, and the light will be reborn once again. Use this moment, and this opportunity, to temper your life, to allow your "roots to be riotous", and your external to slough off a layer or two of what is chaff, ready to be let go of. Make a list of all the things you have let go of these past few months, while your growth has been going on in your core. Letting go, releasing, allowing things to die off, naturally, as you go deep down in your inner core, your inner cave, to rest, and revitalize. You are exactly where you need to be right now, so relax!
The darkest night, the wheel is turning, what will you give to the night?
~ Helena
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