Thursday, May 26, 2011

Creative Pondering

Dear Friends,
Yet again it has been too long since I last wrote to you.  My apologies.  More and more I realize that grad school is a black hole.  There was a couple of months there where I didn't have any contact with the outside world beyond Durham.  At the end of these two months (i.e. finals time) I came out of the computer lab and discovered again the sky.  It is an amazing thing when you reacquaint yourself with the sky after a long absence... like old friends meeting in a coffee shop.  James and I decided to do something fun tonight.  He was going to post these pictures, and challenged me to write a post with them that tied everything together.  So here it goes...
As Memorial Day approaches, so approaches everything that is summer.  And for those of ya'll who live in the Southeast, you know the sweetest times of summer are in the early morning and late afternoon... after the threat of heat stroke and sunburn have passed with the rising and setting of the sun.  James has done an amazing job with the garden on our patio.  I keep telling him he has a "green thumb," although he denies it.  But look at these nastursium and these tomatoes in the brilliant light of a summer sunrise.  See you're convinced now too!  He does have a green thumb!
Nastursium in the Sun
 You know all that stuff I said about rediscovering the sky after months in a black hole... well this is an example of the type of sky views I am rediscovering.

Poplar and Sky
Now this one seems a little bizzare.  If only we could have a bee hive at our apartment, that would be amazing!  And chickens too... that would be fabulous.  But no, these are not our bees, these are the bees that were installed at the Honey Patch Garden that I oversee with my graduate student club, Farmhand.
Bees in Transport

Me and my Dear Sally



Tomatoes at Sunrise
And now for a sadder tale.  Yesterday I departed from my dear Sally.  As many of you know Sally is my car; she has been my independence and freedom on wheels for the past 9 years, and yesterday I had to let her go.  I'm not going to lie, I cried.  I am happy, however, to know she will be with another owner and continue to live out her life on the road.  I sold her for cheap, and I wanted to sell her for so much more.  In the process of selling her, I felt like I wanted to play one of those reels from the Mastercard commercials, and really prove to the sketchy car dealer that she was worth so much more.  Alas, to him she was just a car, but to me she will always be my Sally.

And with that, I think I have told you everything there is to tell with these pictures.  Hopefully, the updates will be more frequent this summer, now that I'm not in my black hole anymore.  I will try my best!

As for now, adieu and good night.  May the morning bring you the fulfillment of life in the simple things like dewdrops on tomato leaves refrecting sunlight at dawn.  And may you have peace and love surround you wherever you go.

-Sarah and James

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Garden Update: Second Edition

The garden is doing pretty well, but the battle against aphids has started. Right now we're using soapy water and working on attracting more ladybugs. But, overall, things are looking good. We've harvested lettuce each of the last three weeks. Hopefully in less than a month we'll have tomatoes, beans and peppers.
Tomatoes


Bush Beans

Lots of stuff here... basil, summer savory, marigolds, nasturtium, and sweet peppers

Sun Gold Tomatoe

Sweet genovese basil

Life After Classes

It feels like Sarah and I have both had more time since she finished classes for the semester. We've walked at Eno more often, went to a Bulls game, started harvesting from the garden, and found a little garden hunter to help with the bugs.
Spring walk at Eno

Durham Bulls game

Can you find the Praying Mantis?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Garden Update

The garden is looking pretty good right now. It's already getting hot and it seems to have been stressful for some of the plants, especially the lettuce. But, overall, things look good. We're most proud of the fact that it's all grown organically!

Mortgage Lifter tomato and Bush Beans in the background
Granny Cantrell tomatoto
Mortgage Lifter and Sun Gold tomatoes
Lettuce
Sweet Genovese Basil