Shaping up

Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea)
blooming in our backyard. 
I love the stunning flowers
The leaves have a wonderful fragrance
which I love as well.

PageRefuge is shaping up to BE a place of abundance for all creatures that visit, and of course for we two humans who have created such on a very small plot of land. In the midst of honoring our work and enjoying what has been created, I am filled with sorrow witnessing what is unfolding half a world away in Ukraine. Witnessing the suffering and violence is the thrust of Roshi Joan Halifax in her writing. You may read her words by clicking on the Ukraine link above. My question to each and everyone of us is if that democracy can be invaded by the command of the Russian autocrat why not ours here in the United States?

Back to PageRefuge where I would like to highlight Dwight's carpentry:

A mini greenhouse now sits on
the West side of our house.
Here I can start seeds
with a regulated temperature
created by the heat mattress
on the bottom.

Then this past Friday we hired a stellar man who is incredibly strong as well as a hard worker. If anyone is looking for someone to complete a task for them feel free to give me a call and I can give you his name and contact information.

In our backyard where the pear tree and apple tree stood when we purchased PageRefuge now sit two 4 feet by 8 feet raised beds. Initially Dwight was considering building them out of redwood but found the redwood available would not stand up long. Concrete blocks last forever; well maybe not forever but way beyond our life times. Hardware cloth was laid on bare dirt to keep out the gophers. Concrete blocks were positioned on the hardware cloth around the perimeter two deep. Our hard worker took his truck to Grab n Grow and picked up 3 cubic yards of dirt. The organic soil seemed the best kind of "dirt" to fill the raised beds since it will provide fertilizer for 60 days.

Western wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) with flower
transplanted from Auntie T's garden in Point Reyes Station.

At MuRefuge there was not adequate shade thus I have not grown Wild ginger before. I was ecstatic when I noticed the flower in my very first attempt to grow this plant.

“The greatest sorrow of life is witnessing. Experiencing our own sufferings is not as difficult as watching others held in fate’s mighty grip. Bearing our own problems is easier because we are always aware that we can exercise other options - - up to the final one. However, it hurts the most when we can do nothing for others. The greatest sorrow is to see those we love suffer helplessly.“                                                                           DENG MING-DAO

While we witness the atrocities being foisted upon the Ukrainian peoples who are valiantly fighting, to dissipate our greatest sorrow may we