Sprouting

I moved Between Earth and Sky created by Dwight
 from the back yard where
she kept getting knocked over by the rowdy Shasta.
Her arm was broken off . . . again . . . reglued . . . again.
So now she has a safer home in the front yard.

Many, many, many weeks ago I planted fava beans seeds in the four circles where I plant the Three Sisters beans, corn & squash)

and in both raised beds. 

West most raised bed

East most raised bed

Everyday I have been checking . . . nada green sprouts. And then the rain came with 4.0" falling in 24 hours. You can see from the above pictures that there are now sprouts.

I was advised by a friend and now local neighbor as well that fava beans need moisture to germinate. Well, the abundance of rain of late is just what the fava bean seeds needed to poke their little green heads through their casings and soil.

Once the fava beans mature and are picked, the stocks make for the very best additive to the soil for raising deliciously tasting food. As I did at MuRefuge I will top both raised beds with these stocks. It seems that I recall in one growing season the stocks decomposed. I plan to plant tomatoes through the stocks in the West bed as well as lettuce, carrots, peas in the East most bed.

The rain continues to fall. So far this week over 7.1" has collected in the rain gauge positioned near my front walkway. Every morning I go out early to see what the gauge has collected then dump out the rain. All of Northern California is in need of the rain continuing at the present rate through January, February and into March. This entire area is anywhere from 30% to 50% behind in the "normal" rainfall. So, although it makes for messy walking when Shasta and I go out for our morning walk, I tell her "it is worth it" so our garden reaps benefits from the rains.

May your weather wherever you are be not too intolerable . . . or deadly as in some parts of the Eastern United States. And as we are all more house bound may we

Season Greetings

Season Greetings to all of you wondrous BEings who view my posts. I wish the most lovely of lovely Winter Solstice celebration to each and every one of you. For those of you who celebrate Christmas may yours be special as well. 

Pinus monophylla (Pinyon pine)
Please notice the sculpture sitting in
the upper right corner:
that sculpture closes this post.  

The Pinyon pine is my most favorite tree. I have loved them since I first saw them growing in the Mono Lake Basin. Of course, none grow natively in the are where I live now. However, I wanted one to grow at PageRefuge. I found one to purchase that would fit in my budget. The tree is picture above in a clay pot sitting in the front of my house. I water it daily in the Summer and now with the rains coming the small tree is getting plenty of moisture.  

I felt so fortunate that the house we bought in Santa Fe had a full grown one just East of the driveway. Does not the Pinyon pine look gorgeous with the snow?

Since am forgoing "decorating" for the holidays, I am grateful for the mini Pinyon pine in my front yard. Remembering all the past fully decorated trees is heart warming, like the one pictured below sitting on our Santa Fe house's front portal.

Typically these posts end with

However for this one I am choosing to close with one of Dwight's spectacular sculptures he completed while we lived in Santa Fe. The figure is honoring the place from which her ancestors emerged from Mother Earth. For me she depicts such heart felt love and gratitude. 

Glorious

A bit late but the weather person I listen to in the evening assures me that December is when the rainy season begins. So far I have measured 2.3 inches of rain in my rain gauge with this glorious arrival of rain. More rain is predicted today (Sunday December 04, 2022) with more coming throughout the week.

In my opinion right now we cannot get enough rain. The ground beneath the mulch here at PageRefuge is dry, dry, dry. All the plants throughout the property are so looking forward to getting much more rain to help them establish deeper roots. Of course, with deeper roots come a more above the ground vegetation with an abundance of flowers some Spring time and Summer.

Dwight's picture of me walking
towards the entrance of Tower Gallery.
Oh how much fun we had driving
up here frequently.
We took all of our friends who came to visit too.
Some of them even got to meet Roxanne

Roxanne Swentzell Gallery in Santa Fe, NM presents

Big Heads at her Tower Gallery. 

"It is in response to the state of the world 

and its disjointedness. 

All the gapped polarities

between viewpoints have felt like

humanity has lost its ability to 

connect and relate to itself as a whole.

The head, torso and legs have forgotten how to work

together so that the entire body can 

function well.

Big Heads is a result of heads not working 

with the other body parts to get the whole perspective.....,

a fuller perspective, a wiser perspective, 

a more loving perspective." 

The entrance to Tower Gallery

Every single minute, hour, day, month that Dwight is absent in my life, I grieve his loss. I miss him so much. AND I am ever so grateful he is no longer struggling to breathe. He is at peace where ever souls go once they depart their human form.

I must add here that he is no longer here to read my unpublished blog posts and tp critique them as only an English professor can. So whatever errors anyone may find they are of mine.

As we, where ever we are, individually struggle with gaining a whole perspective during this glorious rainy season here in Northern California, may we celebrate with a deep belly