February 2

Hanh mitakuyapi / Hello my relatives. 

Depending on whose cultural 'take' you subscribe to, today is either Groundhog Day or Imbolc (Celtic for "in the belly", I've been told).  Either way, it's a day to think about the (rattle my tongue..) coming of Spring & the ending of winter.

I know - in the Traditional Way, I'm supposed to be focussed on all the joys of winter & the need for it according to the concept of 'balance'.  But this grandma has a problem doing that when some part of her body is shivering from a draft she can't find the source of.  (Story of my life.. :)

I prefer to focus along the lines of Imbolc because then it means I get to think about seeds & starting plants.  Which reminds me - if anyone out there wants xs seeds, contact me, please.  I have a bunch of them - cabbages, squashes (wagmu), and a few extra Cherokee Purple tomato, beans..  An SASE will get you enough to plant something worthwhile..

Gardening is a great past-time.  I've been an 'organic' gardener "+" since childhood, largely because my grandmothers taught me that the way we garden is Traditional (what the m.c. calls 'organic') & that it's contradictory to poison our Holy Mother, the Earth, & then ask her to produce good things for us.  Which makes a ton of sense to me. 

I currently garden in buckets & other containers, largely because I'm camping in the middle of a huge recycling/renovation project disguised as a previously-abandoned building.  It's impossible to move the garden, & it seems impossible to put it where it won't be in the way at some time during the growing season, so I went to buckets & other containers for most of my gardening, & so far, that has worked pretty well.  I sometimes need to use a furniture dolly to move the containers, but that's OK..  I still have a garden, & I can still pick fresh something from the buckets & enjoy it, knowing that it's not genetically modified or otherwise tampered with & isn't full of poisons.  And I can move heat-sensitive plantings to shady area & extend their growing season.

Mitakuye oiasin..  All, my relatives.