Seed Shortage

When i tried to order seeds from my favorite purveyor, the website said that they only take online orders on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. One friend said she couldn't order seeds from her usual two sources because they were only selling to wholesalers. 

It's only February, and there's a seed shortage already.

I looked at my collection of seeds left over from previous years and determined what i needed. I went to the farm & garden store where I was able to buy almost (but not quite) everything on my list. Whew!

In these polarized political times, we might say there's a shortage of kindness. Yet when emergencies strike, neighbors do show kindness to neighbors.

No matter the outer conditions, we want to plant seeds of kindness--even in situations where another person is not kind to us. Striking out to defend ourselves is not good for our tender souls. The best defense is kindness. And yes, sometimes kindness is big and strong.

The Roots of Forcing Hyacinths

It's time to bring hyacinth bulbs up from the basement. By this time, they have a vase full of swirling white roots and an inch or two of green leaves sprouting. On a few, i can even see the buds of the hyacinth itself.

Although i collect forcing vases from thrift store, i really like carafes. They are large enough to show off the roots, which are fascinating all by themselves.

If we could see the roots of our actions, we might think twice before we speak or act. Knowing that we ourselves carry the historical trauma of our ancestors, how can we bear to send any of it downstream to the generations that succeed us?

I say "trauma" with a small "t," though many people have deep Trauma (with a capital T) from this very lifetime. I am talking about the ordinary trauma of daily lives. My mother was a child of the Great Depression and collected stuff in case the Depression returned tomorrow. By osmosis, i have "inherited" her pack rat tendencies.

The best way to clean up our act today is to commit to the 5 Precepts, which guide us to a life of integrity.

Today, i intend to

1. do no harm to anyone,
2. take nothing that is not freely offered,
3. use my sexual/sensual energy wisely,
4. speak truthfully & helpfully, and
5. keep my mind clear.

The hyacinth roots look so white, and clean and pure.

My Vase Collection

I've started forcing hyacinths.

All year, i've been collecting narrow-necked vases at the thrift store and at the swap program at the landfill where everything is free! I love this re-using business. I take my junk to the swap program and walk away with treasures--vases and flowerpots, mostly. I have a large collection of each. I've even posted a sign in my shed, in case i die tomorrow, Take Everything in Here to the Swap Program at the Landfill. The cleaner-uppers might be tempted to throw it all into a dumpster, but i have flower friends who would love to have my collection of forcing vases. Maybe i should post Michelle's name and phone number next to the forcing vases.

Our collections disband. In the case of vases and flowerpots, it's easy to recognize their temporariness. In the case of friends and community, we think they are permanent until we realize that it's just too hard to maintain our home, and it's time to move to a condo or apartment. Good-bye dear neighbors, dear community. It turned out you, too, were a temporary collection of friends.

Decreasing Stuff

The cold has wilted the Swiss chard. The Rainbow Lights mixture that delights me with its beautiful colored leaves is not as hardy as the white-stemmed variety. I wonder if i could remember to plant the white-stemmed Fordhook's Giant next August?

Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard

The cooling of the fires of desire causes us to look twice at the beautiful things we collected in our salad days. Some os us start to thin out our collections, prune back on our belongings.

Right now, i'm ready to part with my great-grandmother's rocking chair and my grandmother's sheets with the crocheted top edges.

Notice how our collections of stuff are constantly changing. This includes the collection that constitutes our body.


My collection of winter veggies from the garden has just decreased by one row of wilted Swiss chard.

Photo from geneticseed.com

Flowerpot Inventory

How many flowerpots do you have? And where do you keep them?

Because i give away hundreds of plants each year, i have an extensive inventory of used pots. I keep the nice-looking ones, the hanging baskets, and the terra-cotta pots in the cellar. The run-of-the-mill plastic pots, i hide behind my compost piles for easy access because my usual routine is

1. pick up a pot
2. plop in a plant
3. fill with compost
4. water

My sweetie has object to my helter-skelter collection of pots because it looks messy. "But," i say, "you and i are the only ones who see them because they're hidden from public view by the compost bins, which are themselves hidden."

Yesterday i stacked the whole mess of pots neatly and stored them in the woodshed. The impetus? A tree leaning at a 60 degree angle next to the compost pile is going to be cut down.

I know my flowerpot collection is valuable only to me. If i died tomorrow they would all be thrown in a dumpster, or better, taken back to the recycling program where i got them in the first place.

All our collections are slated for dispersal--our knick-knacks, our housewares, our furniture. Even our collection of friends shifts and changes slightly from year to year as people move away; or we ourselves move or change jobs.

Everything i cherish will change and vanish. Even my collection of flowerpots.