Into Nature

Ada and I have been absolutely steeped in nature the past week or so. We first visited my hometown for a few days. You can’t look straight ahead without seeing something beautiful. It gets even better as you head deeper into the woods. So much better, that when I tried texting Stephen a few photos, I realized cell service was dead for miles.

The way life should be:

When I was young, I was completely unfazed by these types of scenes. I sort of figured most everywhere looked like this. Tall trees for hundreds of miles, babbling brooks, dirt roads snaking through the mountains, all of it. Then I lived in Ithaca for college and beyond, and I’m seeing I was just plain spoiled in the first quarter of my life. It makes me cherish moments I get to spend in areas that possess such specialness.

So, I’m trying to find little glimmers of it where we live now. Today we visited a local nature center to check out its free preschool hike around the woods. The center itself had some neat displays and hands-on type stuff around. I definitely want to head back there for a longer visit. We saw all sorts of birds, animals, insects, and plants. Ada’s favorite part was wearing our rain boots so we could take the muddy trail next to the creek that was swollen from last night’s flash flooding.



Sigh . . .



There are so many reasons I love spending time outdoors with Ada. It’s quiet. It’s fleeting (6 months of deep freeze teaches us to seize the day!). We’re usually engaged in some wonderful conversations. Talk that leads to learning for all of us, really. It’s totally free entertainment. Most of all, it’s connecting with our roots.

Whether we’re out deep in the Tioga State Forest or simply lounging in our backyard by the creek, I know this is going to be a good season.

PS: Thanks for all your great ant eradication ideas. I did end up spritzing around a bit of peppermint oil. I then wiped it so mostly the smell is all that’s left (to keep the cats safe).  We’ll see what happens -- at least the house smells nice. So far, there seem to be fewer. Fingers crossed!

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Help Us! How Does Your Garden Grow?

My left hamstring has been incredibly tight since the race, so this weekend will likely not mean a long run for me. So, I'm trying to plan my days accordingly. Trying to fill them to the brim with production and relaxing activities. Tomorrow we're spending an "intimate evening" with Andy Samberg (really, that's what the poster says for the event). And I couldn't be more thrilled. If you've been living under a rock, Andy Samberg is on SNL. He's hilarious. Google him.

Anyway, Saturday's weather is supposed to be especially brilliant (yes, too much of Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution), so we're planning a 20-mile bike trek to a nearby river town. 40 miles in all. That is, if our bikes are in OK condition to make sure a voyage. I'm sure after a quick tune-up, we'll be good to go.


But another item on the agenda is to start planting a garden. We have a (very) small plot (probably 3 feet by 5 feet) in our backyard where we've grown anything from basil to pumpkins to peppers. We even grew that proud pumpkin you see below. But how that happened is an entirely different story. Basically, Stephen is the expert of the two of us in this particular area. I don't have a green thumb. Really, it's more out of choice than lack of talent. I just haven't gotten into the whole growing and gardening thing. But I'd like to try.




As I mentioned in my last Foodie Book Club post -- one of my goals is to make a meal using entirely locally grown ingredients. Of course, it's be cool if those ingredients could not only be grown in my zip code, but also at my own address. What do you think?

Here's the thing. We could totally use your help with this project. We have the time. We have a small budget. We even have some compost we could throw on there (more about that in another post). And we certainly have the desire to grow a little garden.

• But -- most importantly -- what should we grow? (Veggies, herbs, etc.?)
• Should we expand the plot to allow room for variety?
• What plants do well with little maintenance?
• What plants are the most rewarding, even if they're difficult to maintain?
• Should we go with seeds or small plants?
• How should we organize everything?
• How can we keep critters out? (We live in town, but still -- we get animals.)

Yeah. We could Google it. We could read books. We likely will do all those things. But we'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Please, please, please leave us a comment or email us at neverhomemaker@gmail.com.

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