I don’t care what those oil pigs charge us for gasoline (oink, oink) I will not go back to a motorless lawn mower, especially now that I’m forever hooked on my new Lawnboy. Yes, Lawnboy. No, not that kind of lawnboy. My Lawnboy! Here he is, standing in the bright, hot California sunshine:

Here’s how he came to be part of the gardening family. You might recall that Bunny Guiness’s book inspired me. I went into Home Depot knowing I really needed a new lawn mower. Frankly they all look about the same to me. Either you are standing up or sitting down. Fortunately I have a small enough lawn and I wanted a standup version. And I liked the green one, particularly as it was originally quite pricey, but for some reason had been returned, and substantially marked down. It looked fine to me. I took the chance and brought it home. Uh-oh. Not working. Went back and talked to a young man who actually had the following converation with me:

Young man: I’m off this weekend. I could come over to your house and see what’s wrong with it.

Moi: You would do that? That’s awfully nice of you!

Young man, dead serious: Yes, m’am. That’s all right. I like helping the elderly.

(GASP!)

Now I ask you…

Photo of Kathryn taken one week ago at Nickel Creek Nursery

See? What was he thinking? Maybe they all die really young in his family. I don’t know. But anyway, after I gave him a teeny piece of my mind, laughing the whole time, I gave him my address, and God bless his heart, he did show up and he not only fixed the Lawnboy, he noticed I was not given a bag, and ordered the bag for me from the company and it came along by UPS. How’s about that for a deal?

Still one problem. One morning I could once again not get it to start. Took it next door to Dave, my neighbor, whom you might recall, and Dave pulled the cord and pulled up a second handle I had not noticed before. And that’s how Dave and I learned about Self Propelled Lawnmowers! Because at that moment the lawnmower seemed to have a mind of its own and dug up a big line of grass in Dave’s perfect lawn and took off with poor Dave across the lawn, oh, dear. I yelled, “Let go of that handle, Dave!” And he did, thank heavens!

So now I have a self propelled lawnmower and, boy, does that make a difference! I obviously didn’t even know there was such a thing!

What else didn’t I know? I noticed Bunny used a very wide rake, so I bought this big blue one:

That makes a huge difference in impact with a single stroke. What a gift.

Then I ordered a hula hoe, which Dave had introduced me to last year, but I never saw any in any stores, ever. Got it from Seeds of Change. Oh, it makes weeding so much easier, I can barely believe it. That blade is very sharp. The hula hoe will make my gardening much more efficient. Hallelujah!

(I have a Dutch hoe on back order, as Bunny said it was the best.)

Then I got this tree pruner that has its cords inside, so I don’t find it intimidating. I can finally prune the old lilac trees that must be sixty years old, but way too tall to deadhead. Yippee.

And, oh, my goodness! Have you ever seen an edging iron like this? It’s amazing! You press that sharp blade down along the grassy edge, and place your boot on that little ledge and push down. Whack! I can now edge the front lawn so much more effectively. I love it!

And to round things out, Ruby and Conner got a new purple pool today! My lovely garden is totally transformed with new tools and playthings! Ruby, who loves to “swim” ran circles in that pool for a good fifteen minutes she was so delighted! Every photo I took of her was just a doggie blur. Fortunately, good boy Conner just stands in it when he gets hot.

What could be better?

Love and gardening blessings,
Kathryn xox

Posted on June 20th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Work | 24 Comments »

“Follow the compass of joy.”
–Barbara Marx Hubbard

This morning I arose early, as is my custom, and as I made my daily cup of tea and honey I found myself pondering a long list of possible places to visit with my camera. Oh, a long list, my dears. I took utter delight in imagining myself visiting the town just north of the Golden Gate Bridge where Antonia spent her early childhood. I would recreate the walk we took nearly every day along the Bay. I knew exactly where the old nasturtium beds still blossomed, where the purple bougainvillea blooms along the pier. Oh, yes! But no. My body said no. OK, how about the gentle rolling drive out through the redwoods to the coast? Lovely as it is, again a gentle no. Hmm. I know! A trip to Oak Hill Farm! Oh, yes, I can shoot the beautiful tipped redwood tree, roots exposed, at the gate! A wonderful and beloved image. Regardless of the merit of the creative idea, each suggestion fell into a soundless vaccuum with no splash following the luminous pebble tossed. Then what? I nagged. A need to go inside more deeply. To listen more carefully. What? Then what?

Gradually the excitement stirred by my creative imagination settled to the side and what emerged was a simple question: what if you stayed home? Is there not enough in your own backyard to film and write about? And if not, WHY NOT?

Bingo.

I pulled my camera out of its case, looked gratefully skyward at the gentle morning light and ventured out into my Own Back Yard to look for treasures. Within seconds I saw what the Universe was guiding me towards–a whole lot of Somethings not quite in their prime. I was flooded with humility and gratitude and the realization that my first inclination had been to gravitate towards the technicolor splendor of the fully mature. I adjusted my inner lenses and sharpened my vision towards the yet to become, the green, the forming.

An Early Girl, bless its little heart. It is working its way toward nurturing me. And first I must nurture it, which of course I do, faithfully.

It has a brother.

My appreciation heightens as I abandon my busyness and my thirst for flamboyant color. This is about green. Green is its own beauty. What else lives in its lush but elusive palette?

Of course.

The apples.

I grab a red and green apple from the tree. They are the most crisp, the most wonderful apples I have ever tasted. But what are they? I drop it into my bag which I take with me to the Saturday morning farmer’s market. I search out the elder, Jo Gowan, who lives on over 250 acres filled with fruit trees, largely apples. She will know. I see her wizened face among the crowd and move towards her, smiling as I pull the apple from the sachel. “Jo, I knew you would know. What kind of apple is this? Can you tell me?” She responds immediately and practically. “That is a delicious apple. That is a delicious apple before they started messing with it. This is the original apple.” I have an original apple tree in my back yard…I feel so privileged. So lucky.

I stare happily through the lens and capture the small emerging apples in my camera, remembering their promise of the best apples I have ever eaten coming end of summer. Yum. My tummy growls and my gratitude expands.

What else? What else?

The plums, of course, stand next to the delicious apples. They will be offering their store much much sooner. Conner is especially fond of these!

My lovely lovely hydrangeas are just turning from greens to their resplendent pinks and blues and pastel loveliness. I cherish them so.

And the very first of the nasturtium blossoms are peeking out beneath their fully formed leaves. This year I will finally use them in my salads. (Some things take time.)

Not all the greens are in their nascent phase. Here is a favorite I discovered year before last. It is invasive and likes to be very moist, so it’s happy, and I’m happy, that it lives in a container. I’m very fond of it. I was attracted to it for its variegated leaves, tinged with pink. The little white flowers that eventually emerged were an additional surprise.

Of course, dear readers, there is a time to venture out, to explore, to push our boundaries, to learn and grow with new input, new vision, new adventure. But, gosh, I for one am going to be ever more mindful of examining that impulse when it surfaces. It might just be that what I need most–and perhaps where I am most needed– could be right in my own backyard.

Love and gardening blessings,
Kathryn xox

Posted on June 8th, 2008 by Kathryn
Filed under: People at Life | 26 Comments »