Without much ado, let me just say - 'tis one good tea :o).
I must admit, summer has been so summery this year. Result - I have never been home long enough to ponder and create a blog post. First, it was the last-term-of-school which meant sport days, school plays, assemblies, teacher meets, summer fairs and the volunteering it demanded, gifts to make for teachers ( we seldom buy, and if we do end up doing so, it is always a gift card for a bookstore), cards to make with kids, final parties to attend and the farewells. Everything x 2, as the boys are in different schools.
Any breathers in between always made me run to the park with a sandwich and a book, far from the drudgery of my hamster wheel.
So if I had imagined the summer holidays would be THE welcome break from all of it, well, I had the imagination of a school kid. That silly imagination minus really real reality = complexly complex universe that nobody living has ever fathomed :o( ! At least nobody with two adrenalin-filled time bombs that could go off innumerable times, still retaining the potency and power ( screaming sounds included) afresh for every strike!!!
And this is where the sun has really lighted up my days. Considering it is a stay-cation this year, I owe a lot to Ra / Surya / Helios/ Sol. All I had to do was to grab the picnic blanket and basket and take the boys to the park, bike and scooter and all. Then forget about them until they come back all fizzled out by the end of the day, head back home and before I know it, before they had even managed to ask for online time, they're dreaming away like mad!
Summer has also been a wonderful year for the Hay Day inspired farmers that we have been. What started as a casual strewing of some seeds suddenly became quite a bursting mini kitchen garden.
Tomatoes, chillies, strawberries, courgettes and a very healthy patio tub of fresh herbs, something we never ever imagined could happen from a handful of seeds! Perhaps to the expert gardeners it might sound really stupid, but for us amateurs, this was an eye-opening experience. We realized how much care and attention is needed to keep away those caterpillars that munched away most of our marigold leaves, or the aphid colonies that attacked the roses with vengeance, or all those courgettes that were nibbled off by squirrels even before they had a chance to grow. We realized how tough it is to stick to organic means to do all of this, and yet get a good yield! We also realized how dearly we started loving our plants, like they were our babies :o).
And yes, we also realized that if we are going to grow them freelance and organic and allow the good bugs to deal with the bad ones, we might as well allow the squirrels and caterpillars their little treats. We even tried to shift the caterpillars to the nettle plants, so that the birds stayed away from them! And so, we had to get seeds for birds as well, so that they stayed happy and well fed!
So far, it has been a summer of reflection : on things that matter, things that make you happy, things that are important, things that are simply to be, things that are better left alone, things that can change if the thinking changes and quite simply, things! For once, and am certainly not one to count blog posts more than sunny days spent outdoors, blogging or being online faded away into the background while fresh air and nature kicked in and established camps big time!
And here's a lovely post that reflects just the very mood ( Calvin and Hobbes, those darlings!).
Happy Holidays!!
I must admit, summer has been so summery this year. Result - I have never been home long enough to ponder and create a blog post. First, it was the last-term-of-school which meant sport days, school plays, assemblies, teacher meets, summer fairs and the volunteering it demanded, gifts to make for teachers ( we seldom buy, and if we do end up doing so, it is always a gift card for a bookstore), cards to make with kids, final parties to attend and the farewells. Everything x 2, as the boys are in different schools.
Any breathers in between always made me run to the park with a sandwich and a book, far from the drudgery of my hamster wheel.
So if I had imagined the summer holidays would be THE welcome break from all of it, well, I had the imagination of a school kid. That silly imagination minus really real reality = complexly complex universe that nobody living has ever fathomed :o( ! At least nobody with two adrenalin-filled time bombs that could go off innumerable times, still retaining the potency and power ( screaming sounds included) afresh for every strike!!!
And this is where the sun has really lighted up my days. Considering it is a stay-cation this year, I owe a lot to Ra / Surya / Helios/ Sol. All I had to do was to grab the picnic blanket and basket and take the boys to the park, bike and scooter and all. Then forget about them until they come back all fizzled out by the end of the day, head back home and before I know it, before they had even managed to ask for online time, they're dreaming away like mad!
Summer has also been a wonderful year for the Hay Day inspired farmers that we have been. What started as a casual strewing of some seeds suddenly became quite a bursting mini kitchen garden.
Tomatoes, chillies, strawberries, courgettes and a very healthy patio tub of fresh herbs, something we never ever imagined could happen from a handful of seeds! Perhaps to the expert gardeners it might sound really stupid, but for us amateurs, this was an eye-opening experience. We realized how much care and attention is needed to keep away those caterpillars that munched away most of our marigold leaves, or the aphid colonies that attacked the roses with vengeance, or all those courgettes that were nibbled off by squirrels even before they had a chance to grow. We realized how tough it is to stick to organic means to do all of this, and yet get a good yield! We also realized how dearly we started loving our plants, like they were our babies :o).
And yes, we also realized that if we are going to grow them freelance and organic and allow the good bugs to deal with the bad ones, we might as well allow the squirrels and caterpillars their little treats. We even tried to shift the caterpillars to the nettle plants, so that the birds stayed away from them! And so, we had to get seeds for birds as well, so that they stayed happy and well fed!
So far, it has been a summer of reflection : on things that matter, things that make you happy, things that are important, things that are simply to be, things that are better left alone, things that can change if the thinking changes and quite simply, things! For once, and am certainly not one to count blog posts more than sunny days spent outdoors, blogging or being online faded away into the background while fresh air and nature kicked in and established camps big time!
And here's a lovely post that reflects just the very mood ( Calvin and Hobbes, those darlings!).
Happy Holidays!!
Looks like you guys have had a good harvest. Those strawberries and tomatoes look so healthy and yumm!!
ReplyDeleteAnd most importantly, have fun being connected to nature and your own self (and not to the virtual world)! Happy Holidays!!
Ah, yes... It is a miracle the tomatoes survived while the nearby plants were being raided by aphids... I even tried to mix neem powder in water and spray out on the plants, perhaps that was the reason?!
DeleteAnd yes, it is wonderful to see the kids being more out than in, they are just taht extra bit sensitive to nature and farmers, now that they know how hard it is to save their own tiny plants!