March 17, 2010

The Gardener’s Edition

“He who sows courtesy, reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”

For the last twenty years, I’ve had my nose to the wind searching for the first sniff of Spring, sweet woodruff, and the magical perfume of lily of the valley, which was my Bubbie Lil’s favourite scent.   I started composting long before the city said it had to be done. Coffee grounds, tea bags, corn cobs, lettuce leaves are reincarnated under the roses and resurrected in the rudbeckia. I must say the first time a seed germinates or a bulb pierces the ground, I find my own homespun religion. (With help from Kathy Renwald.)

My two large composters are full with the vegetables, fruits and egg shells of OOTC.

I can’t wait for my hellebores to be in bloom, I have my ammonia and beer ready to kill slugs around my hostas. The first of my seed catalogue orders came yesterday and the geese have been procreating noisily on the pond behind my house. In addition, unfortunately, the furrows between my eyebrows are deep enough to plant potatoes.

In a way, I feel that I have an obligation to protect and enhance nature, living matter, which has been created by G-d. (However, I have broken the Sixth Commandment in the garden way too many times.) More often, I have learned about life and faith.

G-d plans His Creation on so many levels, but He also needs our help.”The Lord G-d took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to till it and tend it.” Genesis 2:15  Although gardening can be exhausting, I never grow tired of it.  The same can be said of OOTC.  Through this long winter, you have all been of intrinsic worth to this OOTC endeavour – planting words of encouragement, faith, sunshine and, let us not forget, feeding beyond Miracle-Gro’s capabilities. (Case in point: dinner last night. Vegetable soup, meatballs and pasta, vegetables and salad and fruit-outstanding for 128 guests and 18 overnight guests.)

We know how to make things grow better now than ever before. No one in the world needs to go hungry. If people starve, it is for political reasons and not because we have not learned how to make more and better food available.  There is such an imbalance, but I believe the Hamilton landscape is changing, pushing out the too-powerful weeds like greed and complacency and ignoring the poor and hungry.

Thanks, one and all, for everything you do!  We are all reaping rewards.

Cindy


Responses:

Cindy you are so inspiring and it is a treat to read your weekly message. Thanks so much for all you do. Have a good week. Jeanette

Thank you very much.  May God richly bless you & keep you. George & Sybil