Garden – Page 5

A Day Full Of Lessons

Posted on June 5, 2019by sue boardman

I have a confession to make. I never went to Kindergarten! (I’m counting on the likelihood that Columbia Seminary won’t ask for my doctorate back!)

I did go, for a brief period of time in the early ’60’s, to a pre-school program where I remember spending a lot of time sitting on the floor in what seemed like a dark room, singing Puff, the Magic Dragon. And, yes, I still know all the words.

Singing, however, did not turn out to be one of my greater gifts and I went on to learn other things.

Lately, I’ve been learning about thinking about thinking.

Today, I had an unexpected moment to practice. I was sitting at the table by the front window of my studio, waiting for a young paint buddy when some movement caught my attention.

Brief reminder… even with my very cool glasses, I don’t see as well as I used to!

Anyway, after a moment I realized I was face to face with a cute little chipmunk of the usual brown persuasion, sitting up like a begging dog, about halfway across the garden which is covered, between the raised beds, in lots of brown wood chips. And she was looking right at me.

At first I was surprised. Not that chipmunks are unusual. Just that I don’t think I’ve ever noticed one looking at me.

Then I was grateful. Grateful that we have our tiny corner of the universe where there have been no chemicals used for almost 20 years. Grateful that some of our food comes from that garden. And grateful for the birds I began to notice, doing what I sincerely hope is their snacking before it rains routine.

And then I remembered that my farm grandmother, Elsie, used to say that a cardinal was a sign that a loved one who had passed on was thinking of us. And I noticed myself wondering…

And then I wished I could call a new teacher of mine, Robin Wall Kimmerer, who wrote the magnificent quote above (which I discovered just this morning) and thank her for being part of my education.

Just after that, I looked at the clock and hoped my missing paint buddy was okay, swallowed a tiny spark of irritation, and reminded myself that my job is to help him discover his gifts and how to use them for good in the world.

That’s when I remembered that a couple of years ago the amazing author, artist, and teacher known as SARK, told me that I was, before all else, a teacher.

Susan is generally right!

Therefore, my left brain… the side that’s into things like structure and order, suggested, without resorting to the mean voice, that a text to his mom to find him another time was in order.

Though, at that point, there were two cardinals in the garden and I decided to sit and learn just a bit longer. Which, when you think about it, is a pretty good reminder that the young man in question is teaching me, too.

I just wish, for all our sakes, that we could get Dr. Kimmerer named Secretary of Education!

Art Journey Contemplations Garden Grandmothers

It’s Work in Progress Wednesday!

Posted on May 22, 2019by sue boardman

It’s a tradition, in the land of Intentional Creativity, that Wednesdays are Work in Progress (WIP) days. It’s a day for posting pictures of what we of artists are working on, along with reflections and, sometimes, puzzles.

As one of my paint sisters observed, not too long ago, “I am my work in progress”.

Wow, am I feeling that!

It seems to be the season around here for all kinds of puzzles.

How to get back to something resembling “normal” after my fall and Luther’s recovery from surgery.

How to re-claim the self-nurturing and care that kind of fell by the wayside during those weeks.

How to re-claim the strength lost in day after day of being still and trying, at some level of consciousness, to hold the peace. (And the pieces together!) It’s rather like having been sick in bed and discovering that it doesn’t take long to lose strength and energy formerly taken for granted.

How to adapt to the likelihood that “normal” is about to get different, again, and will predictably involve some changes.

That’s where my CODEX painting comes in. Nicknamed Grandmother Moon, she chose for her symbol of consciousness, at the end of Moon 8, the series of golden triangles which seem to be springing from her forehead.

The golden triangles have been showing up since my very first painting. They don’t appear everywhere, though they seem to show up in times of change which makes sense as the Greek letter delta, which is in the form of a triangle, is common in math and science as a symbol for change. Or, in my case, as a willingness to be changed.

Grandmother Moon also insisted on a winged visionary eye stitched with the legendary red thread which people have believed, throughout time, connects us, perhaps with people we were destined to know, rather like the web of life which forms our world.

As for me, I’m tending. The garden this morning. Paint drips a bit later. Me, as often as possible. A combination of intention and attention. Which is, when you think about it, not a bad way to deal with change. (Just in case you might have some, too!)

ps… While I was tending and taking pics in the garden this morning, our new neighbor, the falcon, swooped low and flew right past me. Breathtaking! And the symbolism is a wonder, too. Victory. Success. Rising above challenging structures. Wisdom. Vision. Protection. Must be a friend of Grandmother Moon!!!

Art Journey Contemplations Garden Grandmothers

I am still learning…………..

Posted on May 19, 2019by sue boardman

The 4-footed teachers have been in full form!

Luther, of course, has been the most obvious. Watching him heal, physically, from his eye surgery has been a wonder in itself. I’ve actually been able to watch his energy field come back online after all the anesthesia and the post-op meds. This big guy has been blind for a while but he temporarily lost his navigational radar.

It was all hands on deck to keep him from bumping his face until he was healed enough for the sutures to come out. I spent two weeks with a 140 pound dog literally tied to my arm, to keep him safe.

Today, he can make it out to the yard and back, safely. He’s re-negotiating his paths through the house, learning to feel gently with his nose for doorways and to pay attention to different floor mats to know where he is.

We’ve started some new walking training and directional cues to help and, blessedly, they are.

Sarah and Phoebe, meanwhile, have been in varying stages of regression. Sarah is bossy and needy and in my face, afraid, I suspect, that Luther will get most of the attention forever. She is, in some ways, assisting my inner critic in whispering messages of blame and inadequacy in my ear.

Meanwhile, Phoebe seems to have decided that, since the pattern disintegrated utterly for a few days, she is free to comply with or ignore the suggestions known in dog obedience land as commands, according to her mood.

I get it. Everything I’ve learned about sleeping in the dark with no electronics, eating real food, and believing in my ability to cope has gone astray.

I’m way beyond grateful that my inner Observer is also whispering in my ear.

One of the things that she’s whispering may have come from my old friend, Steve Glenn. Pardon the redundancy if you’ve read this recently, but it’s really helpful and deserves a re-run.

There’s no such thing as failure. Only experience to be learned from.

This, I’ve been reminded, is something we can’t teach our kids unless we, like Luther, learn to use it as a compass with which to navigate our own worlds.

So, the numbing TV, which wasn’t working for any of us and only added to the stress, has been switched out (mainly) for coloring.

The amazing Shiloh Sophia recently posted a documented medical article claiming that 5 minutes of coloring would interrupt the body’s stress response.

I already had the pencils and markers so I stocked up on coloring books. Mainly Mandalas and Shiloh’s divine feminine images. I’ve colored enough to wallpaper a good sized room and it helps. It was an easy something I could change in the midst of a bunch of stuff I couldn’t.

And, I re-examined my food issues.

Once again, Michael Pollan to the rescue.

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

This is a system I can manage. (And remember!) It’s also a system I believe in.

Blessedly, lots of those plants are growing in my garden right now, since leaving home is still a bit complicated.

And tomorrow, I suspect, will bring its own challenges. I trust, though, that my 4-footed teachers and my inner Observer will still be there, shining light on the path.

Art Journey Contemplations Garden

Lunch Menu: Celebration & Comfort!

Posted on May 16, 2019by sue boardman

Yesterday, a dear friend came to remove Luther’s sutures after his eye surgery, and to paint for a bit. (We’re working on our CODEX paintings. Moon 7.)

I fixed lunch. The intention… celebration and comfort for body, mind, and spirit.

The menu tended in the direction of rustic elegance.

First, soup. I began with a quart of homemade broth. In this case, grass-fed, local beef broth, FodMap diet style which means no onions, no garlic, and limits on certain veg.

You can begin with whatever you have and trust, avoiding, I sincerely hope, the stuff in cans. Veg broth, chicken, pork, even seafood broth all work nicely! Or, for super simple, organic freeze dried mushrooms soaked in hot water until the color of strong tea and drained well through cheesecloth or a coffee filter. (Not FodMap.) Use resulting broth then save mushrooms to add to soup.

After thawing the broth overnight in the fridge, I steeped it, partially covered, for a couple of hours, simmering gently, rather like tea, with 4 or 5 organic star anise pods, an organic cinnamon stick, about 1/3 of a warm but not hot dried pepper, 2 fresh bay leaves, and a small bundle of thyme and rosemary from the garden. This left me with a broth tending in the direction of Asian flavors.

About half a shot of cognac would not be amiss during the simmering process.

About an hour before lunch, I finely chopped a small organic fennel bulb and the stems of a bundle of organic Italian (flat leaf) parsley and added them to the steaming broth.

Meanwhile I heated some previously cooked organic brown rice in the oven. Brown rice ramen noodles work well, too, but we were out.

Then, back outside, just before serving, for the first batch of organic arugula from the garden. A quick rinse and a fine chop later, it was time to dish up the soup, after a moment to scoop all the herbs and spices out of the pot.

Brown rice in the bottom of each bowl. Chopped, raw arugula on top of that. Broth, with added fennel and parsley, ladled generously over all.

Season to taste with good natural sea salt, freshly ground mixed pepper corns, and a gentle drizzle of organic garlic olive oil which works even for most FodMap friends.

I served the soup with sides of perfectly ripe organic avocado, topped with a smidge of fruity Italian olive oil, and salt & pepper, along with some organic local sourdough crackers. Nuts would add some extra protein.

You can do the same thing with the ingredients you love, enhanced but not buried by the flavors that work for you and whatever’s great in the garden. Or farmers market.

Yes, it’s easier if you happen to have a freezer full of really good broth. And it took a bit of clock time, but very little effort, to fix. Check locally and online for high quality broth which you can find in shelf stable boxes or, especially in the case of seafood broth, frozen and delivered to your door. Yum!

Or, if you happen to have an InstantPot, learn a super simple broth process soon. You’ll be several steps closer to your version of comfort, healing, celebration… whatever you’re hoping for from lunch.

No dessert needed, especially if you have time to paint!

My wish for you this day is inspiration…

Art Journey Contemplations Garden

Super Powers, Part One

Posted on November 22, 2018by sue boardman

I’ve been thinking a lot about super powers lately. Some of my paint sisters have mentioned them.

I’ve had some pretty odd dreams.

And then, one day, I hatched an Intentional Creativity workshop for our Thanksgiving visit with our kids. I’ve been pretty excited!

A bit of button pushing solved supply problems. All we had to do was stop on the way from the airport to pick up canvases, brushes, and paint.

We began Tuesday evening, around the supper table, with three generations of family, index cards and Sharpie markers.

I wrote each person’s name on a card and then shuffled and passed them around.

On each person’s card, as they went around the table, we wrote a super power we believed that person has. We also wrote a super power we would claim for ourselves.

Then, after supper, time for drop cloths. Lots of them. And paint.

The youngest among us were so eager to get started that I forgot a couple of the desirable under layers.

No matter. We soon overcame our fear with Shiloh’s half circle faces.

Then, some discussion about symbols and ways to represent our super powers.

The results were amazing!

We have more work to do while pies bake tomorrow but, for tonight, here are some comments from the mighty mini women.

About feelings when listing super powers, the consensus was fun and cool, with the addition of we got to pick them for everybody!

There was universal agreement that the Big Scary Glaze step was, in fact, scary, rather like doing a hand stand on a beam from the wee gymnasts.

About the best parts, K. said Seeing how creative others’ painting were, while T. went with working with Grammy.

When I inquired about cool, new learnings, the responses were, You could do Big Scary Glazes! and There’s no going wrong!!!

Tomorrow pie crust and paint.

Thanksgiving blessings from all of us to all of you!

Art Journey Contemplations Garden Grandmothers

House of the Heart

Posted on September 23, 2018by sue boardman

When I was growing up, we moved a lot.

Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, Florida.

All by the time I was almost 11 years old. Often more than one house per state.

I remember getting out of school one day in first grade and walking into a neighbor’s house, thinking I was home.

Then only thing I really believed about home was that it was temporary. I was never sure I fit in.

Oh, that, and the fact that my dad would always plant tomatoes. I’m pretty sure it’s genetic!

Growing tomatoes has been a bit more of a challenge in a 21st Century, Metro Atlanta suburb than I remember it being when I was a kid.

The sun is in my front yard. My back yard is difficult to access for one with my history of knee and back issues.

When I put raised beds out front — also known to some of you as horse troughs with holes drilled in the bottoms — the city administration informed me that I had “un-permitted lawn ornaments.”

We had some accessibility conversations and decided that the world would not come to a screeching halt if I grew veg in the front yard.

I didn’t actually plant tomatoes this year. The little guys in the picture are the last of the volunteers, triumphing in their own tiny way over heat and lack of water, and even over squirrels. They are, somehow, still home.

Thirteen years ago, my dad walked on to the new home where we couldn’t follow. I like to think that, if Heaven is remotely what it’s cracked up to be, there must be Liars’ Poker. And tomato plants.

These are for you, Great Grampie Harry.

I’ll try to plant some for real next year. But first collard greens.

And more Intentional Creativity home-work.

Contemplations Garden Grandmothers

Reflections on a Bit of Heaven

Posted on March 28, 2018by sue boardman

It’s Spring Break, day four at Grammy and Grampy’s house!

Phoebe, the wonder aunt, is doing a great job. I’m pretending I don’t know about the bed thing, which she’s definitely going to have to forget before the rest of the herd gets home.

The girls are making quilts and they’re doing great! They’re making all the design decisions and, with some coaching, learning to do machine piecing, make binding, and iron. Lots of ironing! With a bit of help they’ll each have a finished quilt to take home.

Grammy will probably need a nap!

I think the refrigerator door has been opened more times this week than in all the time we’ve had it! Popular choices include almond butter with raspberry jam, seaweed salad, tuna salad, olives, and a lovely pot of halibut broth with sea bass. The girls helped pick the greens for the soup. (And ate them!)

Crab claws are on the list for Friday, Farmers’ Market willing.

We did leave the dandelions next door as they don’t belong to us and are suspect for Roundup.

In the meantime, my Muse painting is coming along, helped out by moving an easel and some paint to the living room entry way so I can paint while they sleep.

The Aquarium was huge fun! The girls liked everything best. Including the gift shop!

My esteemed garden helper is outside putting down a new layer of wood chips so we can hunt eggs without wallowing in the mud later this week.

It is a miraculous 77 degrees and sunny, with roses blooming and the microgreens taking over their raised beds.

I miss my grandmothers!