I went out to our garden today to do a bit of weeding... I've gotta say, gardening is just not my thing. Some people have almost a meditative experience working in their gardens, but it just doesn't happen for me. I LOVE enjoying the garden, smelling the flowers, etc. but if I won a million dollars the first thing I'd do would be to hire a gardener. Carm likes growing things much like his father did, but he's not totally committed to it either. It's amazing that our house isn't one of those ones with the grass that grows right up to the foundation with not a flower or shrub in sight!
Carm was busy today opening the pool - it is summer! And the never ending task of cutting the grass. I should really help out with this, but he seems to like doing it. It's a great workout as we only have a gas push mower (not self propelled) and about 4 hours worth of cutting. With all the little hills and trees and other obstacles there are only a few places where he can just do a straight push.
I made another kind of cookie today. They are Peanut Butter, Banana and Oatmeal cookies. Not bad for a cookie with the only sweetener being 2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup! No added fat either. They are simply peanut butter, bananas, maple syrup, vanilla, almond milk, oatmeal and 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour. I'll post the recipe later. They obviously aren't super sweet but I think we'll get used to them. Carm rated them a 4/5. Of course they don't hold a candle to the ones I made last week, but those had 1/2 cup maple syrup, some canola oil, and all whole wheat flour, no rolled oats.
I wrote some of this sitting on the swing, enjoying the late afternoon birdsong. I see robins flitting about, I wonder if they are this year's babies. The grass is no longer vivid green as the seed heads have emerged. Instead there is a slight pinkish tan colour over the fields. They look plush, almost like velour. I love seeing how the Earth's cloak changes as the seasons roll by. I feel lucky to be living here where Nature is so present.
Last night Carm saw a deer just outside our front door! She was standing eating our little elm and then one of the apple trees. From Carm's description she didn't sound very big - I wonder if she was a yearling from last summer. Or a young doe with a fawn hidden somewhere. It is a thrill to see nature so close to us, but I couldn't help but think of the deer ticks which can carry Lyme disease... The dogs have their Advantage tick stuff, but it isn't 100%.
We have one more thing in common. I too dislike gardening! We have pretty much solved that around here, leaving the landscape to nature. Craig cuts the hillside with the weed eater a couple of times in the spring. The rose garden is fenced, mulched and serviced by a drip watering system. I prune and fertilize, but not much more. Around the rest of the yard hardy plants are all that exist. If the deer don't eat it and the gophers don't dig it up, and if it is drought tolerant, well it will grow on its own!
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