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Crazy as a Loom

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Digging in the dirt

Henry Ward Beecher once said, “The first hour is the rudder of the day.”


 I like to start mine early.  Alone.  Quiet.  No distractions.  I get my cuppa tea, and start the day on my own terms.
It is good to know what you need.  It is even better to listen to that voice that tells you.



I have loved to roto-till for thirty years.  I have no idea why it makes me so happy.  But it does.
Back in the early 80's, I bought a Troy Bilt 8 HP rototiller.   BIG BOY.   I tilled up an acre or so.  I had 80 tomato plants at one time.  As a matter of fact, when my middle daughter was just a few weeks old, I canned about 100 quarts of tomatoes from that garden.

For 20 years, while I lived in my little house in the country, I rototilled my garden every year.   My garden was so big, that I gave vegetables away at harvest time.
I loved it.  I loved going out there, and tilling up the earth  to prepare it for receiving all my seeds and plants.   It was just heavenly to be out there in the early morning tilling up the weeds between the rows.  It was a meditative experience for me, and a huge part of my life. But when I moved from the country house 9 years ago, I gave up my old tiller, and my garden.

I've missed it terribly.
I tried having a small garden at the studio when I first bought it, but I never had enough time for it, and the woodchucks ate it as fast as I planted it.
This year, after dreaming of a garden all winter while recovering from brain surgery, I decided to go for it.
First off, I called someone to come till the space up.  It wasn't exactly a fulfilling experience.
So then I went to the local Agway, and they had a rototiller I could rent.  But when I called my husband, it wasn't a good day for him.
All my efforts to have a garden this year seemed thwarted.
So I went and bought myself a rototiller.
News bulletin:  You do not have to lose spontaneity as you age.  No, you absolutely do not.  I needed a rototiller.  For my garden.  FOR ME.


I now have a sweet little garden, fenced to protect it from the critters.   I have tilled it up three times so far, and can I just tell you that it is just as joyful today to be out there digging those tines into the rich earth, as it was with my old Troy Bilt all those years ago.

The weaving weekend over, we are back to normal at the studio.
I am working on 50 new rugs for the web site..............
Can I do it???
Sure, but it might take a while.



 It sure will be fun, though.









9 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

go, tiller, go! :)

Denise at Autumn Sky said...

You go, girl! I have 2 tomato plants this year in pots and I am so excited about them! I love growing delicious food. I am also picking our first peaches and wondering how many I can eat in a day before I grow tired of them. They are pretty small, so it might be more than I think.

claudia said...

I just planted three tomato plants, some colorful Swiss Chard, an 8 Ball zucchini, and some pole beans. I got them all free from work, because they may not make it. As soon as I put them in the ground and watered them, they perked right up. They may make it after all.

Anonymous said...

My garden is slowly taking shape. Like you, I move at my own pace also :) Be blessed! m.

Valerie said...

Hi Hilary...
you must do everything on a grand scale!! What's the saying?...Go big or go home?

There is also value to the phrase: Moderation in all things.....

Take care. Be well.

Carol said...

Spontaneity...a woman after my own heart! You want it, you need it, and if you can do it...then absolutely go for it! You are an inspiration! I love this post...it is so you and so up. I will look at my garden a little differently today.

Karen thisoldhouse2.com said...

LOL.. So you've been this ambitious in just about everything you do, huh?.... You Till, Girl.

:-)

messymimi said...

You can weave and grow gardens! Know that i stand in awe of you (the only thing i can grow is crabgrass).

Daryl said...

what a wonderful way to let it all go .. i always enjoyed weeding a friend's rooftop garden - aside from the park, a rooftop gardens as close to nature as this city gal can get ... i love my morning quiet time too .. just me and the cats and a bottle of water (coffee comes later) ... helps ease the stress headaches that wake me almost nightly ...

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