I don't know if this will embed. It's "The Garden Song", recorded here in 1988 by Irish folk singers in their final stage appearance. John Denver and Pete Seeger also recorded versions, and it was on the muppets.
I think it's a lovely song and performance. It speaks to my gardening peacefulness. It's too bad our society got into fakeness, unfathomable greed and selfishness over the past decade. Not that it wasn't like that in places and times before, but holy moly, what happened to our souls? By that, I'm not referring to someone's idea of what idea of what idea of their chosen gods and which tribe they supposedly adhere to, supposedly justifies their thoughtless grievances and narcissism, but rather our inner kindness as human beings. How will we find that again as a people, and be inclusive and kind and honest about it to boot?
Anyway there's still that patch of soil out there, a truckload of leaves to spread and the next raised bed to build block by block, inch by inch, row by row. Tomorrow more "rain will come tumblin down" according to the prediction.
I hope this plays. I can't just post the lyrics, which I guess have a copyright, so it's a Youtube embed instead. This is via BBC late late show in Jan, 1988.
Here is David Mallett's version. He wrote the song in 1975.
Nice tune. The performances are reminiscent of the 60's when I first learned to play acoustic guitar, listening to Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez, Woody and Arlo Guthrie, and countless folk music concerts and local artists (like me) whom they inspired. Now it seems music is fast, loud, and lacking in spirit/soul.
ReplyDeleteThe wife and I bought a 2nd house in east central IL to spend more time with family. I'm looking forward to planting okra again as it won't grow for us in Sequim. We've also been thinking about how to get around town as keeping a car there just for shopping seems wasteful. So we've been looking at bicycles and adult tricycles. While looking, I came across a video about bicycling in the Netherlands where that's the main mode of transportation in and around town. The American video maker was shocked no one wore helmets or other protective gear and wondered why it was so different in America. The locals he interviewed noted the slow pace of life, of a culture that practices kindness and courtesy which happily yields to others because they recognize their common vulnerability and fragility. It's a stark contrast to the armored and combative American attitude of "fighting for my rights" and "being first in line", etc.
Gardening embodies that gentle spirit I observed in the Dutch biking video - of going with flow, observing, listening and responding in kind. Gardening is very disconcerting for those who would rather talk than listen, for those who resort to brute force methods, etc. Humbling also to consider that the earth is quite capable of gardening itself - so how do I insert myself into a process that doesn't need me? Of all the lessons to be had from gardening, the one that has taught me most is companion planting of which the "three sisters" method is most inspirational for me. A return to companionship and community would be welcome in this age.
CornDawg, I agree with you about how in a kinder place, people would look out for one another's well being. I don't know what happened. I really don't.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in West Central Illinois, and went to U of I in Urbana, among other places. I hope that rich prairie soil will grow your okra tall and strong and productive.
i just read two books about companion planting - Carrots Love Tomatoes, and Vegetables Love Flowers. Those books remind me that I can do more companion planting than I do. Although I do a lot. In my yard, deer prevent me from growing beans and squashes among the corn, but they are not too far apart. Beans get fully fenced in, and squash get less formidable fencing but still need some. And they sprawl, and I do try to separate varieties for seed saving. For 2022, I'm planning for a lot more annual flowers - marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, and others, and perennials - echinaceas, rudbeckias, four o'clocks and others, as much as space and my declining abilities allow. I will include the dwarf French marigolds in the tomato raised beds, and some onions there too. There's always something 😀.
Good luck with those okra! I have grown them here. It can be done, but the space they take, and effort, and meager production steered me away to more locally appropriate crops.