Yesterday was an easy erev for me–no challah, and Avdi had dinner in the slow cooker.  I did bake some Passover “cakes”, or are they?  Mmm, particle board.

I cleaned up, but mostly I immersed myself in all the fascinating plant life coming up in the rain mist preceding the weekend deluge.  I keep finding more ephemerals emerging.  My kind of habitat.  I should have been a salamander.  The neighbor gave me a bundle of strawberry plants, which I immediately added to the “patch”.

Then I got a great idea.  I offered elderberry saplings to anyone in the swap group that wants to come over and dig them after the wet weekend.  I had cut them all down last fall, for Avdi’s sake, but of course they all returned with a vengeance.  This way, others can get the benefit of natives, and I can liberate the space for more veggies!

Now it’s the middle of the night at my apt during a big t-storm, so of course I’m wide awake.  It’s like a lake outside.  The photos are mostly about life in all its varied textures and shades of green and delicate flower drifts.  The last picture represents what’s left of the aquarium (sad story)—or is it charoset (private joke)?

I got so much done the last couple of days that I’ll just list it for my own records:

I met a new friend on the local swap group who gave me common lilac starts she had dug up, enough for planting nine future lilac bushes all over the front yard!

I cleared the other half of the “wetland/woodland” edge and direct-sowed an assortment of natives: pale and purple coneflower, a mix of many milkweeds and other natives, saint john’s wort, and new england asters.

I cleaned up the “new” perennial bed and planted my globe artichoke seedlings.

I added more flowers to Y’s little square and their rock garden.  I added more glads to my newly-purposed raised bed.

I planted more garlic and onion seedlings in their respective places.  Oddly, some mysterious critter (blackbirds?) carefully removed and hid every single tag in the veg rows, just to keep me on my toes.  Who says critters don’t have a sense of humor?

The rest was some usual indoor chores–I’m getting better at leaving the kids’ chores to them–and just soaking up the gorgeousness of early spring, as maple ‘copters spin and cherry blossom petals fly.  Look how tall my last year’s asparagus is getting!  And yes, some invasive non-natives may have snuck in to my photos, but there are bigger battles to fight these days.

Today I found out my cousin in PA,  a little younger than me, is being treated for a cancer that had time to metastasize before it could present symptoms and be diagnosed.  It doesn’t sound good.  So that was some bad news, on top of things in general.  Why is our family so cancerous?!

It took me a while to get myself to Avdi’s; I’ve been feeling more draggy (not the good kind) lately.  But I did manage to get some garden work done.  I was able to dig some bluebell plants for the neighbors, who were out gardening “with” me through the fence.  We talked shop, and they inspired me to try to root some cuttings of native coral honeysuckle for them.  Returning to my propagatrix roots helps.

The newly turned soil in the herb garden is the future home of the basils.

future home of basil

Got lots done yesterday: planted the new horseradish root next to the mature one; prepped the tomato area along the inside of the veg fence; prepped the improved raised square bed (note robin is helping) for probably globe artichokes; improved some hardscape features; brought a few more plants out to harden off; and discovered to my delight some native plants making a comeback, like goldenseal, and established natives doing really well this year, like jacob’s ladder and woodland phlox, and of course the masses of bluebells and violets of different colors taking over.  I like to think I helped liberate some of them through maintenance, but mostly it was due to conducive natural conditions this year.  Every day I discover something new and exciting coming up.

The world continues to be a nightmare.  It will get even worse, until it finally, unfortunately breaks down altogether, with forceful assistance from people who want their democracy back.  This Passover certainly takes on new, historical meaning and relevance, as innocent millions are murdered, devastated, deported, tortured in concentration-like camps, and denied basic human rights and justice.  You can’t deny or ignore what’s happening right in front of you, unless you’re as degenerate as the perps.  Had to get that out.

Our seder was a big, interactive, participatory event, as predicted.  Jess joined us.  Avdi came through with progressive haggaddahs and roles for each participant, which tended to get rowdy and comedically improv at times!  The theme was solidarity with the victims of genocide in Gaza, and other human rights crimes, and the hope for justice and freedom for every marginalized community.  I provided a hearty matzo ball soup, and even better (also slightly unconventional) charoset.  Appropriate inebriation and hilarity were achieved.  All in all, a successful (and educational!) seder.  I slept over, and actually got some sleep.

Yesterday was a gorgeous, warm and windy, quintessential spring day.  Since we weren’t doing a second seder, my culinary role wasn’t required, so I got a lot done in the garden.  I planted the assorted cucumber seedlings and chamomile plants, then brought out some more seedlings to harden off: tomatoes, artichokes, basil, etc.  I prepped the areas surrounding the veg garden, and direct-sowed assorted corn, pole beans, sunflowers, and beneficial companionate annual flowers mixes: nasturtiums, marigolds, zinnias, and calendula.  Also black hollyhocks in front of the tool shed.

Naturally, as a gardener, my original plan and layout revises every five minutes!  Nature is the ultimate supervisor; I just determine where the most logical, viable locations would be, and customize it to the end users.  Then we just sit back and be patient and envision the beautiful results.  The goal is to keep it natural and managed at the same time, then let nature take over.

It’s one of those years when you burn the chametz, prep for erev Shabbat in the limbo period, then turn around and prep for erev Pesach!  It takes ingenuity, but we’ve got that.  Even my charoset is better than, shall we say, ever.

Obviously I’m too busy to write, so here are photos.  Look, a fern pangolin!

The last two days could be described as wild mood swings in weather (as well as other kinds).  One minute it’s warm and sunny, next it’s a manic thunderstorm, then back to a sparkling spring day.  Fortunately the roofers were able to finish without major disruptions.  I’m sure I amused them with my sketchy attempts at Español, since they didn’t speak much English.  Later, K was able to power wash a side of the house from mold green to white.  Lots of productivity, at least on the exterior.

Meanwhile, I’ve been doing pre-Passover cleaning and prepping.  Probably the Raging Sages are rolling in their musty graves over our unconventional version of chametz-purging and observance, but tradition must adjust to reality.  Our priority is to keep to the spirit, not the letter.  These particular kids need to experience that Judaism isn’t only about suffering and misery!  They’re going through enough of their own private turbulence as it is.

You have to be resourceful with preps when everything is so hectic and time-crunched.  Between us, Avdi and I managed to order most of the Pesach supplies and have them delivered.  The one seder will be creative and improvisational as always, having so many unpredictable factors to work around, but it will happen.  If anything, it will be even more relevant during these uncertain times, when large groups of innocent people are being persecuted and deported to essentially concentration camps for no reason.

Check out this hawk I was able to catch in mid-flight right overhead.  Also, one of E’s flower plantings.

I voted on the way to Avdi’s.  The roofers were there, installing new shingles.  I was glad to see they hadn’t been deported!

Today I planted more plants, brought out some more seedlings to harden off, and spaced the ones downstairs.  I helped Avdi with chores, and with dinner, which was Cajun Hoppin’ John over rice.

The main “chore” now is for everyone to finish off chametz before Pesach.

My grandson E must have acquired some green DNA from me, because he’s been out there whenever possible, rain or shine, creating a secret garden of his own.  It’s in the blood–or sap.  This is just the beginning of his “evil plan”–to introduce chickens!

I’m continuing to clear and clean up various beds for their new purposing: perennial veggies and fruits; veg bed annexes; and of course lots and lots of flowers.  Down in the lab, the cukes are taking over, demanding to be liberated!  Last night was hopefully the last freeze; now everyone can start hardening off outside.

The variegated trillium is starting to bloom!  Also comfrey.  Also tulips and iris!  And lots of mystery bulbs coming up.

On the way over today, I’ll vote in our local county election.  Ours is just a minor one, but every election is crucial now.

It’s been raining for days, with the usual backyard flooding.  All told, we got several inches of rain.  The drainage canal became a deep rushing river.  Not a lot could get done outside.  It was cold, but after tonight, I think frost danger will be behind us, and I can bring most of the seedlings out to harden off.

Shabbat happened, as always.  It’s that chametz-consuming time of year, so the menu featured lots of that.

Saturday I spent the night (not sleeping well) as usual, then the next day (yesterday) I helped Avdi with a big project, deep-cleaning and reorganizing the baking supply shelving unit, while he resituated the bulletin board to be more accessible.  E worked on his own garden slash possible chicken area.  I stayed for the family meeting, then had to get home and get some sleep.

So here I am in the middle of the night, not sleeping!  Maybe it’s just the insane state of the country that keeps me up thinking about holocausts, y’know, the usual stuff.