UNEARTHING

(post, nicole gliddon)

primary-image, l

I have a favorite spot beside the cowskin creek. we discovered it in the autumn, when the trees were going bare and the tall prairie grasses were no longer standing upright, as they do in the summertime. it was then that a faint path leading to the creek showed itself. since we found it, we've taken the narrow route many times to this special place, pushing past low tree branches and taking large steps over arching stems blocking the path. at first, I was afraid that once spring returned and its trail became overrun with a thick layer of prairie grasses and flowers, we'd be unable to find it. I don't really believe that will be the case, though; after many visits, I feel as if I can walk its course in my head. a few weeks ago, we carried a sack lunch, a backpack of watercolors, and our kitty down to this spot. after a grilled swiss cheese sandwich with homegrown sprouts and crushed walnuts, we dug around haphazardly in the sand, easily unearthing shells, petrified wood, coral, and rocks in a variety of size and color. with a sketch pad in each of our laps
and tiny shells resting on our knees, we sat in the soft sand and painted our findings all afternoon.

I have another favorite local getaway, though: our yard. it's begging for a little face-lift right now, but slowly buds are emerging on the trees, bunnies and squirrels are running its length, and birds are collecting expectantly for the fruits of spring. over the weekend we placed our order of seeds for this year's fruit and vegetable patch. there'll be radishes, beets, onions, carrots, squash, beans, melons, berries, lettuces, brussels sprouts, swiss chard, tomatoes, and more. as this nyt's article relayed perfectly, I'm dizzy with the possibilities. I've also begun to ready my peat pots and cut apart the many egg cartons I reserved over the winter for indoor garden starts. though it's still hard to predict whether the weather will be more favorable in the next few weeks, I'm eager to uncover the beds and work
the sleepy soil.

after reading lou seibert pappas' a harvest of pumpkins and squash this weekend, I'm looking forward even more to our patch's autumn fare. her pumpkin-orange waffles with maple syrup butter (or heidi's brown sugar butter; found
in COOK 1.0) sound delicious, as does her sugar pumpkin-white cheddar cheese souffle with garlic sourdough croutons, and even for this vegetarian, her grilled chicken breasts stuffed with zucchini and goat cheese.

I'm going to shut off the computer now and bake a week's worth of granola while listening to the splendid table in mexico. first, though, I want to take a moment to thank you for the thoughtful words you've recently shared with me.
though I often wonder what makes our life interesting enough to read about, I'm happy you're here and that we can
connect.

take good care!

originally uploaded to: http://www.thehabitofbeing.blogspot.com