Nature Journal: Early Spring Yard Notes

I have moved. I have moved to a rental unit on a sloped lot. A sloped lot with erosion. And a "nature" corner that is really invasive species with trash.

It is spring so, of course, I am outside. I haven't had the grass cut yet and I am enjoying the spring flowers, aka, weeds to my neighbors. Today I found some grass with lovely blue flowers. Grass that I didn't even know flowered because I had always seen it cut. I got my camera.

I found a ladybug. I watched bees visiting the soapwort. This was while I was sitting down after pulling out invasive vines along the fence row. If they would stay on the fence, I'd let them alone. But, they would take over the property if I left them be. My son-in-law dug up a clemantis from his yard and I planted it to grow on the fence. Clemantis is beautiful and will not be a nuisance.

I found one swamp milkweed seed sprouting and several butterfly weed sprouts. I don't know if these plants will bloom this year so I am also sprouting zinnias to plant in front of them for some color in my new butterfly and bee flower bed. Last week I transplanted some goldenrod from the yard to this flower bed. And it is doing well. I am very happy about that because I have read that it is almost impossible to successfully transplant goldenrod.

I added more dirt to an area that I am filling in. Previous renters parked pick-up trucks in the yard making ruts and creating conditions for erosion. I am restoring the area. After laying compostable plant waste, I put down bags of commercial compost and on top of that I am laying commercial topsoil. It is kind of like lasagna gardening. I am edging the area with fallen limbs, mostly from neighborhood oak trees. I have planted sunflowers in the "front" of this lasagna garden and plan on planting okra later when the weather is a little warmer.

I got the idea to use large fallen limbs as edging from hugelkultur. My compostable plant waste also includes twigs. My bee and butterfly garden is also edged with oak limbs.

Everyday Mental Health

I really believe that our culture practically sabotages good mental health. I believe that there really is an epidemic of poor mental health. In this short essay, I touch on two "free" things that people can do to help themselves. There is more, but we are busy people.

Walking

I decided in 1980 that I liked walking to work/school. I still like walking/public transportation.

When I drive to work/school, I usually have the windows up so I'm completely enclosed and separated from nature. And the driving goal is to get to your destination without hitting someone or being hit.

Walking is different. I am bombarded by the weather and I am in close proximity to plants and sometimes even what little dirt that is not covered by concrete. I can smell the city - whatever it smells like that day. I speak to other people going to work, people coming home from work, neighbors walking animals and men leaving the shelter after breakfast. I can hear the ship horns and the noise of diesel trucks making morning deliveries. I smell the fresh baked bread on its way to restaurants. I hope for a whiff of coffee from a coffee packing plant. I hear the church bells at 8:00 a.m. (rather than a car radio.)

Cooking from Scratch

I have recently gone back to doing a lot of my own cooking. I had forgotten the smells of the raw ingredients and the textures and characteristics of raw many foods. So much of our food is processed to the same texture now. But manipulating the raw ingredients you can feel/experience all the differences in smoothness, density, colors, hardness, and toughness. It's a good feeling to really know your food, to experience different the colors and smells before preparation.

So much of of the experience of food is taken away from us because we cook for ourselves less and less. Maybe we overeat to compensate in an attempt to find that joy in food that we need on some level. Maybe we oversugar and oversalt to compensate for the loss of direct experience.

Separateness

In the world we live in we are more than not separated from each other and our environment. We enclose ourselves in vehicles to travel even short distances. We eat processed foods. Many of our furnishings are man-make materials, particularly plastics. There is a dullness, a samness - you can almost feel that something is not quite right.

I wonder if a high percentage of risky behavior could be explained by the "desire to feel something" and if those same risky behaviors would be reduced in numbers or at least intensity if people experienced the environment more.

Alive

Over the years, I have discovered and re-discovered that I believe walking and cooking from raw ingredients are good for my mental health. I feel more alive - life is less "drudgery" - I am experiencing the world as we were made to experience it. I am stimulated, but not overwhelmed by the experiences because those experiences were designed for humans.

Ahh! Good Mental Health on the Cheap!

Postscript

I wrote this article "in my head" while cooking in my kitchen in New Orleans.