Today, I picked all the beans from a couple of beds. I shelled them, and as I shelled them, a little poem began to offer itself to my consciousness. Many of the beans came from a couple of “volunteers,” beans from last year that I did not intentionally plant this year. Here’s the poem:

After tearing down the old, useless garage, and after bringing in a shed, Colleen and I began creating a little garden, for vegetables and cut flowers. And for just general enjoyment as she pursued her career and I slowly moved my way into full retirement.

It all begins with a little cottage in the Purcell Park region of Harrisonburg, Virginia. Colleen and I purchased this little house with a little back yard. Then we began adding and deleting. Here is a video [click on title] that shows how we began transforming the backyard into an never-ending work in progress. All this began four years ago, summer and fall, 2017. But, hey, what’s my retirement for? Posted 18 August 2022

When Colleen and I moved in to the Weaver Ave house, and we began planning the backyard—the Lounge and Garden, I really had hopes of something like an cottage garden. Here in mid-August, 2022, our third summer, we have a version of the dream. A few too many weeds, and “what-the-hell-is -thats,” but we are getting there. In any case, it brings happiness. Posted 15 Aug 2022.

With the creation of my new website (bringing in various pieces from older abandoned web sites and such), I am trying to settle myself into remembering and supporting my best habits. If you dig around in some older posts (imported from 2017), you will see that developing good habits is one of my goals. Part of those habits is taking care of a garden—because Beauty is good for the soul, and soil is good for the soul. Another part of those habits is to have a place to work, to read, to write, to listen to music. This is a photo of that place where that habit has been and continues to be established. Posted 15 Aug 2022.