Earth Day Honor

Every day is Earth Day for me, tree-hugging, weed-nibbling, earth-worshiping, Gaia-loving wench that I am! Even so, today I raised my own earth-consciousness and made an effort or two to help others do the same. The day was a damp one, so to honor it I leveraged the wisdom of springtime Nature and transplanted several outdoor seedlings and other plants without running any water. A small gesture, to be sure, and one that I would have done on auto-pilot, yet today it was a gesture heightened with awareness that honored the earth and my place in it.

It was another good soup day, so I made an Italian Wedding soup. Wedding soup seemed fitting to renew my vows to Gaia, on this, a day we collectively honor her. The Boy worked outdoors all day, so this soup warmed us both, body and soul.

To extend this Earth Day honor, this Thursday's In the Garden show we welcome Bill Duesing to discuss aspects of "The Sustainable Garden." Bill is, among other things, the Executive Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association.

Tax Free Hopes & Dreams

The day began with another one-gallon batch of ale. This time, a sarsaparilla blend that I suspect already I'll be repeating. I needed to tag my brews, so in honor of tax day and the good that might brew from such a convoluted government effort, I cut up the "first class" envelope in which the CPA returned the bureaucratic remnants that must be retained for seven years. First class brew labels and a nice little upcycling effort. In any event, there are three gallons of cranberry wine, three separate gallons of various ales and a five gallon batch of a porter variation all bubbling away, effortlessly, carefree, first class and tax free.

I strung the prayer flags that I made yesterday and hung them on the deck wall in the bright sunshine.

Then . . . I created a tribute to a favored saying.

A saying I would love to hear make a comeback.

Then, the day came full circle, so to speak, in more ways than might be immediately obvious. 2006, a fine year for rhubarb. Nothing taxing about that!

The evening topped off with a sweet little bat that somehow got in the house. We gently captured it in a towel and with equal gentleness and a prayer set it free in the cool night air of spring's hopes and dreams.

Ashe.