Report From PIA – September 28th
Today I flew home from the GWA meeting in Raleigh. I am always grateful when air travel is uneventful, and thankful when I have a good book to make the hours of waiting, flying and commuting from the airport fly by. On this trip, I read Away, by Amy Bloom. I finished the book two miles from home, and it was one of those great reads that I was sorry to see end.
I was pleased to see that the gardens still look great – more photos to come this week. I am thrilled that there are still many fresh figs to harvest; this year we covered the tree with netting, so the crows haven’t snatched the fruit as it ripens.
I’m equally thankful that I was able to attend the conference and be inspired by the networking, story tours and the lovely gardens we saw yesterday. Just getting out of my normal routine was valuable, as was being in another part of the country. Every so often we should all move a few states to the north, south, east or west, just to shake up our perceptions and thinking for a while.
And it’s good to be home. Dorothy (in The Wizard of Oz) says that she’ll never again look for her heart’s desire outside of her own backyard. While I agree that it’s all happening in our our own backyards, I am grateful that I can occasionally travel to places such as Helen Yoest’s backyard, and be inspired by what other people plant.
We thrive when we’re at home, but benefit from occasionally getting away.
Helen Yoest's website is called Gardening With Confidence, and one look at the side garden in front of her house lets you know that she "walks the talk".
Helen Yoest sited her tomato and vegetable bed where there was the most sun: in the front of the house. Perfect.
