Report From PIA – May 4
My former neighbor, Mary Adams Plumer, died yesterday. I write her whole name because I want it to be recorded somewhere. She didn’t have children, so it’s unlikely that a future relative might be searching for information about her. She was opinionated, stubborn, and quirky, but she was here, herself, and I promised her that we would be “neighbors for life.”
As I make funeral arrangements for Mary, people tell me how good it is that I’ve been willing to help her and her husband Mel. This is nice to hear, but for me, and I hope for you too, it all comes back to local plantings and harvest.
Every day this month I’ve decided to blog about May being Gifts From The Garden Month, but I also want to keep with the spirit of Whole Life Gardening. Everything is connected to everything else, and May 4th, a celebration of The Freshest Food On Earth, is absolutely linked to the help I provide my former neighbors.
Gardeners are blessed to pick fresh veggies and fruits from their gardens, and on this day in May I hope that we are all celebrating this gift that comes from the garden. I love being able to go outside at 5 PM during the growing season and pick dinner.
But we’re also able to locally harvest those things that feed our souls. Be it helping our neighbors, contributing to a community non-profit organization, or donating to neighborhood causes, the opportunities for local harvest abound.
All it takes is one gardener who’s willing to say, “Yes.”
We've planted peas and chard in this garden, and the garlic that we put in last fall is thriving. Just as the food crops we grow in our gardens feeds our bodies and spirits, the other things we cultivate locally feeds our souls.
