I remember as a kid being intrigued when my Auntie K used that phrase… I often heard it as “ye-eee gads”. By high school I seem to have figured out it was probably a way to circumvent our Baptist family’s prohibitions about using the name of deity… for whom there was only ONE. I’ve used it with my fondness for her, celebrating her gentle slyness. She was my mother’s eldest sister, a passionate teacher, becoming one source of rare wisdom… if sometimes a bit cynical… for this boy stuck on a farm.
The phrase came literally to my tongue when I saw that this blog has languished almost a year!
I’d been thinking about posting for the late summer garden, but then I’ve contemplated any number of posts during this vacancy… the spiders are once again beginning to stretch their airy palaces… EGADS! how do I weave some such “palace” to bridge this lapse of time? We all know my proclivities toward daunting dumps of photos & verbiage.
In my imaginary silky palace floating above another year I see the garden surrounding Soundcliff changing diligently, by design or at least intent… then things happen…
So another of the swath of aging alders long shading our southern yard had to come down, opening our exposure radically. Shade no more.
Numerous loads of manure from a local farm were hauled & dug-into beds old & new.
The gardens in the north continue thus to build fertility. We’ve eaten well in each season from a variety of kales & collard, peas next… an abundant red lettuce added to salads.Great to have grilled favas for several months!
A singular bounty of “Dragon’s Lingerie” beans… beautifully purple streaked ivory yum. Lacinato kale becomes staple as Tromboncino squash begin to dangle as I stuff & saute their blossoms.
I tackled a number of projects, including replacing the last of the original raised beds… more than 15 years useful! I’m building them now out of rough sawed two-inch cedar, believing they might outlive me!
We’ve had an abundance of bird song & bee buzz… now come welcome frog chorus. Weeds constantly challenge battle… but that’s the earthy web of roots & fruits & wildlife nurturing & cocooning our human lives.