flowers

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

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Recently I was asked to paint a picture of my surroundings with words, and this is what I wrote:

It’s been raining, frosting, and snowing on and off over the last few days, with bits of bright sunshine in-between. Outside it is silent, aside for the sound of a few birds, the peeping of deer, and occasional construction.

Now that the winter is beginning to wane, workers are busy trying to fix roads and mountainsides that were damaged last year during the heavy typhoons. There is also the infrequent sound of farming equipment on warmer days, as rice farmers begin to repair fences, and prepare fields for planting.

It smells like damp dirt. (more…)

Peanuts and Abundance

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One of the advantages to living in the countryside is that many of our neighbors are farmers or keep big gardens, and there is a lot of produce-sharing in our community. Often, someone will show up at our house with bags or boxes of fresh fruit or vegetables that someone has collected for us to sample.

We have been given home-grown potatoes, bell peppers, squash, kale and cucumbers, to name just a few. This last weekend, we also had the opportunity to pick peanuts!  (more…)

Slow Breaths and Fruitful Life

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We are ever-so-slowly learning how to garden, and began our first garden this summer. I’m still in awe that we’ve managed to grow anything! Even though I had experience gardening as a kid, it still feels different to take full ownership of one.

I decided to start small, by filling in a raised garden bed of stone at the front of the house. My mind was still full of the gardens in Ireland and the UK, and I imagined creating a cottage-garden style bed full of flowers of all different shapes, sizes and colors.

However, it was not that easy. (more…)