We are all in relationship with the earth. It feeds us, it feels us and it is our home. In the practice of yoga we acknowledge that in every pose we are moving with earth. We push into it, we balance onto it, we sink into it and we rise up from it. As I walked in our yard this morning I could see our little garlic shoots starts to poke up. It is so exciting. In our house we love what we eat from our gardens. Garlic (lots of garlic), kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini’s, peas, cucumbers, etc. We just can’t get enough of it once it is ready to eat. There is nothing like fresh food on your plate every evening. We also grow flowers.
At this time of year I often contemplate what I give back to the earth. There must be a balance between giving and receiving. We are composters in our family and we have lots of conversations about it. The topic comes up again and again. We are from a long line of gardeners and farmers who never thought twice about composting, they knew their food relied on having it to feed their soil. The soil in our gardens is sandy and has needed a lot of help over the years. It is evolving beautifully. The compost conversations that we have are driven by all 3 of us. As a young kid my daughter was asked to take the compost out regularly, which she did. As she got older, and wiser, she established a new schedule where she assigned each of us a season. Instead of daily discussions of who took it out, we each got a season. Funny thing is that the older she got it never seemed to be her season! I am happy to report that now she shares a house with 4 other girls in Kingston and the city has a composting program in place that they are required to use. Madeline manages their compost. I am happy that she learned that she has to be a good citizen and help look after the earth! My comments about the compost are often related to the compost bucket. I feel like I am the only one who every cleans it out. It gets emptied and there are always coffee grounds, carrot peels and other veggies hanging on as the pot comes back to the kitchen. Does anyone but me every clean that bucket? I crab on about it, but secretly I don’t mind. I know it is a small way that I contribute to our gardens and the good food I get to eat. My husband never complains about the compost. He just loves tending it and his stories are about how much we have and which beds will get it. We have 5 containers that he rotates and uses. He has moved on from skiing and snowshoeing and is contemplating his garden and what will grow where. My mother is moving up to live with us and she has gardened her whole life. She would be lost without compost and a place to put it. There are lots of great resources on line if you want to get started! Let the fresh local eating season begin!