As April wound into May and the cloudy drizzle of a gloomy spring loomed upon us, we kept busy starting seeds in the cellar and enjoying the glimpses of our hardwork of seasons past.
Daffodils blossomed through the slow emergence of moss, violets, hyacinths and tulips.
As Maple kept watch on the emerging litters of rodents scurrying around the landscape.
Chives pushed through last seasons memories....
...as the chipmunk hotel purged remnants of its winter larder.
Turkey Tail fungus put on a show as the misty cloud cover continued to saturate the landscape.
Our nearby vernal pool was bubbling with life as blooms of wood frog eggs and unique lil critters jet across the shallows.
More signs of a flourishing ecosystem appear when you slow down and observe. Wood frogs, newts, salamanders and garter snakes show themselves as we crept from vernal pool over to the larger bog deep into the landscape behind our homestead.
A new wildflower species was observed just steps from our shiitake logs, in the same edge zone that produces the abundance of lady slippers and starflowers. I'm not sure if they have always been there and I just overlooked them as wild violets or if the conditions of this spring has just made it prolific to the point that I couldn't not see them. Fringed Polygala otherwise known as Bird-on-the-Wing or Gaywing is a unique lil wildflower that created a lush blanket along one of our favorite paths into the woods.
As May progressed the varieties of Daffodils increased.
As our seeds emerged aided by the warming pad and all spectrum lighting, giving them and us, hope for sunny days to come.
Slowly we worked our beds as the rain continued to saturate the soil and our large library of perennials took their time showing their resilience and fortitude !
As the rainy weekends started stacking up one after another, I accepted the cards nature is dealing us and spent some downtime listening and inhaling natures rhythmic cycles as the sky showered our homestead with water and I beat my spring drum, reflecting and channeling the landscapes vibration as the cycles of nature inspired me to take a studio day.
As I worked my way into the studio I observed the dandelions arrival and I thought it would be a good time to sip one of the last few bottles of
Dew Drop 2015
I will never understand how this 5% Dandelion Wine has held its own after 10 years in the bottle but every time I open a bottle I smirk at the luck I had in making this delicious beverage!
As the rain fell and rumbles of thunder echoed behind a well curated selection of vinyl goodies from the localrootz library... I began to play around in the studio with the tools and surfaces at my disposal.
My thoughts and inspiration wove through sacred geometry, mycorrhizae symbiosis, chaos theory and natural abstractions, finding harmony and conversation with my hand and brain, embracing chance and the journey that a day, steeped in thoughtful intentions with the earth and my own being and existence brought to the studio.
Natures patterns are my patterns and my patterns are natures, we are part of this earth and not separate from it.
As our cells regenerate and decompose so does the earth we stand, energy trapped in the present like a lightning strike, we are here to channel and resource with it, not worry about the past or be anxious of the future.
As the thoughts meander and intersect with my studies and observations, I have moments of clarity, moments of understanding... but also moments of doubt and exasperation that this puzzle will never have all the right pieces. Will I ever have the guidance and perseverance to manifest its understanding in a meaningful way? Are we just part of natures toolbox or is our consciousness something more? My brush moves along as my mind questions and narrates the story unfolding before me, informed by the nature of things and narrated by my own personal experiences and observations.
Back to watering and setting my timers on our seedlings....
Always taking a moment to see the finer details as I sampled a fresh emerging bergamot leaf and noticed this splendid lil dwarf spider making a home for themselves.
As the days grew longer we dusted off our dahlia tubers to get a head start on this years favorite varieties, sourced locally from Bumbleroot as well as a Fleur Farm in Vermont.
Keeping with the "no mow" may and sometimes even June.... we embrace the abundance of wild violets, grape hyacinths, clover and azure bluets, as we slowly let natives migrate through the "lawn area" of our homestead. Its interesting to see nature work its balance, we hardly got any dandelions this year but mullein, horseweed and primrose are showing quite strongly along with some lily of the valley, yarrow and some not so welcome sights like oriental bittersweet and swamp dewberry that requires staying on top of whenever free time is found.
Our apple and pear trees blossomed with vigor this spring, but I am seeing a big decline in pollinators which has me a little worried about the fruit season in general with this rain and gloom persisting through the bloom and multiple reports of a mass drop in bee colonies throughout the states. Our bees included did not make it through the winter, but we had little faith as we lost our queen in late summer and the hive never really recovered in numbers as the cold set in. We have decided to concentrate on habitat for native pollinators this season and continuing to propagate and fill our humble homestead with biodiversity and native abundance to help support the cause.
As the month of May pushed on we started hardening off our seedlings in a dappled area of shade and sun just outside the cellar, taking them in every evening for about 7-10 days and now fully leaving them out for planting, with the exception of tomatoes and peppers that aren't too happy with rain and 50 degree high temps, but soon enough they will all be transferred to our raised beds.
Speaking of the beds, we waited long enough to clear them up from the winter habitat we left.
Slowly trimming the previous years growth out from the beds and then applying our beautiful nutrient dense homestead compost!
Its probably what I am most proud of, a blend of all organic food waste from our house and trimmings from my day job of produce manager, we spent about two years making this pile and the rewards are here for our garden and eventually our plates to enjoy! One by one we cleared each of our 16 beds and spread a few inches of fresh compost that is shovel blended with some broken down straw bales and oak leaves that I tend to compost separately to maximize my options for each individual bed.
Yup, 16 growing beds along with numerous areas of native pollinator plantings, rock gardens, moss gardens, woodland trails and mushroom beds. Sometimes I forget how large our homestead has grown in our first 10 years... considering 8 of which have been while raising a child. All the while both parents working full time jobs. No wonder I am always exhausted!
As May enters its last week, we are getting all our seedlings nestled into their summer homes and sowing seeds to fill in the gaps, prepping trellises and preparing for whatever natures weather decides to throw our way this growing season!
Thanks as always for stopping by and checking in on the LocalRootz Homestead!
Stay tuned as we continue to grow, flourish and hold on for the ride on this spinning rock we call Earth.
