The Burrow

Today was the last day of school.   I gave the kindergarten teachers their end of year, for their personal libraries, gift book.  They each had Caps for Sale; this year they received The Lorax.  One is moving back home to raise her baby-due-in-December closer to her family.  That was a hard goodbye for me. She's the one on the left. The one on the right left last year.  They were joyous. The kindergarteners were acting like the first graders they will be.  They waited politely until I arrived at the garden gate, they lined up without prompting to take a turn or three on the umbrella's handle, and they dove right into the storage bin to find what I'd hidden away.  A little mischief is welcomed; invading my personal space demands a conversation.   I settled them down with white paper plates and markers, then proceeded to give away the painted ceramic pots to any and all who wanted them.  My usual friends stopped by to talk about their...

They come in all shapes and sizes, from kindergarten through fifth grade.  They show up and learn and help and sometimes they find treasures.   One of them found a ripe tomato hidden under the leaves, resting on the soil, just begging to be sliced and eaten and shared with friends.   They organized the loading of the painted pots onto the playground monitor's three tiered cart (oops.... she thought it was lost and gone forever) and gathered friends to navigate it over the bumpy grass, up and over the edge of the paved walk, up to the door near the staff mailboxes. I chose the three in the front, who joined me in putting a pot in each cubby, right on top of the cards with flowers on one side and A snapdragon for you from Grandma's Gardeners  sticker on the other. It was a lovely way to spend a sunny morning.   It's impossible to be sad while being hugged by little ones; I get so much more than I give.  

The BEYOND! t-shirts were a big hit as smocks in Grandma's Garden last week.  So that others could use them, I asked the scholars to take them off before they left.  Two girls ran away, laughing, with their smocks over their t-shirts.   I didn't notice that, but the other scholars did.  I looked out over the playgroound for the miscreants, to no avail.  I shrugged it off.  They've been sitting in my garage for 15 years; I have 2 huge boxes still there; the girls were laughing and that's always my goal; and I couldn't remember who they wtere, anyway. A few minutes later, they came back, slightly abashed.  T  They couldn't return the smocks; they had removed their original t-shirts. Nudity is not encouraged on our campus.  I reminded them that they had misbehaved and that I was not thrilled with them..... but they could keep the BEYOND! shirts. There were doctors and surgery and more doctors this week, so Thursday was my first day back in ...

Once again, Rillito Nursery provided the fun.  This time it was box after box after box of 2" ceramic pots and another box of 4" pots.  After a quick stop at Dollar Tree for paper plates and Harbor Freight for two 20 packs of tiny brushes, I was off to Grandma's Garden.   I've had a 12 pack of acrylic paints in my car for a week or two.  I don't remember buying them but I'm glad I had them.  This is why.                 Some of the pots were quite detailed.    But mostly it was about the smiles. The seed which started in her red SOLO cup is now big enough to be transplanted into a 4" pot. One of these scholars wondered if I had a bird house to paint.... and it just so happed that I did.  He was happy to share the chore of painting,  but he took it home for himself.

She's been a regular in Grandma's Garden since she was in kindergarten. She's taken on more and more tasks as the years have gone by; now she's the one offering assistance.  Watching her teach her classmates - supervising the creation of just the right number of holes of just the right depth in just the right size pot - makes my heart sing. She was the only one interested in filling the big black container with soil, refusing offers to use the hose or join a friend.  She chose one of the three varieties of carrots from our storage bin, and I left her with the packet and instructions - 3 seeds in each evenly spaced hole around the edge and one in the middle - and went on to other things.   Soon she was by my side, a few round seeds in her palm, the left overs.  We went back to admire her work.  We used the trowels to cover her treasures with a fine dusting of soil, moved the container to the corner, next to the other carrot container, and watered...

I was just biding time until the kindergarten's whistle blew.  I was admiring the worm the boys dug up in the yes, you can dig there  raised bed when I felt a presence at my side.  That's not unusual; my arms are often found embracing someone in the garden, often for no reason at all. But this was different. She was a 4th grader.  She was the only big kid and she was not happy.  I sat back on the bench, and so did she.  She agreed with my assessment of her face - she was sad.  Four classmates decided to say bad things about her mother. I didn't ask what they said.  Instead, I asked her what she hoped would happen.  Her English wasn't adequate for all of her feelings; she's an Afghani refugee still picking up the pieces, one by one.  I gleaned most of my information from short questions using small words. Did she want them to leave her alone or to be her friends?  Did she want an apology or just to be respected?   We agreed...

We found gigantic radishes in the garden on Thursday.   T They popped out of the soil all at once, all of a sudden, solving the problem of  how will we know if they're ready? They were very tasty and there were so many of them and Grandma Suzi said they could eat as many as they wanted and that led to some hilarity. They were too fast for a great picture. Friday morning, I won three games at mahjongg, a rare and wonderful occurrence to start the day. Taos Bubbe and I had a lovely lunch at Teaspoon , catching up on our lives since November.  I've seen Little Cuter more often than my college roommate who lives across town.  Sometimes life really does get in the way. The waiter said Welcome back! when I joined Taos Bubbe at the table.  I'd been there twice before, with Amster and various parts of her entourage.  Amster always pays, and she tips very  well, so it wouldn't surprise me if he remembered her, but all the rest of us?   After a fe...

Once again, there was no running water in Grandma's Garden.   This is some of the Bucket Brigade. After several years, our Dollar Store watering cans are on their last legs. This gardener figured out a way to save every drop . Yes, he was very proud of himself. Our produce is producing prodigiously this year, mostly because I didn't allow any tastes until the plants were settled and growing new leaves.  Now we have so much lettuce that there's a full leaf for anyone who wants a taste.  The butter lettuce was a big hit, but only one scholar wanted to eat the one big leaf on the who-knows-what lettuce hovering over the oregano.  There were great differences of opinion on the garlic chives - spicy, awful, garlic-y, mmmmm good, NO!  The chocolate mint is a big hit, with easy to pick individual leaves spreading out in a tire masquerading as a flower bed.   The onion bulbs are beginning to sprout scallions, both in the garden and in the cups the scholar...

Over the last week or so, ever since we planted the raised beds, I am greeted with watered plants and a raked footpath when I open the garden gate .  Mr. Guy, the landscaper, told me he'd been watering every morning in case the supply line was cut again.  I assumed he raked as a favor.  After all, everyone loves our garden. Today, though, the truth was revealed.  Unbeknownst to me, my enthusiastic 5th grader has upgraded herself to my assistant.  It's working out quite well. Miss Stella called out to me as she approached the gate, annoucing her presence with panache.  She swept into the space, a force of nature, carefully eyeing her surroundings.  I was busy handing out seeds and rescuing the hose from overly invested eight year olds.  When I looked up, I was stunned. Watering cans were being filled, tools were being gathered, ollas were being filled, and two newbies were raking in the restricted area.  Still sorta speechless, I asked th...

There has been lettuce in the standing garden outside the gate for a few weeks.  The oregano is a new addition.  The tiny clay ollas I made and thought were useless are now passsively irrigating our produce. . For scholars who are just walking by, Would you like a bite of lettuce?  is a powerful inducement to stop and have a taste.  I now have enough plants to allow us to denude one or two and still have more to feed us tomorrow.  The oregano is there to balance the blandness of the buttercrunch; it tastes like pizza  is my favorite comment. We filled the two new raised beds with ollas and veggie starts.  Celery and basil and dill and a tomato plant here spinach and dill and some petunias and a snapdragon in the other bed (which I forgot to photograph...sigh). This raised bed has lots of something coming up..... I have no idea what it will turn out to be.  There didn't seem to be any leaves punching through the soil on the right edge, so we placed...

It's impossible to be sad when little ones are hugging you.  I've proven that over and over.  Squealing kindergarteners holding onto my legs cures just abou every pain in my heart.  Today, the mediumm ones proved that they, too, are a balm for the soul.  Eating the fruit brought by a friend, sitting in the shade, on the bench they had placed themselves ( Really? We can decidet? Really?) we talked about friendship.  Nothing very profound. No advice. Just them opening a window into their lives.... as they ate pineapple and apple slices slathered in hot sauce. I didn't understand it, and I didn't want to share it, and they were okay with that. I looked across the garden at the Littlest Kid being tended to by the current guardian of the hose.  I looked across at kids who are trying to learn English, asking for a trowel from the trug.   What is wrong with this picture?  Absolutely nothing.  It's beautiful, it's natural, and it's not extraord...

I went to Grandma's Garden today.  It was only in the high nineties, versus the triple digits we're promised for the rest of the week. The kiddos were glad to see me, happily occupying themselves by pulling out the weeds which have completely covered the ground. It rained yesterday and the dirt was forgiving, easily releasing the roots,  to everyone's delight.  The Most Wonderful Social Worker dropped by to tell me the SNAP-Ed folks had dropped off an irrigation system.  After losing their funding they are closing up shop, distributing goodies from their storage to those they know and love.  The Perfect Principal thanked me for walking the littlest kiddo across the playground while rubbing his back and murmuring soothing nonsense about why he couldn't play with the hose.  The high achievers are planning a unit on garden to table produce; their teacher asked if I had any ideas as she guided a line of scholars I'd watched grow over the years up the stairs....

We huddled under the umbrella, seeking shelter from the sun.   The soil itself is just too hot to support new life.  We can't plant any of the seeds Rillito Nursery  donated. The weeds which had overgrown the ground have been trampled and smooshed by little feet.  Broken and despairing, they succumbed to the sun and the lack of water.  They are now remnants of their former selves, lying there, pale and yellow. The gardeners noticed a new hole at the edge of one of the big, please-don't-jump-on-that, rocks.  Being children, they were curious and their curiosity led to poking their feet around the edges, which led to kicking loose dirt in its direction, which was headed toward poking a stick inside to see what was in there. Remembering that Poison Control in Arizona calmed my reptilian qualms by pointing out that 99% of snake bite cases are the result of drunken young men with pointed sticks, I stepped into the conversation, explained that it was some be...

I promised that the garden would be open today.  I wrote it in chalk on the outer wall.  I could not disappoint them.  The triple digits registering on the thermometer could not deter me. If only I had remembered to bring my water bottle. I met the kindergarteners in the cafeteria, exchanged hugs and high fives with the third grade as they came in, and walked back to the garden.  By the time I had opened the umbrella and used the key to turn on the water, in came the third grade garden leaders, with some friends in tow. What can we do?  That's a good question given that the soil is much too hot to host new life.  The weeds are deeply entrenched; not a great first project of the year.  But I remembered that the Much Adored Principal asked me that morning if my water was on.  They are so hot out there.   Did she mind if they got wet?  No... with a smile...  Actions have consequences.    With approved water play in mind, the ...

I didn't realize that construction skills would be necessary when I began Grandma's Garden.   Today I struggled with the waterproof, 100 gallon, storage chest with cushion.  They sent me eight screws; I could only find use for six of them.  This might have concerned me, but they were the last parts in the instructions and after arguing with the clip in plastic sides for about an hour I wasn't interested in continuing the conversation. I was dealing with attaching the hinge when kindergarten arrived.  I wasn't my usual welcoming self, so most of them stayed on the playground.  There were a lot of first and second graders who tried to help me solve the problem, which was resolved when the third graders entered the picture. I was sitting on the old bench, admiring my work.   What's that? Hmmmmm, thought I.   What does it look like? Silence.  Bewildered looks. I started to laugh.  It wasn't disguised.  It was obvbiously a box....

The Kansas City Chiefs may not have as deep a bench as the 49'ers' but they do have Patrick Mahomes. San Francisco kicked a field goal.  KC scored a touchdown.  The last man drafted took is team into overtime, but lost to a once in a generation talent. It's hard to feel too sad. ***** Queen T went all out in the decor for their first Super Bowl Party.  There were babies and sports fans and many, many balloons.  And there was this: . I'd say she wins for creative presentation. ***** The sun was shining and the air was crisp and clean after some night time  rain.  There's still snow on the Pusch Ridge, even on the west facing slopes.  Long sleeves keep me warm enough, though sometimes a long cotton scarf needs to wrap around my neck for perfect comfort. Tomorrow morning, Taos Bubbe and I will be doing yoga outside at Tohono Chul Botanical Garden . Yes, I'm reveling in being outdoors in February without special equipment. ***** Grandma's Garden is fecund....

It's been a long time coming.   The hard frost in early January killed our just ready to ripen tomatoes.  I've been pointing out the frozen remains to everyone who wonders where the snacks are hiding.  Frozen too were our basil, both the purple and the sweet; the lemon grass we were used to sucking on; and the bell pepper which was slowly moving from flower to fruit. But today, after what seemed like forever, all of this happened. This scholar was very precise in her planting, adhering to the depth and distance recommendations. That is a serious carrot.  That radish is not misshapen.  She was rightfully proud. Those who were less persnickety about seed placement created this messy root system and laughably unhappy carrots. Intertwined was not the only physical difference which was (quite excitedly) brought to my attention.  These three carrots,  from three different hanging buckets, led to inquiries about location, access to sunlight, competition ...

An entirely new set of boys were in the garden today.  They found an empy 5 gallon pot that, apparently, required an immediate infusion of soil from the digging bed.  No one was quite sure what they were going to do once it was full.  They were purposeful and polite.  I let them be.  We decided to fill the new raised gardens with the remains of last summer's soil delivery.  It was a dirty job ( Oh no! You're dirty and you're working in the garden.  What a surprise!) so the boys in the back kept their hands clean for eating garden grown lettuce.   These three were relentless.  Discovering the most efficient method of transferring the soil from the pallet on the ground to the bed above, breaking the clods in the bed so the roots could move unimpeded, needing no adult presence except when the compliments became too infrequent.   This scholar was determined to have the surface present an even face to its public. She approached it f...