Springtime in Philthy....

in·dig·na·tion/ˌindigˈnāSHən/

 

 Pamir, Afghanistan --- 

I would like to be here, today, with some rose petal jam and bread and some good company....by the time I am old, I will have been everywhere I want to visit.

 

 Spring has sprung here in Philadelphia....the sun is shining, the light is strong and long, and thoughts of gardening are swimming through my mind. I am lucky and have a share in a community garden in my neighborhood, and am very excited that, finally,  I will be able to start planting! 

 

 My vegetable garden in Austin....I miss my old house...

 

I cannot tell you how my disconnection from gardening whilst living here has disrupted my mood and sense of self. 

 

 I am feeling very indignant due to some situations that are happening that I cannot mention here, in the public sphere that is blogging. I have chosen to channel that indignation and resentment into gardening and silver- and gold-smithing. I have some seeds, some soil, and a new commission!

 

 Me gusta mis jitomates!!!! 

 

 It feels, somehow, as if something has shifted here....either I have passed the point of no return, or it's as simple as the Sun has come back. I had no idea how I would be effected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, being that this is my first real experience of Northern winter...I am so used to sunshine all the time that I am not quite sure how to deal with it when it disappears. 

 

I think that Philly especially emphasizes the malaise of winter because everything here is hard: stone, brick, no sun, all shade and grit. I went to work in the dark, and I left work in the dark, and never go outside for anything.

 

 Last year, during lunch and during my prep period, I would work on native landscaping my school's grounds. I planted plants, sowed seeds, weeded, and pruned trees. Here in Philly, I constantly joke (with sadness in my heart) that there are no trees, no plants, not a lot of nature anywhere. 

 

 At the apex of Perpendicular Trail, Acadia National Park....

 

 It has been a transition, bien sur! A transition that has made me aware of those environmental aspects that I need in my life for my own personal happiness. 

 

 The same veggie garden at the Haney House, East Austin

 

 So.....Moore Street Community Garden

- lettuce

- arugula

- basil

- green beans

- peas

- kohlrabi

- tomatoes

- collard greens

- bok choy

- flowers!!!

And a new jewelry commission to make meat cleavers out of silver......

 

 

Hamilton Pond, off Route 3...Mount Desert Island 

 

 There is a tipping point in experience, when you realize you finally moved past this hurdle you couldn't even identify, it was so hidden in the murk of your thoughts. Once I crossed that hurdle, identified it, saw it, and was able to step back and take a breath and say, "there you are!", nothing much is bothering me right now. In the moment, yes, but if I write about it, go to the studio and heat up some silver with an oxy-acetylene torch, make something with my two hands, choose seeds and think about how they will grow and change, read a book....I realize that all of this is transitory...time passes by so fast! If you don't stop to take a look around once in a while, or you might miss it....

 

 Me, in England, with my Grandpa, at breakfast....almost 25 years ago...

 

I just started looking at the Tao Te Ching again, after many months of leaving it to gather dust on the shelf. I love this book, and especially my edition of it. I constantly read its passages and think about how they relate to my life. This one was the one that flipped open yesterday:

 

FORTY-EIGHT
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.
It cannot be ruled by interfering.