“During the life of the garden, women keep a diary, recording the signs of life-giving and life-taking. Each entry cooks up a psychic soup. In the garden we practice letting thoughts, ideas, preferences, desires, even loves, both live and die. We plant, we pull, we bury. We dry seed, sow it, support it. Pg. 100.”
~Women Who Run With the Wolves, Charissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
I just recently read the above quote. I’m touched when another person understands things that I do but don’t often talk about.
Our one-bedroom apartment in Van Nuys California was a tree fort apartment. The west, north and east sides of our apartment were open. Not being a joined to another apartment was nice. We were right above a parking structure on the second level. No one living overhead us either. To the south a wall was originally shared with a gay black man. He made my husband chicken soup when he was sick. Next came a Hispanic family whose children went to school with our son. A small elementary school on Erwin Street. I walked him to school and back each day.
One year for Christmas I purchased a little rosemary Xmas tree. A small little thing with a red bow. Eventually I planted the little tree in a colorful pot. Placing it right outside our front door. It grew nicely with fresh air and sunshine.
When we moved into a house in the San Fernando Valley, I took that hearty little rosemary bush and planted her in front of our new home. The rosemary plant went through many changes. Droughts, water rainstorms and bad trimmings by gardeners. Twenty years later this evergreen bush is mature and lovely. Being large and full of life and busy bees. Her purple aura now is radiant with the sounds of nature and humming.
Wild Promethean fennel, taken as dry little seeds from the Santa Monica Mountains, is now heading into third generation. I have been sowing the seeds around our yard. As delicately and respectfully as possible! This year I found some youthful green shoots. Distinctly wild Promethean fennel. Add more to my pleasure these green fennel shoots are right next to my mystery Holly Hawk. Her seeds were sown too by you know who?
