From My Backyard

So what is this photo doing in my gardening blog? Well that is me in my younger years balancing a log but not wise enough then to understand what balance in my life should have been. Balance then was just having enough money for beer, playing a little Rugby and maybe catching hold of a young lady or two.

Now that I have begun to figure it out, yes – I still have a few things to learn, I use my garden as a big piece of my balance! After I have been out on the road with my work I can't wait to get back and check on the plants, the compost pile and see how the worms are coming along on their job digesting the kitchen scraps.It is part of my chill out therapy. See dear, I am also happy to see you & Joe and I do appreciate you checking on the patch while I am gone.(I have to be honest and truthful because she actually reads the blog!)

Tonight for dinner I felt like I made some connections for others about my "gardening jones" – see earlier blog. I planned to roast some fresh beets from my garden and also prepare the tops as greens. As I was prepping dinner my good friend John came over to give some input on the height of the new mirror we were hanging and to try a bottle of the beer I had just finished brewing, bottling and aging. I was anxious to share this new ale with my friend.(another part of my balancing). John tried the beets and they were as good as he remembered from his youth but he wasn't too sure about trying the greens.  It was a simple recipe but he couldn't believe how good they were. Now I had to convince my wife to try both the beets and the greens. She was a little too quick and ate the first beet before she heard me tell her to peel the skin off before eating. She ate it and did not seem to mind the skin. And, best of all,  the flavor of the greens surprised her.

Now my favorite part …. John picked from my garden last summer when we were away and I had tried to convince him to plant a veggie patch at his house. He didn't bite on my suggestion but he did enjoy the fresh eating from mine. His yard is situated much better than mine when it comes to sun exposure. It is really perfect, in fact I would even manage it for him. After he ate both the beets and greens he said, "Bishop, I guess you can put a garden in my yard….. another convert, yee haw!

Now I can help put a some balance into my good buddy's life and yard….And maybe I'm a little closer to convincing my wife that I need something bigger to balance…. no, not  bigger log but, maybe, just maybe a real acre or five!