You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'books' category.
I had a $75 gift card for Amazon, courtesy of a market research interview I did. Eric wanted to use it for purchasing his Fourth Edition D&D books, but I said we were spending at least as much on me as we were on him. So he got his books preordered and I have an Ingrid Michaelson CD, Local Breads by Daniel Leader (sourdough and whole-grain European breads), and Seed to Seed. I notice the peach tree is now blooming in two colors, and I dug and raked the last of the garden beds today because it’s the last nice weather we’ll have for a while–back we go to our regular spring weather–but that’s all. Must go now. Reading.
Last night we made lasagna with salad and homemade bread for dinner. “Now I’m wondering where this lettuce came from,” Eric said as we sat down to eat. “And THAT ANNOYS ME.” I mentioned I got him to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, right?
(The answer was “Probably California, since I got it in the organic section. But next time I go to the farmer’s market I’ll get their lettuce; I haven’t gone because we still have some apples and shallots and eggs.”)
Eric started out very much not interested in this strange local/organic mumbo-jumbo I was talking about. And, in fact, I’m learning as I go and therefore some of what I was talking about probably was, and possibly still is, mumbo-jumbo. But I’m learning, and I’m in earnest about it; and through the magic of 1) continual, if not incessant, discussion, 2) getting him to read a well-written book, and 3) hooking him on better-tasting food, Eric is coming around to the idea that local/organic mumbo-jumbo maybe is something worth paying attention to–if for no other reason than that it means tastier meals and lower grocery bills. He also supports my gardening obsession as our ticket onto our friends’ kibbutz–but that’s another post.
He’s already agreed to come with me to the farmer’s market this year, which is better than I got last year, and is possibly as eager as I am for the day when the ground finally stops being frozen or sodden or both at once and I can plant some lettuce and scallions for our spring salads. I thought with despair of how behind we must be this year…until I went through last year’s picture and found what’s currently the new header. It was taken in May. We still have a long way to go, baby. It’s off to the farmer’s market for us this Saturday.
The thyme is peeking out of its starter soil. One sunflower is pushing its sturdy way towards the sunlight. The broccoli has shot up, which makes me worry they’re not getting enough sunlight. They have interesting little leaves, tiny almost-full-circles. All but one of the seeds I planted (32, I think) came up. I don’t know why I lack confidence in seeds. They certainly don’t lack confidence in themselves. The already-established seedlings are doing just fine, too. Almost all the tomatoes have started their true leaves, some of them quite sizable. Of my two pepper plants, one’s growing nicely and the other is stunted. I don’t know why, nor whether I should give up on the stunted one yet.
I’ve located two people with which to trade or give plants, which is a relief since otherwise I don’t know where I would have fit all these extra tomatoes, eggplants, basil plants, and broccoli. (I’ll be starting extra zucchini and cantaloupe too.) Of course then I’ll have whatever plants they give me that I’ll have to find a place for, but I’m honestly not seeing that as too much of a hardship. I had thought that my obsession with the garden would slacken now that there’s not much to do until late April except keep seedlings alive, but apparently that’s enough for me. I’m thinking about fall planting, about harvest time, about trellises and tomato cages, about next year’s plans and whether I did right in raking the leaves off the flower beds. It’s healthy, I suppose, but I already had enough to think about, didn’t I?
It’s supposed to be lovely today and tomorrow, and Wednesday it’ll get down to the 20s again. Eric suggested protecting my tender little spinach and lettuce and pea plants if I can on Tuesday evening. I think I need to go out and water, too…there was a rainstorm yesterday as I was driving home from Ann Arbor, but I’m not sure whether any of it actually got into my garden, and the fruit bushes are not looking terribly happy. While in Ann Arbor I went to a library book sale and got a (relatively old) gardening book, How Does Your Garden Grow?, which I’m enjoying. I also recently read two peripherally plant-related ARCs I got long ago when I worked at the bookstore: A Writer’s House in Wales by Jan Morris and Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks, and found myself paying more attention to the botany bits than I ever have before, even though I’m a biology major. Conclusion: I may well be turning, like a seedling in search of the sun, to the dark side and becoming A Plant Person.
