Furthermore/Garden

Two extraordinary things about my Manhattan apartment are that (1) I have a backyard, and (2) the backyard has a tree* in it. When I tell people, they immediately become jealous. We're pretty lucky.

Sylvia said something when she and Brian were visiting a few weeks ago (they've been living on a co-op organic farm near Toronto for three-ish years) that keeps coming back to me. She said she's becoming increasingly aware that the most important thing they're doing by being farmers is preserving knowledge: knowing how to grow food naturally. They initially moved out to the farm to live out their environmental convictions (I think), but that's fading in importance. After all, we're approaching a food crisis. Doesn't hurt that these people have PhDs and are really good teachers.

My mom always gardened when I was growing up, but I never cared anything about it. But now something about the sanctuary of the backyard, and feeling like I own that space (God willing, for years to come), makes me want to work in it and make it beautiful.

And productive! I planted some peas (Sylvia's suggestion). I hope they grow.



(They're in pots rather than ground because someone is supposed to come soon to dig up the rat burrows that are EVERYWHERE. Apparently it's illegal to harbour rats in your yard.)

*A third extraordinary thing (for me, growing up where I did) is that our tree is an elm. I've never lived in a city with elms, they all got killed by Dutch elm disease.