Braiding Sweetgrass

What a wonderful book. It dovetails so nicely with the course material I'm studying to become a master gardener. Sometimes I wonder if knowing all the formula is really necessary. 

The way the author, Robin Wall Kimmerer,  approaches the subject matter makes it more relevant for me. Rather than just straight facts and numbers she helps tie it to the natural world:

Carbon dioxide plus water combined in the presence of light and chlorophyll in the beautiful membrane-bound machinery of life yields sugar and oxygen.

Sugar combined with oxygen in the beautiful membrane-bound machinery of life called the mitochondria yields us right back where we began - carbon dioxide and water.

Respiration - the source of energy that lets us farm and dance and speak. The breath of plants gives life to animals and the breath of animals gives life to plants.

The very facts of the world are a poem. Light is turned to sugar. Salamanders find their way to ancestral ponds following magnetic lines radiating from the earth. The saliva of grazing buffalo causes the grass to grow taller. Tobacco seeds germinate when they smell smoke. Microbes in industrial waste can destroy mercury. 

...

Plants know how to make food from light and water. Not only do they feed themselves, but they make enough to sustain the life of all the rest of us. Plants are providers for the rest of the community and exemplify the virtue of generosity, always offering food. What if Western scientists saw plants as their teachers rather than subjects?

 pp 345-346

Full Wolf Moon

 

Full Moon

BY ALICE OSWALD

Good God! What did I dream last night?

I dreamt I was the moon.

I woke and found myself still asleep.

It was like this: my face misted up from inside

And I came and went at will through a little peephole.

I had no voice, no mouth, nothing to express my trouble,

except my shadows leaning downhill, not quite parallel.

Something needs to be said to describe my moonlight.

Almost frost but softer, almost ash but wholer.

Made almost of water, which has strictly speaking

No feature, but a kind of counter-light, call it insight.

Like in woods, when they jostle their hooded shapes,

Their heads congealed together, having murdered each other,

There are moon-beings, sound-beings, such as deer and half-deer

Passing through there, whose eyes can pierce through things.

I was like that: visible invisible visible invisible.

There's no material as variable as moonlight.

I was climbing, clinging to the underneath of my bones, thinking:

Good God! Who have I been last night?

January's Wolf Moon will rise Monday at 6:48 p.m. ET

illustration:  Kate Fensom Artwork

Rewirement

January 7 was my last day at work! Alex, Penny, Rob and I had a quiet celebration at home. Champagne, pizza, balloons!

I capitulated my recapitulation on January 4, and FINALLY confirmed my intent. My manager arranged for my work assets to be picked up the evening of my last day, no doubt before I could change my mind.

I sent off my virtual goodbyes to some of the people who were still working and with whom I wanted to share the news, and many responded with kind words and well wishes.

Happy New Year!
It’s the time of year we look back on the past to ponder accomplishments and look forward to new beginnings.
I wanted to express my gratitude and thanks to you for making my time in the OPS both memorable and meaningful.
If these times were more ‘normal’, I might drop by your desk at work, but instead I am dropping you a line to let you know I am retiring from the Ontario Public Service.
My last day in the office is Friday January 7.
I don’t really like the word ‘retirement’ but am looking forward to ‘rewirement,’ and more time to pursue my passions. I continue to serve as Vice Commodore at Bluffers Park Yacht Club and am now officially a Toronto Master Gardener in Training! I’m sure life will unfold more new adventures in the years ahead. 
As I metaphorically clean out my desk, I want you to know you, I am truly happy our paths crossed. I think you are awesome and wish you continued success!
All the best in 2022 and beyond!
With warm thanks,

Somehow fitting there was a typo.

The last few days were surreal. After all the planning the moment had finally come. I took a final photo of my work laptop as it was shutting down.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Here’s to a great 2022!

And 2021….don’t let the door hit yer ass on the way out, ya prick.

Seriously 2021…GFY.

I didn't write those words, but snorted out loud when I read what Paul B. had posted on his Facebook page. 

2021 was a tough year. Covid lockdowns and restrictions added an extra layer of complexity and limited travel and social connection. Uncertainty made planning difficult. 

Just when things started looking like they would improve, a  new variant was sweeping the planet. Record high numbers of infections in Ontario meant plans for the Ontario Public Service gradual return to the workplace were extended from January to the end of March. People were trying to schedule booster shots and the lucky ones were lining up. Christmas parties were scaled back, New Year's Eve celebrations were cancelled, and BPYC postponed the New Year's Levee. 

Despite all the doom and gloom in 2021 there were important milestones.  Alex and Penny got married, I turned 60, and tried to set a date for my retirement/rewirement. 

My days and evenings were filled with blessings. I continued working from home, kept up my yoga practice, and took online classes and workshops with great yoga teachers. The Epitourists kept on cooking, I kept strumming with Scarborough Uke Jam and meeting with both of my book clubs. I studied meditation with Pema Chodrin and attended an online summit about the Science and Wisdom of Emotions.  I signed on for a second year as Vice Commodore at BPYC and became a Toronto Master Gardener in training. Traveled locally, took lots of day trips, and enjoyed a month long sailing holiday on Lake Ontario. Savoured quotidian pleasures: my morning coffee, walks in the neighbourhood, hot bowls of soup, meals with Rob, visits with Alex and Penny, zoom calls with my brothers and sister. 

It was a pretty good year, all things considered. Everyone healthy and safe.

Our New Year's Eve celebrations weren't fully planned and left lots of room for spontaneous fun.

Rob and I were invited to Amita’s for dinner and then Alex, Penny and Amita came back to our place for games and drinks.

At midnight we finished our countdown and sang Auld Lang Syne. Just after our champagne toasts, the sound of distant fireworks pulled us outside in hope of seeing something, but it was too far away and too foggy. As we were looking up into the night sky, a big show of golden fire exploded right overhead from a nearby neighbour’s house. It turned out Aldo and Alex (friends from BPYC) were visiting Alex’ sister across the street. They were laughing and taking turns dragging a suitcase around the road, which is a Mexican tradition to ensure a travel filled year. Not to be left out, I ran upstairs to get my suitcase and our household took turns. Hopefully this will work it’s magic and we will travel further distances in 2022!! To bring prosperity, we tossed coins over our shoulder into the front door and swept the old year out on the front steps. 

Alex and Penny stayed over and the next morning we had a lovely brunch. Mimosa, bacon wrapped scallops, omelet and grapefruit, chocolate truffles and coffee.

Welcome 2022!