Domesticity on Crystal Lake Dr

Springtime this year has been a mixture of "ahhhhh, finally" and "what, already?!" Too many things happening in too many directions and then weather does it's part to confuse us, fluctuating between cold-wet-rainy and warm-sunny-beautiful.




The defining point, that proves we've moved from winter into glorious spring, is that we've moved our base of operation outside. Clean-up of the long-neglected deck has begun. The laundry is drying outside on racks, instead of inside by the woodstove.




I took down the very faded Tibetan prayer flags from the deck and Aaron and I strung them on long poles of bamboo and sunk them in the ground near Courtney's gardens.




My plan is to put up new strands of prayer flags each year and, as they fade, then move them to bamboo poles and eventually have a field of flags.





The idea is that as the wind blows the flags, prayers fly to the heavens. Please excuse this brief commercial for ICT, but if you make even a modest contribution to the International Campaign for Tibet, they'll send you a beautiful little strand of prayer flags--just the right size for a window or doorway. 888-Tibet-Now www.savetibet.org





As for what else is happening in the garden, here's my handsome Master Gardener cooking up the last of his winter harvest of arugala that he loves to put in his pastas.




But to back up in the story a moment: earlier in the spring we hired our neighbor Paul to trim the giant tree in our yard in hopes of keeping the trees happier, avoiding dead branches dropping on our heads, and letting in a little more light.




Paul was fairly fearless, though cautious, and Courtney assisted from the ground (the danger zone) and all went smoothly and it felt like one more step of spring cleaning and getting ready for life outdoors this summer.




Our enormous maple tree in the front yard hangs over the pathway next to our fence. The pathway is a very busy thoroughfare of walkers, bikers and joggers, and the maple makes a beautiful shady respite from the summer sun and heat.




Here's a close-up of what it looks like this time of year.




If you've been reading our blog for a while you may remember the story of a woman who fell from her roof and died--a woman I didn't know, but wished I had after reading the many obits written about her. She died before we moved to this neighborhood, but her straw bale house is just down the street from us and her partner Peace John still lives there.




The whirley-gig frog above is always fun to see--it's wheels whirl around with the wind. And the peace sign below is across the driveway from the frog and right next to...




...the pump house that sports these dancing pigs and, this time of year, a big show of daffodils and tulips.




Meanwhile, back at the farmstead, we hired the expert help of our neighbor Tal (on the ground working) to build a fence around the front yard. He's getting assistance and encouragement here from Courtney and another neighbor, Jerry.




The reason for the fence is, for one, to keep Ben in so we can all be out in the yard and not constantly worry that he'll bolt for the street.



Another reason is that Courtney is planting espalier trees all along the fence and they'll grow up some but mostly sideways. Already he's planted a Bosc pear, asian pear and fig tree along with a hardy kiwi and smaller things like peas.

Slowly but surely the grassy lawn in the front is being replaced by edible garden. There are four blueberry bushes and a persimmon tree and little garden strips inside the fence dug and ready for planting.

All this is to say that we're working on our little plot of sanity in the midst of a world that seems less than sane. My heart continues to feel heavy from the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank. Our friend Josh is preparing to return to Damascus to study Arabic again before he returns to the South Hebron Hills to continue his work with Christian Peacemaker Teams.

Much of my time is spent preparing for a guest speaker we are hosting from the Portland area--Tom Nelson, a lawyer who specializes in international law--who will be speaking on his investigations into war crimes committed in Gaza during the attacks in Dec and Jan.

Also Tom was on board one of the Free Gaza boats that made it to the Gaza port last August--breaking a 41-year blockade of Gaza from the sea. His stories should be interesting.

On a happier note: Ben's heading towards his third birthday, Aaron's getting ready to graduate from middle school, and Maya's loving her new job. Everyone appears to be happy and healthy and somewhat sane, so what more can you ask for!?!

Thanks for reading this, and I hope your lives and hearts are full of spring energy!

With love,

Valori