The Peace I've Found In My Garden

It's been a crazy hot summer here in Southern California!

Despite the soaring temperatures, I've been working in my garden in the early morning and the breezy evenings. After months of tending, we're now enjoying bundles of tomatoes, herbs, veggies, and lettuce! My lemon tree is especially fruitful this year... it's raining lemons at my house! We've also got an abundance of ripe black figs coming in late August ( LOVE fig jam)! I also see the beginnings of a beautiful butternut squash on the vine for fall... I can hardly wait!

I let the garden tell me what's for dinner. With last night's harvest, I made Pasta di Napoli, our family favorite, with fresh tomatoes and basil made into a robust sauce, a salad with all of my varieties of salad greens, chopped zucchini, and fresh radishes... and lemon bars for dessert!
Click here for the downloadable recipe.

The garden has been my "pleasure task" and a perfect lesson in nurturing... nurturing of the yard and myself. I go out every day, making sure the plants are watered, weeded, and pruned. It makes me happy to watch the progress, and it's so soothing to be outside in the fresh air, along with a healthy dose of Vitamin D from the sun. (my hat and sunscreen go right along with me.)

The garden teaches me patience. I can't make the plants grow any faster, and we've had a few disasters. A naughty little bunny dug a path under our fence and ate our pepper plant! 

And... I'm thrilled that my husband has joined in on this gardening adventure! He enjoys it as much as I do, although at first, he groaned every time he lifted a heavy bag of soil or helped me repair a drip line. Now, it's a special time in the early evenings when we wander the garden, making sure everything is tidy and well watered. After picking the fruits and veggies that ripened, we sit on our patio with a crisp glass of cold wine and talk about the day. With that, we've put the garden to bed, knowing tomorrow will bring a new bud, a new juicy tomato, or fresh radish sprouts for a salad. 

It feels so good to be sharing this experience with Jim. It's exactly what we needed to find peace in the chaos.

When you're faced with challenges and your mind won't turn off, choose to do something that soothes your spirit. We spend so much time focusing on work and taking care of our homes, and others, too. I love writing, and sometimes, I need to find creativity and peacefulness in other ways... like creating a garden.

"She who loves a garden learns the lessons of the seasons and how life itself adheres to nature's plan." - from "She Who Loves a Garden" by Mary Engelbreit

Find your pleasure task this summer. It can be anything you don't usually do, like gardening, baking, collecting shells on the beach, a dance class, exploring new recipes, and having people over to enjoy them... think about it!

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Let’s continue! I’d love to share a little writing inspiration with this: 7 Mindset Strategies for the Writer. I will also send you occasional emails to inspire you with more stories and encourage you on your creative journey!