Put a little beauty where it comes as a sweet surprise
Planting For The Planet
In so many ways, picking out one day a year to celebrate the Planet seems as absurd as Mother’s Day (except that so far anyway nobody is creating Earth Day Cards and Earth Day themed candy. Or if they are, please don’t tell me!). On the other hand, since Mother Earth deserves to be celebrated and honored every day, maybe we can simply take an extra moment to consider the incredible generosity of our Earth Mother today. Let’s start with life giving Water, fresh and salty both. For so many people on this planet, the act of turning on a tap and getting pure, clean water is a mighty miracle, let alone having it come out hot or cold at the turn of that tap. Having lived from time to time in places where that was not the case and every drop had to be hand carried from a water source that may or may not have been especially unsullied (open range cows, I’m looking at you!), I’m truly grateful every time I wash my hands or shower or water my plants. Yet. Every major waterway has been polluted with a cocktail of toxins for decades in Washington State and most other States-and countries-as well. Water of Life, treated like a disposable part of an endless supply. Uh oh.
And how about air? Breathable, clean Air, courtesy of trees and kelp and other marvelous plants. So far this year, our local air quality is very good, kept fresh by the sea breezes, and rarely smokey from wild fires in spring. Ok, it’s carrying a boatload of pollen from climate-stressed plants, but over all? Pretty not bad. For millions if not billions of people, fresh air was something they may only have experienced briefly during the Covid-19 lockdown period, when skies cleared up dramatically even in the most polluted places on earth. I can walk out my door and breathe deeply and feel my grateful lungs going right to work. What percentage of the human population can say that today? And what will be be breathing tomorrow if the current regime has its weirdly deadly way?
But Wait, There’s More!
If we treat water and air like dirt, how to we handle actual soil? All over the world, the plants that give this world a breathable atmosphere rely on soils of many kinds and consistencies. Though humans mostly value soils fertile enough to nourish plants we eat or enjoy admiring, the hardworking plants of the world can survive and even thrive in an amazing array of habitats. Until, of course, we destroy those habitats for any number of short sighted reasons. I cringe when I read books from the last century proudly claiming to be putting land to its highest and best use when forests are clearcut to make toilet paper, wetlands drained because they’re seen as “wasteful”, and estuaries destroyed for expensive waterfront houses.
Planting Peas And Growing Peace
Y’know, I wanted to keep this little conversation lighthearted but the Planet won’t let me. I intended to write about my morning in my little garden, tidying up the last of the dead. That’s a task I enjoy putting off, knowing that not only are countless birds enjoying the seeds left on perennials and expiring annuals but they are also carrying off twigs and grassy bits to help build their hopeful nests. Best of all, if you wait long enough, most of the nutritive goodness in the fading stalks and stems has been delivered right back to the storage roots or released into the soil. There’s so little to remove now, and most of it breaks off readily at the touch or tug of my hand. I often start weeding with a belligerent attitude; Ha! Take that! After a while, my spirit is soothed by the scent of crushed weeds and warming soil and I find myself relaxing into a mindlessness that approaches meditation.
I’ve been planting peas in staggered batches, snow peas and snap peas and sweet peas too (though well apart and well marked, since these last are toxic enough not to be edible). My patented Lazy Girl fall tidy method left stalks of bolting lettuce and kale to go to seed, and now I’m transplanting the crowded little self-sown seedlings, red and green and blue-grey, giving each a bit more breathing room. I can’t help but notice that the Swiss chard youngsters are as beautiful as little jewels, their plump stems glowing pink and rose, orange and yellow, the leaves deep, rich green and lightly crinkled. After learning that some soil bacteria encourage human feelings of well being and discourages depression, I stopped wearing gloves except when working around prickly plants like thistles and roses. Now I enjoy getting my hands “dirty” (or should we say “soily”?). Not soiled, but soothed with the gentle influence of healthy garden soil, alive with tiny critters seen and others too small for my human perception. Good soil feels alive, it has a presence entirely absent from a dried up clump of manufactured potting soil (try handling both and I bet you’ll see what I mean). As I plant and transplant, weed and remove the dead, I feel gentled and even joyful with gratitude. Though my acres have shrunk to a few square yards of garden, so has my energy. As the kids say, not as many spoons in my drawer these days, so this tiny garden is just right for my life today, and I’m grateful for it.
What To Do On Earth Day
So, Earth Day, what shall we do? Plant something for today and something for tomorrow. Plant at home and somewhere public, perhaps a park, a school, a library or a local business that would appreciate a skillful and willing hand. Or just plant a random bit of beauty where beauty is sadly lacking. Pick up trash, clean a beach, recycle everything we can. Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. Onward, right?