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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

I'm having garden envy.


There is no other way to say it.

The sun is a coy tease here in Seattle, with flirty sparkling lashes and a grand cape of green .  I have been preening over my house plants, sticking fingers in the soil just to bring them up with grim under my finger nails (I feel like Amelie, questionably enamored with sticking her hands into bags of lentils, the feeling of all those little beans jostling cozily against her skin).  I have been eyeing the neighbor's sage plant, wandering off the sidewalk just far enough to rub my hands inside the brush and sniff them deeply, slyly snipping off chunks of lavender to tuck behind my ears.

Apartment dwelling can be tough.

Today I need more space.  And dirt.  And the scent of tomato leaves.  And sweat trickling down the backs of my knees as I work tirelessly in the garden.  I want to visit here and buy whole flats of flowers and starter veggies (don't get me wrong, my new tiny African Violet, miniature fern for the mosserarium and peace lily for the studio - apparently the best plant for filtering paint-fumed air - are all wonderful but...).


The kitty boys have the restlessness too.  They've been moody in the sunshine and I know they too want to roll in the dirt and snip the blooms off the alliums.  I've been bringing the outdoors in for them, gathering up casserole-dish-sized selections of dandelion greens, blooming clover, fresh spearmint and wild grasses then arranging mini green-forts for them to play in.  




I like to think it's helping.  

But who knows.  This city gal might return to the country life before too long, dragging her little urbanite felines along, sipping mint tea on a front porch somewhere, popping cherry tomatoes like candy.

So what do you think?  Where should BC and I move?

16 comments:

BC said...

I think we should move anywhere that we don't have to be Supers' at...

Anonymous said...

We could always use extra hands at CR Gardens and felines are welcome too... {just need to respect the cat nip thats all}

:)

John said...

Hmm... I'm not sure you should move, just to move. I think you should move when there is an unrelenting call upon both of you. :-)

Anonymous said...

Oh - I love the mini-green forts! I think that's a really sweet thing to do. And insides are always better when they have some of the outside in them :)

candacemorris said...

Aim for MV area. I think we are headed there soon as well.

jordan said...

haha
what lucky kitties! i don't know many folks who go to those lengths for their feline friendlies...
i too have garden envy. Although i do have the capacity to have a garden, i just have no imagination and haven't started one yet. but it's a comin.

how bout northern saskatchewan? ask plumey, you'd love it. although it's a bit tough to have a garden, growing season's rather short.

BC said...

John- on one hand I agree with you. There needs to be a driving force. But, at the same time, I think adventure and change can be a good enough motivator. If we wait for change to happen to us, then we are initiating it and are therefore left at its mercy. I'm much more of a 'take the reins' kind of person who would strike out on an adventure with no real destination.

UmberDove said...

Michaela - The brown one (Thai) is a functioning crack addict with the nip - he would literally turn tricks for the stuff! If I buy a plant and he gets a hold of it, it will be down to the soil, roots ripped out in no time flat!

John - words of wisdom, BC and I discussed that very point over spicy cashew noodle nut this afternoon.

Kitty-Lovin'-Ladies - I think the boys LOVED it right up until the "upheaval" time. But then all they wanted was to go back for more.

BC said...

Ooops - "....If we wait for change to happen to us, then we are [NOT] initiating it..."

That's what I get for not proof reading.

Dutch said...

I agree with Candace. Maple Valley area. I mean, come on, we got a Starbucks that stays open 'til 8:30. How cool is that?

AppaloosaMoon said...

...i say Paris...

or Provence...

OK...

how about...Pocatello...?

alright then...there's Boise...& Butte...Casper &

Dubuque...Fargo...& Lincoln...St. Paul & Chi...ca...go...

there's Nashville & Greenville & Ashland to boot...
Key West...Savannah...New Orleans...a hoot...

Surf City...White Plains...& Brooklyn...way cool...
Flushing...nah...Fire Island & the Hamptons... tres uncool...
there's Providence...& Boston...Quechee & Waterloo...Portland...Moosehead & Camden to name a few...
geez...

then there's always...nyc...!?!

Aww heck...
maybe you should rethink this...

jordan said...

i firmly believe that animals don't care when they puke up greenery. i kind of think they like it in some sick twisted way. probably because we have to clean up after them.

UmberDove said...

PHFHAHA!

those tricksie little bastards!

emilyclare said...

And you know Mrs Dove, there's always my big old Island. We've got PLENTY of room...

The Noisy Plume said...

Well...what an uncommon scene, to spot you in a greenhouse!?!?!?!?!!!!!

For the record:
The radishes are voracious growers. The lettuce has doubled in size with the 14 days of rain we've just had. The tomatoes are stout. The beets and beans are bending and stretching out of their dormant seed life and into the happy split of curvy cotyledon. And imagine their shock when they finally made it out into the sun to only see ONE gardening momma instead of the two that put them in their place?

I've had some 'splaining to do.

The earth here is wondering when the second set of carefully tending hands will reappear!

I'm not sure what to tell them so I just sing while I hoe.










I see you in Jackson Valley, Wyoming. With a greenhouse and an orchid shed, 4 horses (two to ride, two to pack), a ranch of cats, a pair of domestic ducks, a milk cow and a pair of daisy dukes in the summertime. I'll zip over in my truck and we'll grab coffee at Jackson Hole Roasters before strolling to the top of The Grand.

But that's just me.

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