Nesting

"...A time to tear and a time to mend, A time to be silent and a time to speak". Ecclesiastes 5:2

Have you forgotten me? It's been almost two months since my last entry and as the days away from my blog grew longer, the feeling that I have anything relevant to add to a conversation seemed to grow.  For you see, I've been nesting. This has been a time where I've had to pair down my life to the very basics and rest around my little home in anticipation for the day when I could leave the nest with renewed energy, walk once more through my forest trail to the beach, and work in my flower beds fighting the good fight with the weeds and the critters once more. 

I began my adventure with an severely abscessed molar which needed a root canal and a course of antibiotics. Once that was managed, I began taking care of my daughter who was sick with the swine flu while in her early ninth month of pregnancy, poor sweet girl. The final two days there I began getting tired and the evening I returned, well, I just hunkered down and got sick. An infection was diagnosed and I began new antibiotics. Several beautiful sunny days were expected so I thought, "Hey, I'm on antibiotics and should get better in a day or so, so I guess I'll order 10 yards of mulch consisting of 1/2 steer manure and 1/2 ground bark"...my fever obviously was beginning to make irrational thoughts seem brilliant.  I began weeding the winter weeds away and worked for two days with a fever that kept climbing higher until I knew that there was no way that huge pile of mulch in my driveway was going to be moved by me.

My husband began the work without me as my fever climbed to 103. I hired my friend's teenage son for a few hours one day, but my husband labored for three days bringing the mulch to the back yard flower beds.  I don't know which was more painful watching my husband who hates yard work do the work I love on those three gorgeous, sunny days, or actually being sick.

My hubby worked long and hard and in the end he felt victorious and proud of himself and I...so very thankful.  My high fever and its gnarly side-kicks rested on me for almost two weeks and I received three straight days of antibiotic shots,and another run of antibiotics. I'm still gathering speed and have a bit more stamina to gather but I am definitely on the mend!

Whilst, in the midst of my illness new additions in my little nest were keeping me entertained. Check out my oyster mushroom garden!

And now I must introduce to you a new man in my life.  I can't seem to settle on his name, but have been given some excellent suggestions. In fact, I would love any suggestions from you, then perhaps I could finally put a name to this glorious man who for now resides in my kitchen but who will soon be in my garden.  I planted his hair and am in hopes of it falling down around his handsome face.

Well, that's it for me! I look forward to sharing more tidbits regarding my little piece of earth as I begin once more to venture out and investigate things like, "Why are the roses and tulips on the right side of the front flower bed considerably smaller, even though they were given the same soil amendments as those on the left and equal amount of sun?" Hmm...this is a question that needs an answer and may require a fair amount of sleuthing... is it insects, a virus in the soil, wascally wabbits, moles??? Does my soil need antibiotics too? Any suggestions?