What I'm Digging
Published March 23, 2018 | By ashley english
Happy Friday, friends, and a very happy official spring to you and yours. I can’t recall anticipating a spring season quite as much as the one that’s currently upon us. It’s not just that we’ve been cooped up inside the house all winter long, riding out the cold, and threats of flu, and such. It’s just that I so, so much missed spending time in the soil last spring and summer, and what with visiting the baby everyday in the hospital for nearly 3 months, followed by months of life with a newborn, well, suffice to say, my days (and looooooong nights!) weren’t spent planting seeds or pulling up weeds. I was growing another sort of garden, as it were. But, here we are, three months into 2018, and I have already done scads of weeding, loads of pruning, and a good deal of planting (peas, arugula, and three types of lettuces, with radishes and spinach going in soon). It FEELS SO GOOD!
It’s my intention to return to “regular programming” around here. To that end, I’m reviving my weekly What I’m Digging Friday round ups. In them, I share a sampling of whatever this, that, and the other has caught my attention online. Here’s what’s been catching my eye lately:
*Completely smitten with the concept of this book, The Garden Awakening. Garden designer Mary Reynolds has an enviable, reciprocal relationship with the natural world, it would appear. And this filmabout her life looks beyond enchanting! Grateful to my friend Amanda for mentioning both the book and the movie on Facebook the other day so that I could discover them both.
*I think it might be time to introduce Alistair to a sippy cup. I’m always looking for ways to weed out plastic from our kitchen, and this bamboo cup (from such a great eco kids store!) is in top billing right now.
*Speaking of ways to reduce plastic and waste, the Package Free Shop has got it going ON!
*Egg dyeing season is upon us! I’m planning on doing this splatter technique as the craft during our annual The Good Egg Gathering (this is one of the spring potlucks in Handmade Gatherings) here on April 1st. I’ll also be doing my tried and true natural egg dyeing with Huxley next week.
*I mentioned feeling a bit of PTSD symptoms surfacing as I approach Alistair’s first birthday. Several of you suggested checking out Bessel Van der Kolk’s book The Body Keeps the Score as a resource on dealing with, and healing from, trauma lodged in the body. Picking up a copy soon. I also came across this incredibly captivating interview he did with Krista Tippett for On Being last year.
*Might need to make this Egg Fruit Pizza happen.
*I know winter is officially over, but I’m still interested in making hot chocolate. Specifically, chaga hot chocolate. This recipe looks like it might be the one for me.
*I’m excited to be working with Wood & Button, a husband and wife team out of Hickory, NC, on some special marketing and publicity items for Southern From Scratch. Their kitchen items are exquisitely beautiful!
*My wise and talented friend (who also happens to live just down the road from me here in Candler!) Alana House of Buck Naked Plant Medicine just debuted her new line of spring creations. From skin care, to seasonal allergies, and beyond, she’s got you covered.
Alright, I’m ready to head into the weekend. Here’s hoping that wherever you go, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!
*This building, which we simply refer to as “the shop,” is next to our house, and contains all manner of messiness, including seasonal toys, yard work materials, Glenn’s woodworking tools, a treadmill and weight bench, and more. No matter the craziness inside, outside it’s looking awfully springy, and wild, and magical these days!