Lavender and Bananas
To our great relief, the skies over Nevada City are once again clear of smoke from Northern California’s Dixie and Caldor fires. For two weeks, we monitored the daily Air Quality Index and stayed indoors during periods when the AQI registered in the very unhealthy range. We wore K-94 masks on our early morning walks, devoted time to finally getting our GO boxes organized, and went to our bank to put essential documents into a safety deposit box. It was time to be ready and have our evacuation plans in place.
Then as suddenly as the smoke had arrived, the air in the Sierra Foothills cleared. Once again, we looked above the towering Ponderosa pines and Douglas firs at heavenly stars, a waning moon, and blue skies. It was the perfect time to get my hands in the dirt and see what was doing well, or not, in our gardens. If you’ve followed my blog since our move west to Nevada City CA last April, you’ve read about the beautiful redwood raised flowerbed that replaced a falling down brick disaster that we inherited with the property. Following the raised bed’s completion in June, it was filled with enriched soil and a wealth (literally) of plants I’ve grown over the past three decades in my Missouri gardens.
June and July were hot and rainless. The “hot,” chicken poop enhanced soil should have been allowed to age a while longer. Impatient, I was overzealous in thinking I could grow everything I saw and loved without checking local plant guides to see if the deer in our forest would love my selections to pieces. For a while, all was well. My butter yellow “Julia Child” roses and salmon pink “Passionate Kisses” roses bloomed happily and brought me joy. Then one afternoon, in broad daylight, a fawn wandered up from the woods and demolished every rose bud and bloom, chewed the daylilies to the ground, and munched on half of the plants in the herb sector of the garden.
Determined to out-fox the deer, I gathered long sprigs of French lavender and hearty rosemary, gathered them into bouquets bound by ribbon, and tucked them into the rose bushes. I also bought a spray bottle of Deer Out that my friend Cricket in Columbia recommended, and dried Coyote pee that our son Hayden thought might do the trick. Then, life went on without roses in bloom and our attention turned to other matters more pressing.
Our not-Smart TV began streaming ads at the bottom of the screen when we needed to be watching fire alerts and updates. And as if that wasn’t annoying enough, a Siri or Alexa like voice had began offering unsolicited commentary during the Olympics. Neighbors said, “Call Don’s Satellite and ask for Brenden. He’s a tech wizard and knows Comcast.” He came, solved the problems in five minutes, and we immediately felt lighter and brighter. Then a puddle began showing up under the refrigerator—a Maytag/Whirlpool older model that came with the house and we think is the best refrigerator we’ve ever owned. We called Ray’s Appliance for help. Like Brenden, Dave Ray is a one-man operation—“Fast, Fair and Friendly”—who lived up to his words, gave our venerable fridge a new chapter in life, and left with a loaf of Kit’s homemade banana bread.
Visit from Cathy sister Kim in the back row behind Kit.
In August, the family arrived and allowed us to set aside lingering moving-in tasks and just be in the moment. My sister Kim flew in for a week from San Antonio and days were filled with local explorations, walks along an old irrigation ditch trail, and evenings watching the Olympics. Later in August, the Graef family—Richard, Emily, Julian, and Anita who are all professional orchestral musicians—arrived from Chicago. That same week, our son Hayden and granddaughter Catalina arrived from Madrid, Spain. Twice we were treated to impromptu cello, viola, and flute performances after dinner that reminded us of the magic of music performed in small chamber settings as in centuries past.
Julian and Anita Graef.
Hayden and Catalina loved our new home, and I loved cooking with Catalina in our Martha Stewart mint green galley kitchen. One evening she and I prepared a meal of penne pasta with marinara sauce and black olives, grilled zucchini and portobella mushrooms, and an antipasto platter served al fresco on the deck. And just before the visitors all left to fly home, Kit and I hosted a brunch of French toast, bacon, apple rosemary sausage, OJ and fresh sliced strawberries. It was a delicious reunion of two families, enjoyed by all.
Visit from son Hayden,pictured with Kit, Cathy and granddaughter Catalina.
To fill the silence that follows such boisterous and invigorating gatherings, we tuned into the news on the CA fires, Hurricane Ida, flooding along the East Coast, and the sad chapter playing out in Afghanistan. That is what I wrote about last week. The weight of it all. Since then, positive communications from friends have worked their magic on my spirits. My friends David and Thom offered us shelter in their homes should we need to evacuate. David recalled that when the world was just too much with him, our Peace Corps pal Mackey would say, “Don’t Serious! This too will pass.” Larry, a longtime friend from high school days understands that we can’t save the world by ourselves. To stay grounded, he suggested that Kit and I “share a quiet meal and bottle of wine.” A student of history, he quoted Churchill’s advice in times of stress. “Stay calm and carry on.” Just across the road from us, our neighbors Carol and Jim let me know that anytime I need the comfort and company of cats, I can schedule a play date with Mac and Cheese—their two adorable yellow Tabby felines. Finally, to our great relief, they assured us that, should we all have to evacuate, they’ll take us with them.
A week ago, my local author friend, Shirley DicKard (Heart Wood) shared a gardening tip while we were having lunch at California Organics Restaurant in Nevada City. She pointed out that the potassium from bananas is great for growing roses and deterring green aphids. The next day, I planted four new pots of French “Provence” lavender in the garden and fertilized the roses with chopped banana peels worked into the soil. Happily, Kit now has a use for all the peels left over from his weekly batches of banana bread. Need a recipe for happiness? Friends and family, near and far; shared meals, books, and chamber music; clear air and blue skies; and the power of lavender and bananas to make roses bloom with abandon. These are some of the ingredients that feed my spirits and keep me grounded.