October Morning Mild

A repost from 2013

"O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away."
-   Robert Frost, October

October: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore

"Gardening is the slowest of the performing arts."
-  Mac Keith Griswold

The month of October, for us, in Red Bluff, California, means cooler daytime temperatures, some rain, brisk mornings, falling leaves, ripening apples and persimmons, closing down the summertime vegetable garden, planting a winter garden, blooming chrysanthemums, longer walks, pruning, fertilizing, and cleaning up the yard and gardens.  

A few photographs of our garden are included below.  The photographs were all taken by Karen Garofalo in October 2013.

Summertime Gardening

Repost from August 2015:

This past week, the daytime temperatures have ranged from 95-105F, humidity under 30%, gentle breezes, and terrible air quality due to the many fires west of us in the Yolly Bolly mountains and Trinity range.  Three fire fighters have lost their lives while battling these terrible forest fires.

Our summer garden has been productive this year in terms of tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, kale, zucchini, herbs, and cantaloupes.

We have been pulling up vegetable plants in our sunny garden that have run their course and are now fading away.

The daytime heat has stressed all the plants despite reasonable watering.

The Spirit of Gardening:  Over 3,500 Quotes, Sayings, Facts, or Poems.  Compiled by Mike Garofalo.

The Month of August

 

August Gardening Chores

Repost from August 2014:

August Gardening Chores

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9
Typical Weather for Our Area
Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens
The Spirit of Gardening

August Gardening Chores for Us

Water plants: take advantage of cool early morning hours, use daytime shade, water plants deeply and less frequently. 
Avoid watering leaves during the heat of the day.
Water in the early morning. 
Use any ditch water carefully and wisely. 
Conserve water during our drought in California. 

Move potted plants to areas that get some shade in the afternoon, e.g, along the east side of a fence that runs north/south. 
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns infrequently with high cut settings.
Prune branches of trees; remove dead limbs and branches. 
Mulch and compost: cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.
Manage cutworms, larva, grasshoppers and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables.
Use mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintain the lawn mowing equipment and power tools.
Work on carpentry projects.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.
Train vines on support structures.
Read, listen to music, relax and rest in the shade during the heat of the day.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom.
Maintain lawn: water, fertilize, mow, clean, plant, spray, etc..
Mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch....
Harvest and preserve fruits and vegetables.
Paint outdoor art objects. 
Cut and stack wood so it can dry thoroughly. 



 
"Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes."
-  Robert Louis Stevenson, Summer Sun 

August: Quotes, Poems, Sayings


Lammas: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Quotes, Notes

Tao Te Ching Chapter 38 Dao De Jing

Dao De Jing by Laozi 
Chapter 38 

"The Master doesn't try to be powerful;
thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
thus he never has enough.

The Master does nothing,
yet he leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
yet many more are left to be done.

The kind man does something,
yet something remains undone.
The just man does something,
and leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusions go."
-   Translated by Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 38



"People with integrity
don't even think about it.
That's how you can tell
they have integrity.
Other people talk about
how much integrity they have,
when they really don't have much,
If any.
Truly powerful people
don't do anything,
but they get the job done. 
Other people are always busy
doing something,
but nothing ever gets done.
When kind people act,
they do so without thinking about it. 
When the just act,
they're always sure
they're doing the right thing.
But when the righteous act,
and nobody reacts, 
they try to force everyone
to do things their way.
If you're not in touch with Tao,
at least you can still have integrity. 
If you don't have integrity,
there's always kindness.
If you don't have kindness,
there's always justice. 
If you don't have justice,
all you have left is righteousness.
Righteousness is an pale imitation
of true faith and loyalty, 
and always leads to trouble.
If you've already made up your mind, 
you don't know the first thing about Tao,
and you never will.
The Masters pay attention
to what's beneath the surface.
They'll look at a tree's leaves,
but eat the fruit.
They turn all that down,
so they can accept this.
-   Translated by Ron Hogan, Chapter 38



"Those who possessed in highest degree the attributes of the Tao did not seek to show them, and therefore they possessed them in fullest measure.
Those who possessed in a lower degree those attributes sought how not to lose them, and therefore they did not possess them in fullest measure.
Those who possessed in the highest degree those attributes did nothing with a purpose, and had no need to do anything.  
Those who possessed them in a lower degree were always doing, and had need to be so doing.
Those who possessed the highest benevolence were always seeking to carry it out, and had no need to be doing so.
Those who possessed the highest righteousness were always seeking to carry it out, and had need to be so doing.
Those who possessed the highest sense of propriety were always seeking to show it, and when men did not respond to it, they bared the arm and marched up to them.
Thus it was that when the Tao was lost, its attributes appeared;
When its attributes were lost, benevolence appeared;
When benevolence was lost, righteousness appeared;
When righteousness was lost, the proprieties appeared.
Now propriety is the attenuated form of leal-heartedness and good faith, and is also the commencement of disorder.
Swift apprehension is only a flower of the Tao, and is the beginning of stupidity.
Thus it is that the Great man abides by what is solid, and eschews what is flimsy; dwells with the fruit and not with the flower.
It is thus that he puts away the one and makes choice of the other."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 38 

"A man of the highest virtue does not keep to virtue and that is why he has virtue.
A man of the lowest virtue never strays from virtue and that is why he is without virtue.
The former never acts yet leaves nothing undone.
The latter acts but there are things left undone.
A man of the highest benevolence acts, but from no ulterior motive.
A man of the highest rectitude acts, but from ulterior motive.
A man most conversant in the rites acts, but when no one responds rolls up his sleeves and resorts to persuasion by force.
Hence when the way was lost there was virtue;
When virtue was lost there was benevolence;
When benevolence was lost there was rectitude;
When rectitude was lost there were the rites.
The rites are the wearing thin of loyalty and good faith
And the beginning of disorder;
Foreknowledge is the flowery embellishment of the way
And the beginning of folly.
Hence the man of large mind abides in the thick not in the thin, in the fruit not in the flower.
Therefore he discards the one and takes the other."
-   Translated by D. C. Lau, 1891, Chapter 38 

"La alta naturaleza no intenta mantener la naturaleza,
por lo tanto la tiene.
La baja naturaleza intenta no perder la naturaleza,
por lo tanto la pierde.

La alta naturaleza no actúa
porque no tiene razón para hacerlo;
la baja naturaleza actúa,
porque encuentra razón para hacerlo.

El alto humanitarismo actúa
aunque no tenga razón para hacerlo;
La alta equidad actúa
porque encuentra razón para hacerlo.

El ritual más elevado actúa
aunque no halle respuesta,
desnuda las armas y lanza una soga.

Por lo tanto cuando se pierde el Tao, hay naturaleza.
Cuando se pierde la naturaleza, hay humanitarismo.
Cuando se pierde el humanitarismo, hay equidad.
Cuando se pierde la equidad, hay ritual.

En cuanto al ritual, es el delgado filo de la lealtad y la fidelidad y el comienzo del desorden;
En cuanto a la predicción, es el florecimiento del Tao
y el comienzo de la estupidez.

Por lo tanto, una gran persona
guiándose por lo grueso
no mora en lo fino,
guiándose por la semilla
no mora en la flor.
Por lo tanto una persona así deja esto y toma aquéllo."
-  Translated by Álex Ferrara, 2003, Capítulo 38 

"Discourse on Virtue
Lun Teh

Superior virtue is not virtue-conscious,
Therefore it has virtue.
Inferior virtue never forgets virtue,
Therefore it has no virtue.
Superior virtue does not interfere,
And has no motive to interfere.
Inferior virtue interferes,
And has a motive to interfere.
Superior benevolence interferes without motive;
Superior righteousness interferes from motive;
Superior propriety interferes,
And failing to evoke any response,
Lifts its arm and resorts to violence.
Therefore,
After the loss of Tao, virtue appears;
After the loss of virtue, benevolence appears;
After the loss of benevolence, righteousness appears;
After the loss of righteousness, propriety appears.
Propriety is a mere veneer of loyalty and sincerity,
And constitutes the prime cause of confusion.
Traditional knowledge is the flower (outward show) of Tao,
And has become the origin of folly.
Therefore, men of the heroic type abide by depth,
And stay away from shallowness;
Abide by the fruit and stay away from the flower.
Forsooth, they reject this and adopt that."
- Translated by Henry Wei, 1982, Chapter 38

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate option menu for reading the entire webpage in many other languages.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching [246 CE Wang Bi version] includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms (concordance) for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, links, research leads, translator sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  

     A Top Tier online free resource for English and Spanish readers, researchers, Daoist devotees, scholars, students, fans and fellow travelers on the Way. 

Chapter 38, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

November Garden Planning

Every year, from 1998-2017, in November, Karen and I would talk about what fruit and nut trees, shrubs, and ornamental trees we were going to plant that winter.  We would purchase bare root tree stock in December and January, and plant in our orchard.  We would also place potted plants in the ground in the winter season.  

We purchased most of our plants at nearby Kathy Goodin's Rock Garden Nursery near Flores Road and Highway 99W.  The photograph below was taken in late winter in part of our orchard in Red Bluff, California.  We both enjoyed this creative garden work.  I miss our five acre gardening playground.  

Wild Hues to the Sultry Sun

In Red Bluff, we seldom have sultry summer days.  Our temperatures climb to 100F in the daytime, but the humidity is typically low at 17% to 40%.  

Our apricot trees have finished their fruiting season.  Now we have nectarines, plums, and figs ripening.  

"O most honored Greening Force, 
 You who roots in the Sun;
 You who lights up, in shining serenity, within a wheel
 that earthly excellence fails to comprehend. 
 You are enfolded
 in the weaving of divine mysteries. 
 You redden like the dawn
 and You burn: flame of the Sun."
 -  Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), Viriditas 

"Now summer is in flower and natures hum
Is never silent round her sultry bloom
Insects as small as dust are never done
With glittering dance and reeling in the sun
And green wood fly and blossom haunting bee
Are never weary of their melody
Round field hedge now flowers in full glory twine
Large bindweed bells wild hop and streakd woodbine
That lift athirst their slender throated flowers
Agape for dew falls and for honey showers
These round each bush in sweet disorder run
And spread their wild hues to the sultry sun."
-  John Clare, June 

"Tell you what I like the best --
'Long about knee-deep in June,
'Bout the time strawberries melts
On the vine, -- some afternoon
Like to jes' git out and rest,
And not work at nothin' else!"
-  James Witcomb Riley, Knee Deep in June

The Spirit of Gardening

The Month of June

Seeing into the Core

"A friend's son was in the first grade of school, and his teacher asked the class, "What is the color of apples?"  Most of the children answered red.  A few said green.  Kevinn, my friend's son, raised his hand and said white.  The teacher tried to explain that apples could be red, green or sometimes golden, but never white.  Kevin was quite insistent and finally said, "Look inside."  Perception without mindfulness keeps us on the surface of things, and we often miss other levels of reality."
-  Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation

"It takes a little talent to see clearly what lies under one's nose, a good deal of it to know in which direction to point that organ."
-  W. H. Auden    

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."
-  Edgar Degas   

The Five Senses

Vision, Perception, Observing, Seeing

 

Bounty of Peaches

We have a number of peach trees in our orchard.  The numerous varieties of peaches ripen here in June, July, and August.  We eat, preserve, and give away.  Birds also enjoy the peaches. 

"If any sense in mortal dust remains
When mine has been refin'd from flower to flower,
Won from the sun all colours, drunk the shower
And delicate winy dews, and gain'd the gains
Which elves who sleep in airy bells, a-swing
Through half a summer day, for love bestow,
Then in some warm old garden let me grow
To such a perfect, lush, ambrosian thing
As this. Upon a southward-facing wall
I bask, and feel my juices dimly fed
And mellowing, while my bloom comes golden grey:
Keep the wasps from me! but before I fall
Pluck me, white fingers, and o'er two ripe-red
Girl lips O let me richly swoon away!"
-  Edward Dowden, In the Garden VI: A Peach


The Peaches of Immortality and the Queen Mother of the West, Hsi Wang Mu

The saint of longevity, Shou, sits inside
the Sacred Peach.  In his hands he holds
a sacred peach and a dragon staff. 

In the picutre below, Dongfang Shuo, circa 100 BCE, steals a sacred peach.

 

"Domestic wall-hanging embroidered with the image of Hsi-wang-mu,
the Queen Mother of the West, with phoenix and offering dish, and
three bats (fu) pun symbol for happiness.  The Eight Immortals appear
at the sides.  Late nineteenth century, Ch'ing Dynasty.  110" x 59''."
Looks to me like She is carrying four peaches on the offering dish. 
-  Tao: The Eastern Philosophy of Time and Change 

"The peach (Prunus persica) is a deciduous tree, native to Northwest China, in the region between the Tarim Basin and the north slopes of the Kunlun Shan mountains, where it was first domesticated and cultivated.  It bears an edible juicy fruit also called a peach.  The specific epithet persica refers to its widespread cultivation in Persia, whence it was transplanted to Europe. It belongs to the genus Prunus which includes the cherry and plum, in the family Rosaceae. The peach is classified with the almond in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated seed shell.  Peach and nectarines are the same species, even though they are regarded commercially as different fruits. In contrast to peaches, whose fruits present the characteristic fuzz on the skin, nectarines are characterized by the absence of fruit-skin trichomes (fuzz-less fruit); genetic studies suggest nectarines are produced due to a recessive allele, whereas peaches are produced from a dominant allele for fuzzy skin.  China is the world's largest producer of peaches."
-  Peach - Wikipedia

Working in the Orchard

Karen and I worked outdoors in our home orchard on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 
Clear skies, warmer weather, and a slight wind made for pleasant working conditions. 

We finished pruning all of our 35 fruit trees.

We planted five new bare root trees: Peter's Pistachio (male and female), Gold Dust Peach, Indian Free Peach, and White Peach.  

We mowed and weeded in the orchard.


We checked the drip irrigation lines to make sure that all were working properly.

We cut down dead trees and shrubs.  

The Spirit of Gardening

 

August Gardening Chores in Zone 9

August Gardening Chores

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA
USDA Zone 9
Typical Weather for Our Area
Red Bluff, California.  Natural History Studies at our Home and Gardens
The Spirit of Gardening

August Gardening Chores for Us

Water plants: take advantage of cool early morning hours, use daytime shade, water plants deeply and less frequently. 
Avoid watering leaves during the heat of the day.
Water in the early morning. 
Use any ditch water carefully and wisely. 
Move potted plants to areas that get some shade in the afternoon, e.g, along the east side of a fence that runs north/south. 
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns infrequently with high cut settings.
Prune branches of trees. 
Mulch and compost: cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.
Manage cutworms, larva, grasshoppers and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables.
Use mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintain the lawn mowing equipment and power tools.
Work on carpentry projects.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.
Train vines on support structures.
Read, listen to music, relax and rest in the shade during the heat of the day.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom.
Maintain lawn: water, fertilize, mow, clean, plant, spray, etc..
Mulch, mulch, mulch, mulch....
Water, water, water, water ....
Harvest and preserve fruits and vegetables.
Paint outdoor art objects. 
Cut and stack wood so it can dry thoroughly. 


"Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven with repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes."
-  Robert Louis Stevenson, Summer Sun 

August: Quotes, Poems, Sayings


Lammas: Extensive Bibliography, Links, Lore, Poems, Prayers, Preparations, Crafts, Quotes, Notes

July Gardening in Zone 9

July - Quotes, Poems, Sayings for Gardners

Months - Quotes

High Summer Feast Day, August 1st

July Gardening Chores 
For Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9


Water plants: take advantage of cool morning hours, use daytime shade.
Water plants deeply and less frequently.
Water potted plants carefully on very hot days.
Mow lawns, but don't mow low. 
Mulch and compost: straw, cuttings, leaves, twigs, chips, shredded paper, garbage.
Water compost pile areas.
Manage cutworms and other garden pests.
Weed around vegetables and shrubs. 
Plant for autumn vegetable crops. 
Use straw mulch to help control weeds and cool soil.
Maintenance on lawn mowing equipment.
Pick and save or eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Dry fruit in sun. 
Water plants.  Use irrigation ditch water efficiently and effectively. 
Get up early to work in the cool morning hours. 
Thin out excess fruit on trees.
Mulch with straw, chips, compost.
Train vines on support structures.
Read, listen to music, relax and sleep in the shade.
Tend to and enjoy annuals in bloom. 
Control wasp nests in the eaves of the house and porch and outdoor sheds.
Control ant invasions in our home.
Maintain evaporation cooler and house fans.
Cover all windows with shades on the outside, keep interior blinds and curtains closed.
Use indoor fans to move cooler air from cooler to office area.
Water trees and shrubs  slowly and deeply.
Stay hydrated at all times while working outdoors. 
Use shade for cooling, wear hats, wear light white long sleeved shirts.
Don't water the leaves of plants from 10 am to 8 pm - water roots. 

"Gardening helps us realize somatically, viscerally, the laws of growth and gradual unfolding.  We can't pull the plants up to make them grow, but we can help facilitate and midwife their blooming, each in his own way, time, and proper season.  I have learned a little about patience and humility from my gardens.  It's so obviously not something I'm doing that creates this miracle!  I also like to reflect upon and appreciate the exquisitely, evanescent, transitory, and poignant nature of things in the garden. 
If you love the Dharma, you have to farm it.

Go to a garden
And just stand in it.
Breathe in the air, the fragrances,
the light, the temperature,
the music of the different plants, insects, birds, worms,
   caterpillars, grasshoppers, and butterflies.
Inhale the prana (cosmic energy) of all the abundantly
   growing things.
Recharge your inner batteries.
This is the joy of natural meditation."
-  Lama Surya Das, "Awakening to the Sacred," 1999

    

The colorful gate pictured above is located at the entrance to our Sacred Circle Garden in Red Bluff, California.  The color green symbolizes Earth, yellow symbolizes Air, red symbolizes Fire, and blue symbolizes Water. This photograph was taken in 2009.  Most of the plants have nearlytripeled in size since then.  

 

 

The Backyard Orchard

The California Backyard Orchard - The University of California at Davis

Home Orchard Society

A List of the Trees in our South Backyard Orchard

The Spirit of Gardening

Gardening in the Month of January

Gardening in the Month of February


"He knows no winter, he who loves the soil,
For, stormy days, when he is free from toil,
He plans his summer crops, selects his seeds
From bright-paged catalogues for garden needs.
When looking out upon frost-silvered fields,
He visualizes autumn's golden yields;
He sees in snow and sleet and icy rain
Precious moisture for his early grain;
He hears spring-heralds in the storm's ' turmoil­
He knows no winter, he who loves the soil."
-  Sudie Stuart Hager, He Knows No Winter   

February Garden Activities and Chores in Red Bluff, California
USDA Zone 9

Browsing and ordering from seed and garden catalogs.
Pruning leafless trees and shrubs.
Weeding and tending the winter vegetable garden.
Relax and read books from the library.
The soil is usually too wet and cold for much digging.
Keeping cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Make sure that the cuttings in protected areas do not dry out.
Repair fences.
Put straw mulch over fertilized vegetable garden areas not planted. 
Distribute fertilizer and minerals. 
Prune and mulch dormant perennials.
Remove dead trees, shrubs, branches, and twigs.
Enjoy the bulbs and rosemary in bloom.
Repair and sharpen tools.
Construct gardening boxes and flats.
Keep hardwood cuttings moist.
Write a poem.   Keep a gardening journal.
Fertilize with 20-9-9 or 15-15-15. 
Trees without leaves need little or no watering.
Take a walk in your garden.
Sit and observe.  

Autumn is Around the Corner

"In September, as summer fades and we turn to embrace autumn's great bounty and gifts, we enjoy a renewed perspective of the seasons of life. We are motivated to make time to identify and explore what lies at our life's center, and our resulting awareness brings opportunities to investigate new pathways to a better life.  Opening to guidance and wisdom in a variety of ways affords us greater access to the infinite power of love and gratitude.  In September, we reenter our daily lives from a renewed place and move forward into full engagement. We are able to see more clearly our blessings and our learning, and we experience the gratitude that naturally results.  And we seek opportunities to bring our lives into congruence with the new perspectives we have gained."
-  Angeles Arriens, Living in Gratitude 


"Be Grateful.  Choose positive thoughts and feelings.  Use positive words.  Acknowledge others.  Appreciate yourself."
-  Mike Robbins  





We are still harvesting peaches, figs, plums, pears, and apples in early September here in Red Bluff.  Our orchard was especially fruitful this summer in a variety of kinds of peaches. 

September: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

With Luscious Juices Overflowing

"Close to the Gates a spacious Garden lies,
From the Storms defended and inclement Skies;
Four Acres was the allotted Space of Ground,
Fenc'd with a green Enclosure all around.
Tall thriving Trees confessed the fruitful Mold:
The reddening Apple ripens here to Gold,
Here the blue Fig with luscious Juice overflows,
With deeper Red the full Pomegranate glows,
The Branch here bends beneath the weighty Pear,
and verdant Olives flourish round the Year."
-   Homer,  Odyssey, circa 850 B.C.
    Alexander Pope translation 1725

This is the time of the year for many figs to ripen in our home orchard.  We dry many of them for eating later in the year.  

"The fallen hazel-nuts,
Stripped late of their green sheaths,
The grapes, red-purple,
Their berries
Dripping with wine,
Pomegranates already broken,
And shrunken fig,
And quinces untouched,
I bring thee as offering."
-   Hilda Doolittle, 1886-1961, Priapus: Keeper-of-Orchards


Fruits and Nuts 

Quotes for Gardeners