Trees, Bees, and Peas...oh my!

When we first bought our house 27 years ago, there was a house, a pond, a small garden and LOTs of lawn. Three acres worth. I knew right away that there was no way I'd spend my time mowing that much grass. Slowly, over time, my grass has given way to a pole building, a huge garden, and lots of trees. In 1991 one of our neighbors was a retired farmer. We shared a long border with him and on the other side he had a beautiful woods. I remember talking with him one day and telling him that I really admired his woods. I was hoping that he'd consider selling it to me at some point. Instead, being a man of few words, he simply said, "Plant some trees." That is what I did. Some, like the pine tree on the left, I planted from a six inch tall seedling. The 20 foot pines in the background came up on their own after I stopped mowing the grass. In addition to the pine trees, all around the property we have over 50 flowering crab trees. The smell when they bloom in early June is heavenly. I can thank the birds who eat the fruit from these trees for choosing where and when to plant them. They say we plant trees for the next generation. While that may be true, it is nice that we can enjoy some of the benefits if we are patient enough.

This afternoon I was listening to To the Best of Our Knowledge and they were talking about trees. One segment was on the giant Sequoias. Another topic they discussed was Forest Bathing. As they described it, I thought of how much it relates to earthing. With Forest Bathing, one walks into a woods, closes her eyes, and uses her other senses to experience the trees. Upon opening the eyes, one can appreciate the forest as if seeing it for the first time. As I understood it, this taking in of the forest atmosphere is based on Japanese healing. This past week, a friend of mine put one of her beehives in my yard. I watched as she introduced her three pounds of bees to their new home and then placed the Italian queen. I am hoping that they will be happy in my yard. The spring flowers are beginning to bloom and soon my crop of dandelions will be a wonderful source of nourishment for these insects. I am also hoping that my nearby garden will benefit with such an active army of pollinators so close at hand. As a kid, I used to take off running whenever I saw a bee. I guess I've come along way to willfully allow so many to hang out on my land. Another way that I've matured has been with peas. I hated them growing up. Perhaps it was one too many stare downs with a bowl of split pea soup but I found peas to be disgusting. I had to eat one pea for every year old I was. The family story is that when I was about five I excused myself to the bathroom and deposited my peas in the toilet. I thought I had the perfect plan but apparently I wasn't smart enough to flush!

As a vegetarian of 32+ years, peas are now one of my favorites from the garden. (Sorry Marcia!) There is nothing better than the first edible-pod pea from the garden each June. This year, I have planted peas in Missouri, Madison and Manitowoc. And yet, I may miss out on having any! I planted my peas at Dancing Rabbit in March. I haven't been around to care for them and I don't even know if they germinated. Regardless, they may be done by the time I get there in June. I planted peas in Manitowoc a week ago. My goal is always to have peas before the school year lets out. In my

28 years of being in education, I have achieved this only once. This year, I am about a month behind due to the blizzard on April 16th. I will be far away when those peas finally produce.

Today, in Madison, a friend and I planted peas in our Madison garden. Those peas will also mature while I am gone, if it isn't too hot when they are ready to produce fruit. In a sense, I feel like Johnny Appleseed. I am planting things in gardens and leaving the fruits for someone else. But then gardening is always a way to pay things forward. We spend hours preparing the soil, planting, watering, weeding, and general tending, all the while not knowing for certain what the outcome will be or just who will be enjoying the produce.