Four Firsts in One Day

My bok choy amongst the arugula

Day 149
The Daily DuBrule

Yesterday morning, I awoke the news that one of my cousins had passed. My sister was visiting, and we discussed the fact that this was the first of our first cousins to go. Later, I returned home from my final visit to clean out my father's house which is being sold on Thursday. I was a bit sad, knowing I had turned in my key and after 48 years, I would never be walking into that house again. It is the end of an era in my life. After I got dinner started, I sat outside in the sun to watch the Allium cernum nod in the breeze and check out all the bees that were pollinating it. That is when I had my first close encounter of the hummingbird kind of the year. I have seen hummingbirds at Natureworks already and I thought I might have seen one at home out of the corner of my eye, but this was the real deal. This ruby throated beauty came within inches of where I was sitting, going directly for the Stachys albotomentosa that I had specifically planted to attract hummingbirds. How cool! 

Annual Stachys albotomentosa

All of my containers are planted to attract hummingbirds. They contain fuchsias and 'Bonfire' begonias, Verbenas, Agastache, Salvias,million bells... you name it, if it attract hummingbirds and I can fit it in, I plant it. 

The second first of my day was that I harvested bok choy. I have never grown this before, but when Renees seeds let me choose 12 packets to grow and write about, I decided to give it a try. Well let me tell you, I made an out-of-this-world Chinese stir fry with this crunchy, crispy, delicious bok choy. I am hooked.

Later in the evening, I went back out to the garden to pick blueberries. There, glowing in the setting sun, was my first raspberry of the season! It was a yellow one. I popped it in my mouth and smiled, looking at the raspberry patch which is filling out with swelling fruit quite nicely this week. 

All in all, yesterday my garden helped me deal with some tough emotions by feeding both my body and my soul.