yasuko,
a gray dawn breaks.
a breeze from the south blows
sea gulls cry as they fly overhead
the bell buoy moans
i taste and smell the salty air

waves crash on a shore of broken hearts.
a ray of light peeks from the clouds.
the sky darkens.
tears fall from the sky

your laughter now silenced.
your smile vanished.
all that are left are memories of you.
you are now in my past.
where i never wanted you to be.

so many questions.
so few answers.
only that you are gone.

i sit on a stone watching the sea.
i feel the cool breeze.
when it stops, a warming hug can be felt.
then the cool breeze returns.

do you know that i am here?
watching and waiting for you.
why did this happen?

there is so much more to this story.
that we will all never know.
only to left to guess at what happened.

may you be on an calm sea.
resting in eternal peace.
please now watch over us all.

i shall carry a part of you with me always.

till we all see you again.

mike.

08/04/2010

as the earth turns!

well not really the earth. as much as the garden soil.

so with another week down and this much closer to summer. the garden is making some nice headway. with the initial set backs from a late lingering frost and cold damn weather past us... or so i hope. i have just about finished planting everything in the garden. with the warmer weather now apon us, and the longer available day light, the plants seem to be responding very well.

the newest additions to the garden this year have been working out very well indeed. the rain catch is just about empty from todays planting and watering of the raised beds. good thing they are calling for rain after midnight. its much needed around here. since the rain catch was installed. i have not used the city water at the house once! i estimate i am saving somewhere between 25 to 30 gallons a week on water just for the plants. the second addition is the composter. making new soil for the coming months as well as next year is a bonus. we have grass clippings, as well as leaves from the many trees to add in and make compost. i can already see soil starting to form on the bottom of the tray and its been only a month. it works even when you don't!

with 14 raised beds. and several in ground areas planted i will be trying to save and store a lot of produce this season. last year lots of it got wasted and thrown on the ground. not this year. between a food saver ( vacuum sealer ) and getting a pickling kit. i should be able to not only freeze food but also jar it and save it for up to 2 years! this should really help stretch the value of the home garden. between the rain catch, composting and the food storage. i really hope to minimize the impact on the environment as well as my pocket. with the ability to now make my own high grade soil for the garden, store water, and store the food i am growing. i am no longer dependent on the local grocer. well not just yet anyway.

the garden has a nice mix of things in it as well.

blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and we also have mulberry tree in the yard.

the veggie garden has the following: spinach, roma tomato, beefsteak tomato, cherry tomato, corn, cucumbers, garden beans (string beans) , snap peas, white potatoes, red potatoes, jalepeno peppers, sweet peppers, pumpkins, and watermelons.

the flower garden will have a nice mix of annual and perennial plants. sunflowers are some of my favorites as well as a mix of some wild flowers to help attract the attention of bee's to help pollinate both the flowers and the veggie plants.

i am really looking forward to this season. with the amount of preparations and that this is now the third year i am working on this project. lessons learned or so i hope. i just need to remember no to start anything next year before the month of april. march is still to cold at night to keep things alive and kicking. i had some setbacks early this year. but we have more then recovered from them. lots of happy plants are growing now. it makes me feel good, and keeps my dad somewhat busy too.

well stop on over one day and take a tour. i now also have something like 26 trees that i have saved from the lawnmower and will be looking for homes in the next year or so. again trying to reduce my footprint on the plant!

Garden 2010

So its been a while since my last post. I'll be sure to start posting more here now that I have the password as well as the time to write. So much has changed in the last few months. With winter coming to a halt and spring having sprung it's time to garden once again.

With the raised beds still sitting dormant from last year. It's now time again to get them in shape for this coming growing season. First to go, was the remains from last season that made it through the long cold winter. Several hours later and lots of lawn bags filled with old leaves and plants. With lots of root base left in the beds this too would also have to be removed. Easier said then done. I had to head to the local home improvement store and get some new tools for the tasks at hand. I picked up two new tools, one a tiller the other a circular cultivator.

Spending my weekends as of late to remove roots and rocks and grubs from the soil. Adding new healthy soil to the old and working it into the raised beds, as well as all the clean up work was a tough day. But it had to be done.

Tomato plants, pepper plants, potato plants, and cucumbers are all what are in the works for now. With more to come as the weather gets a bit nicer. Some of the plants are now in the ground with some small covers over them to protect them from the cold. I have lost some of the smaller plants. But with the amount of seeds that I started with, the loss should be minimal.

On deck for this season will be storage of the veggies and canning of them as well to preserve them for the winter time. A small garden should produce enough produce to last an entire year if stored properly. So I will be collecting veggies, cooking them, and then freezing them in food saver bags.

The water catch that I installed is working fantastic as well. I filled not only the main 57 gallon bucket. But also with the rain tonight I was able to fill up an additional 20 gallons of storage as well. Which is huge. We haven't been getting all that much rain as of late. So the additional water storage should be fantastic. It will help to cut down on the city water that I have used in the past. As well as cut down on added chemicals in the city water as well as costs of the water to the garden project. Watering has been an added cost to this project every year. So an investment of 100 bucks on the rain catch. I am sure it will make up for it in no time.

In addition to the veggies, I will be growing several variates of flowers both perennials as well as annuals. The perennials will grow back from year to year. Where as the annuals are one year and then done. But my favorite flowers I have to say are Sunflowers. I will again this year have a massive sunflower garden with various sizes. Some as little as just about a foot to some as tall as 12 feet tall if they should indeed grow to full size.

The last but far from least of the growing items. My tree garden. I know have over 50 seedling trees. The long term project that this is turning into, I now am going to need find a home for these trees at sometime. My yard is not that big to have this many trees in it. So in the event that anyone out there is in need of some small trees contact me. I ll be sure to get you one or two. I now have a few different kinds. Cherry, Maple, and Oak. I have a feeling its going to be an interesting growing season. Only time will tell.

Till next time.

Mike