Ode to the garden

As you know by now, I love to garden. I have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy getting my hands dirty; waiting in anticipation when the garden is in its winter slumber; and enjoying the surprises that come with seeing the full palate in bloom. To me, there is nothing better than having freshly picked flowers in the house and outside my window. It helps me relax, and it makes a house that is usually full of dog and man odors smell light and clean.

This is the time of year when I start itching to dig in the dirt. Now that we've lived in the house for nearly two years, I know what plants I want to move, where the sunlight is best, and what areas need some extra love. Every year, I like to have a goal, and my goal this year is to grow more veggies because there is nothing better than a tomato picked from just outside your door. So far, I've planted strawberries that should produce fruit in a few months through the rest of the summer. I've sown four different kinds of lettuce plus arugula and green onion. I've planted parsley, oregano, and chives, which add to my existing herb garden of thyme, sage, sorrel, and a bay leaf tree. I've removed some overgrown shrubs that blocked precious sunlight from surrounding perennials. And, I've weeded. Boy have I weeded.

While I was weeding earlier today, I was trying the figure out what it is about gardening that I love so much. More than just the activity and the pride of seeing the results of my hard work, but what makes me want to squat and contort myself in very unflattering positions in front of my neighbors? Slowly, I realized that I get so much from gardening, and the benefits are immediate and long lasting.

Here are a ten reasons why gardening rocks:

1. Gardening is an outdoor workout. I love being outside, and I often wish I would enjoy the outdoors more frequently. There is no question that being outside is good for you, but I often find myself tired from a long week of work or distracted by other priorities that keep me -- often by my own fault -- from playing in the woods. However, a garden is right there in front of you. It's in your face and you can't ignore it. When I work in the garden, I squat, lift heavy objects over and over again, stretch for things, and walk, walk, walk. I get the same feeling when I hike or raft or bike, but I don't have to go anywhere. When I lose the baby weight, I think I may remake "Buns of Steel" but with a gardening theme.

2. Gardening teaches you to work smarter not harder (but it shouldn't be too easy). The reality is that you will never be able to do everything you want to do in your garden. You're busy and you get tired. When I go out to my garden, I try to identify the one or two big things I want to get done when I have a few hours to spare and two or three little things that I can do in 15 or 20 minutes. With those limitations, you try to focus on what gives you the biggest bang for your time and energy buck, and a garden doesn't lie so you quickly learn what is a good use of time (e.g., weeding and mulching in the spring when weeds are easy to remove) versus what is a waste of time (e.g., spending an entire day pulling a square foot of established weeds in the summer).

The reason I say gardening shouldn't be too easy is because I hate commercials that insist buying a chemical or a mutated plant that will never die is your key to garden happiness. Like almost anything, if it comes easy, it comes at a cost. Ordering pizza every night is easier than cooking dinner, but it costs a lot of money over time, harms your health, and it gets boring. Organic gardening is the same. It isn't hard, but it requires you to pay attention and use your resources wisely. As a result, you get healthier plants, more critters that entertain you when you are laying in your hammock, and you don't have to worry that your kid or your dog will get sick all over your new rug after getting exposed to harmful chemicals.

3. Gardening helps you be more nurturing and patient. I'm a selfish person. I don't say that because I want attention (wait, maybe I do since I'm a selfish person), but I admit that I like things my way. Organic gardening forces you to learn about what something else needs to live and requires you to figure out how to balance what you want with what the plant needs. Plants are unique, and even though an instruction card on a new plant may say one thing, you may find, after years of experimentation and desperation, that the plant likes something different. For example, a plant that may be suited for "full sun" may like some afternoon shade. Some may not need much water while others seem to consume gallons on a daily basis. I'm also routinely surprised by plants that look dead but that suddenly spring to life when I've been too lazy or busy to pull them out.

You need to nurture your garden and treat the plants as individuals. Soon (like kids) they grow up and find friends that share common needs, and you can sit back and watch the plant bloom and thrive. You can't force a plant to be happy, so you need to find a strategy that works for you and the plant. When you find the right balance, it's like magic.

4. Gardening helps you make friends (human, animal, and insect). Organic gardening creates a little ecosystem outside your front door. The previous owners of our house used all sorts of chemicals in their garden (I know because we had to find a way to dispose of the stuff when we moved in), and I remember feeling disappointed because we rarely saw butterflies or bees or birds. After only a year, we had about a dozen bird species (including a nest with a family of finches) and loads of beneficial insects. Neighborhood cats enjoy the cat mint, much to Soma's enjoyment or chagrin, it's hard to tell. I've also gotten to know my neighbors since I spend so much time outside. Strangers may break the ice by asking about a specific plant or commenting on the garden generally. When our little guy arrives, I'm hoping he will join me in the garden, and I can teach him little things like the secret to good compost or how to identify plants and birds. It may sound cheesy, but I think it's cool!

5. Gardening forces you to confront fears. I remember when I first started gardening. My friend, Amy, and I would go to our favorite neighborhood nursery, Swanson's, to enjoy some coffee and some plants. I was totally overwhelmed. I had no idea how to select a plant or a bulb and was tempted to retreat. I knew nothing, but Amy showed me a few things and helped me get my bearings. Then, I started reading websites and books and magazines about gardening and grew more confident.

My new fear is vegetable gardening. I know nothing about how to make a tomato plant happy, but I want to try. I also want to try growing vegetables I've never eaten or grown before to experiment with something new. I'm terrified that I will fail and that my garden will have carcasses from failed veggie gardening endeavors, but I'm willing to take the risk. We'll see what happens!

6. Gardening promotes creativity and problem solving. This life lesson is related to the "work smarter not harder" lesson, but it's a little different. I find that gardening is really fun when you have a general vision that you want to execute. I love developing a color scheme and figuring out what textures and hues look good together. However, like life, it's rare that a vision is carried out exactly as planned. Sometimes, you need to adjust your original vision after discovering an unforeseen bump in the road. I love it when I've conquered a problem and can enjoy all the blooms that result!

7. Gardening gives you a break at the right times. For me, I need a break from gardening in the summer and in the winter. As much as I love getting dirty, sometimes you just want to kick back with a spiked hot cocoa or a gin and tonic (my preferred winter and summer libations) and chillax. Thankfully, the garden supports me. In the summertime, I can hang in the hammock or lounge in a chair with a good book while enjoying the sites, smells, and sounds of my garden. It's zen. In the winter, I still have some cool things to look at (e.g., my red twig dogwoods, hellebores, etc.), but I can stay warm and cozy in my house. Ahhh....

8. Gardening teaches you to focus on what you can control. Sometimes it's cold. Sometimes it's hot. Sometimes you buy a plant you've been wanting for years and it dies for no good reason. Sometimes you want a spot to be sunny but the sun won't follow your instructions. Despite all the variables, there are a few things you can control: where you put plants, the soil conditions, fencing to keep your compost loving dog out of the newly planted bed. Just do the best with what you've got. Focusing on what you can control helps you in life, and the garden is a great reminder of this important lesson.

9. Gardening puts you in touch with the world. I know this sounds very hippie, but the world has a pulse, a vibe that we often overlook. Not just the natural world, but cities, families, etc. When I was weeding today, I heard birds chirping, the wind blowing, and people mowing their lawns. I watched neighbors walking their dogs and welcoming friends and family for Easter brunch. I also noticed birds feeding on seeds, new blooms, and worms squirming when I woke them from their sleep or inadvertently took them away from their soil-building work. It's nice to notice these little things. I remember when I started my job after law school, and I was shocked and appalled that I didn't know the names of rivers in my area or what types of fish they produce. I want to be aware of my surroundings because you aren't really living if you shut yourself off from the world around you.

10. Gardening requires you to face and deal with problems. You can't deny it when a plant is covered in rust or black spot. It's also hard to ignore a brown, dried up mess in the corner surrounded by lots of vibrant healthy plants. You can only ignore a dead or dying plant for so long before you have to deal with it to prevent infecting surrounding plants. For me, it's a good reminder that it's always easier to address an issue right away than let it sit and turn into a bigger problem. For someone like me, who can easily avoid things and deny like no other, the garden is good therapy!

That concludes my deep thoughts for the day. Thanks for reading and let me know if you agree or think I'm crazy.

Happy Easter!

It's a boy!

Last Friday, we found out that our bun in the oven is a boy! While we are beyond happy that the baby is healthy, I have to admit that I was a little sad. For some reason, it brought back childhood memories of wishing for a sister. I love my brothers, but after so much testosterone in the family home, I hoped for a little estrogen ally to teach and learn from. But alas, it wasn't in the cards, and I have to say that having so many brothers made me who I am today (a.k.a. a tough broad).

More and more, the reality of becoming a mother is hitting me. I'm starting to feel the baby move and my body is changing quickly. Now when we talk about the baby we say "him" instead of "it." I think both Ryan and I are starting to feel the time crunch to get ready for the little guy. I'm working in the garden like crazy (while I can) to get vegetables and fruit planted, clean up after winter, and plant in anticipation of a zen like space this summer when I probably won't be able to move as easily as I can now.

Ryan is spending nearly every free minute in the basement framing, putting in a window, and trying to get things finished so we can move our office to its new home in the basement. The room that currently operates as an office will become the new nursery, but we need a space to put the computer, files, etc.

After I finish in the garden, I will help with finishing up the basement and getting things organized in the house. I love spring cleaning and purging belongings that someone else can use. For me, it's like a form of therapy -- like hitting the "restart" button. I often notice my mental state changes for the worse when things are in disarray and chaos. I get frustrated easily, I feel anxious, and I have a hard time focusing on the present. I'm no neat freak (not by a long stretch), but I don't like feeling buried by things that are useless to me. My dream is to have a nicely organized home where I can find what I want or need quickly.

As I enter the organization phase of my nesting, I'll post about the good, bad, and the ugly of getting your life together before baby.

Thanks for reading!

The Little Yellow Bus

Ryan has a childhood friend, Chris Devendorf, who sent us a book for the baby-to-be. The crazy part? Chris wrote the book! Chris is a teacher, and the book ("The Little Yellow Bus") is an educational adventure with lots of activities for kids. Check it out on Amazon!

Spring has Sprung!

Ryan and I have been working like crazy. Ryan is pushing to get a software program ready for the iPad release later this month. I'm balancing the legislative session, a new role with our national office working on water quality issues, and trying to maintain my other work responsibilities.

This afternoon, I took 10 minutes to walk around my garden and take pictures of the early spring blooms. This winter has been unusually warm -- in fact the state is preparing for a possible drought emergency this summer. Flowers that usually bloom in March bloomed in late January or early February. I'm getting excited to move plants around and see what my garden does this year!

Periwinkle in my woodland shade garden.

Hyacinth close up.

Camelia explosion!

Forsythia -- a little piece of sunshine in winter!

Tulips in a pot.
What color do you think they will be?

Pot with red twigged dogwood and pansies.
In Seattle, pansies bloom year round, so this was my holiday themed pot.

Sunset through our blooming tree (not sure what type of tree it is yet!).

Baby Boom on the Block

We're super excited because we found out a couple days ago that our uber-cool neighbors are also expecting their first baby. The best part? We are due on the same day, August 15th! We have coordinated gardens, Subarus, and now babies.

Ryan and I talked and laughed about what our kids will be like. Our neighbors, Rob and Lydia, will probably have a super-athletic surfer kid who is smart, creative, and outgoing. Our baby will be active (Ryan's already creating a soccer development strategy) but will probably be coding by preschool and using political anecdotes as ice breakers on the playground.

Poor Nonerick baby.

First Trimester Observations

I promise not to dwell too much on the baby situation (damn Jersey Shore for ruining an important word like "situation"). To show you that I'm serious about not becoming one of "those people" who talk about their baby constantly, I'm also drafting a blog post about the early season blooms in my garden. Geez, and I wonder why nobody reads my blog when I mostly talk about fetuses and gardening.

Anyway, I'm at the end of the first trimester and thought now would be a good time to reflect on the last few months. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that I am in no way whining or complaining because many women have a much tougher time in the first trimester and because the baby appears healthy. However, I think there are a few funny bits about early pregnancy that are worth sharing with the world at large.

TO PEE OR NOT TO PEE

The first pregnancy symptom I had was frequent urination (a.k.a. peeing all the time), which is incredibly unusual for me because I'm not a pee-er. I once refrained from peeing during a 15 hour road trip from Syracuse, NY, to Madison, WI. Okay, okay, I went to the bathroom once in Ohio, but you get the picture. I despise public bathrooms partly because of cleanliness concerns and partly because I need my own private bathroom space to really do my thing.

Something tells me that pregnancy and giving birth will be all the immersion therapy I can handle on my bathroom issues. I wonder if I'll have the same issues after this is over?

A PENCHANT FOR PUKING

Nausea and vomiting didn't really start until Christmas (thank you, Santa), and the movie It's a Wonderful Life ironically kicked off the trend. So, maybe it wasn't ironic that a movie with the words "wonderful" and "life" triggered weeks of vomiting and nausea, but it is at least a strange coincidence. Of course, there are probably lots of folks out there who would say that the movie is responsible for decades of nausea and even vomiting that are more content related than pregnancy related. (I kid, I kid.)

In addition to the nausea and vomiting, my eating preferences changed significantly. Everyone knows I'm an eater. I like all sorts of food: spicy, sweet, salty, savory, exotic, etc. Sadly, my diet during the last few weeks has consisted of soup crackers, bagels, hard boiled eggs, and (if I'm lucky) oranges. I would love to see a fancy chef try to make a delightful dinner based only on those ingredients. It can't be done, and I've tried.

Ryan's office has a couple of chefs who cook dinner for the employees, and staff are allowed to bring home dinner for their families. It's an amazing perk, but anytime he brought home anything that consisted of more than the four ingredients listed above, I would run to the loo in a panic.

Just as I was feeling my worst, my busy season started with the state legislative session. Again, I have it much easier than most environmental lobbyists who are in Olympia for months, but the first few weeks of session are intense and require long hours and result in stress and poor nutrition. Thankfully, I have a great support system with another lobbyist (you know who you are!), and she really looked out for me this year. That said, I would like to avoid constant nausea, exhaustion, and vomiting during future sessions, unless, of course, I'm sick because I had one too many gin and tonics. Then, I'm fine with it. (Again, I kid, I kid.)

I DIDN'T YAWN AT YOU. I YAWNED NEAR YOU.

Then there's the exhaustion. I'm not sure if it's because of my work demands or if it's the baby, but I'm completely wiped out ALL THE TIME. I wake up tired. I barely function during the day. I come home and immediately go to bed. I've heard that this too shall end in the second trimester, but I have to say this has been the hardest symptom to deal with. I want to go to the gym. I want to do my laundry from start to finish without getting so tired that my clothes sit on the dryer for a week. I want to work in my garden. I want to pull my weight around the house. The baby is barely a fetus and the little bugger is already holding me back. Why can't that reality begin after the baby is born? Seriously, I'm putting a suggestion in the comment box, and I'd like a response.

EMOTIONAL? I'M NOT EMOTIONAL? WHY? DO YOU THINK I'M EMOTIONAL? OHMIGOD! WHAT IF I AM EMOTIONAL?

I don't think the hormone-induced insanity of pregnancy has really set in yet, but I'm definitely a little more reactive and unpredictable than usual. For the first time ever, I cried while watching an Aflac commercial. Sometimes, I get a little feisty with Ryan if he looks out the window because I'm sure it's a sign that he wants to leave and I'll be stuck alone with the baby forever. I can't listen to The Splendid Table on NPR without yelling at the radio.

I don't know where these irrational feelings and reactions come from. Granted, I have a history of anxiety and my quirky thoughts and actions may just be the result of an uptick in dysfunctional brain chemistry, but I think the pregnancy hormones are starting to show themselves. Poor Ryan. It must be hard for men to understand this symptom. In a way, it's like being a sober driver when your closest friend is completely drunk and unpredictable. As the sober person, you just want the night to end and the drunk friend to go to sleep. Good thing I'm tired all the time.

The first trimester is strange for a lot of reasons. The reality of having a baby hasn't really hit you yet, but your body knows what's going on. Besides the physical symptoms, I've had my share of weird little freak out moments where I worry over silly things. For example, the laptop has become my primary entertainment source while I lay in bed. I'm sure the radiation or heat or electric fields from the computer are mutating the poor little bun. Fortunately, I'm too exhausted to worry too much, and I return to watching reruns on Hulu after a few moments of neurosis.

Thanks for reading such a long post! Stay tuned for more adventures!

Big news!

We haven't posted in quite a while largely because we've been harboring a secret. Ryan and I are going to be parents! I'm 12.5 weeks pregnant and we just had our first ultrasound showing that everything is healthy and on track, so now we are sharing the news with the world.

While I've been around kids my entire life, I'm very nervous about being a parent for the first time. I'm not 100% confident in my skills to be a patient and nurturing mother. I'm selfish. I require more sleep than the average person. I like being in control. I love my job. I enjoy our quiet and peaceful home. At a time when most mothers-to-be fret over the health of the baby, I'm most anxious about balancing my career, which I will not give up, with a healthy and happy home life.

One critical lesson I've learned so far is to go with the flow. Right now, the bun is healthy and thriving in the oven, and I'm starting to feel better. Ryan is working hard to finish the basement, and I'm shifting my attention to other priorities like lining up day care (believe it or not, I'm actually way behind on this front because many day cares in Seattle have waiting lists of a year or more).

This laid back attitude stops when it comes to what the call the fetus. Originally, Ryan called the baby "blasto" because it was a blastocyst. I've been calling it a "bun" but that lacks creativity. Ryan has moved on to "the spawn", which I'm not crazy about since I work a lot on salmon recovery issues. As much as I love my job, I want to keep my personal life separate from my work life.

Stay tuned for regular updates, observations, and quirky stories of our experiences in the months ahead.

The first look at the bun.
During the ultrasound, the baby was moving and kicking up a storm. Ryan thinks this means the baby is a future soccer star.