The garden on Judy Branch turned into a jungle after I returned from a ten-day vacation to the Pacific Northwest. Veggies and weeds alike are thriving. Except for the eggplant. I managed to get the flea beatles under control, but the poor things just haven't grown at all. I harvested my first zucchini yesterday and while weeding the rest of the blooming squash, I saw the beginnings of a few patty pan! My beets, which I had worried about being puny, must have been really busy while I was gone, because they are now twice the size that I left them. Little okras are coming out and should be ready for the kitchen any day now. And I unexpectedly grew the most divine lettuce - drunken woman. Beautiful green ruffles that are delicious.
I've got a lot of weeding to do as payment for my time off. Good news is that I should have more time for garden work now that I've quit one of my jobs and have put my notice (a few months notice, but notice all the same) for my main job. Things are going to change for me in the next few months. My hope is that quitting these jobs will launch me into the next great adventure, whatever that may be. Who knows?
I got to spend time with my best friend, who moved out to Seattle about seven years ago. The day before she and her boyfriend came out to meet me on the Olympic Penninsula (where I was camping), I somehow managed to get the most severe sunburn of my life (I hope). She took me home with her and ended up nursing me with medicinal herbal tea and icing my poor legs down with Ranier beer and a bag of frozen lotus roots. It was so nice to have somebody to take care of me and keep me company when I couldn't even manage to walk around due to swollen ankles. I realized how much I miss living near any of my closest friends.
Life on Judy branch has been amazing, especially because of my wonderful neighbors and my crazy zoo of a family. This weekend, the nearest town had a little festival. One of my banjo students, a nine-year old girl, and I played a few tunes for the crowd while my current housemate/intern accompanied us on the fiddle. I loved that I knew most of the people in the crowd. I especially enjoy my neighbors/landlords Bill & Billie Joe. We all love living on Judy Branch so much and can talk for hours about gardening, the state of the world and anything else that comes to mind. They came by the house later in the afternoon to check on a problem I was having with the oven and to show me how Bill had rigged the starter of the lawnmower. I sure will miss them when I move on. If I could take Judy Branch with me, wherever I go, I surely would do it.
