Part of why I walk around the yard a few times a day is to see how the plants are doing. I also need to stand up from working at the computer and get my blood moving. But the main reason I walk around is to find moments of joy.
Observing the world around me makes me happy. If I could make a living by simply sitting and watching animals and plants, I would do that in a heartbeat. I love noticing tiny things–like an ant carrying a seed, a hummingbird sipping from the morning dew collected on a leaf, the bright green speck of a new seedling poking through the soil.
Here are some of this week’s tiny joys from the land I care for:
So many acorns! They are everywhere in the front yard – all from just one oak tree. A live oak, I think? (See this Bay Nature story on oaks.) They are so beautiful, smooth and shiny. I keep a couple in my coat pocket and rub them with my fingers like worry stones. I’m tempted to try making acorn flour, though I understand it takes a long time to make sure you have acorns without weevils inside and to leach out the tannins. But it’s hard to see all these acorns–free, nutritious food provided by nature–going mostly to waste. The birds eat some, many of them will root and grow oak saplings (that I’ll unfortunately need to remove later because there are too many in one spot or they’re too close to the house), and lots are pulverized by people stepping on them. I smile when I hear acorns thunking on the roof of my car. I like to think that the oak tree is annoyed and chucking them at me, like the apple trees in “The Wizard of Oz.” A jaunty little acorn cap! Look at all that amazing detail in such a small thing. A lupine seedling growing in the rocks. I love their telltale leaves. Secondary leaves are emerging on the wildflower seedlings! Most of the wildflower seeds that I got from Walqaqsh California Native Seeds I’ve scattered throughout the yard, but I did start a couple trays of seeds. These guys seem so healthy and happy! Soon I will carefully divide up the tray into clumps of seedlings and set them in the ground. It’s not the recommended way of growing wildflowers, but last year, it worked surprisingly well for me. I put wire mesh over the trays to keep the birds from eating all the seedlings.
Very exciting about your wildflower seedlings! RE the acorns…I believe there is a group, maybe more than one, of Native Americans who ask for donations of acorns. I’m in Sonoma County, so maybe it’s here somewhere. I first heard about it from the Occidental Arts and Ecology center, so maybe someone there knows. There may be other groups that are re-planting wildfire burned areas that would want them. Or possibly some wildlife rescue places for critters who need them as food. Yes, the garden brings so much joy!!
Putting Down Roots 
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