White Cedar

We're trying out Yukon Gold this year. Root veggies grow well here but I don't have the space to dig and keep them. Our water table is very high so having any type of basement or cellar doesn't really work. My dream is to have a walk-in cooler some day. I see plans on the internet for a DIY using just a regular window AC unit. For now, I leave things in the ground as much as possible and use as I go along. I have three jicama left in the ground and my winter onions. The cucamelons sound very interesting..will see if I can find some seeds here and try them out. The tunnels sound great - probably help keep the bugs down too? Bummer on losing the potatoes - always frustrating when you lose a crop. Wild pigs broke through our fence one year and decimated everything-nothing but nibs left. Such a shock to walk out and see that in the morning. But we fixed the fence and started all over again. Is it windy year-round? Can you plant wind breaks? Or put up a little windmill to generate electricity? Just my mind rambling off with thoughts Happy planting, White Cedar

Looks like a well-balanced challenge-best of luck

I will send you lots of energy to deal with your ex--

The antics of our dogs; the red-tailed hawk perched on the garden post; the cool evening breeze; making a list of 27 ways to create enthusiasm; dishes are done; clean sheets on the bed; singing along with my Maverick CD; talking to the seed potatoes while planting them, telling them they will be very happy in their new home; laughing at the way the dogs nudge the frogs aside that live in the dog watering trough, so they can get a drink; and tomorrow I get my hair cut as a reward for reaching a weight goal.

So true. As I've skimmed the threads I've noticed a lot of people mentioning dishes as a problem...maybe a DA group would help - Dishes Anonymous. It seems to be a chronic problem for many. I too yearn for beauty and grace. The aborigines of Australia have a word for elder women (notice I didn't say elderly) - Echo Woman - it denotes someone who has one foot in this world and one foot in the spirit world - able to function simultaneously in both. I've often thought that is what full grace must feel like rather than the occasional connections we seem to get. And, of course, Amazing Grace is one of the songs in my repertoire . Don't be too hard on yourself about past behaviors. It sounds to me that you were likely very busy doing something that was important and necessary to you at the time. One person's mess and lack of discipline is another person's creativity and becoming.

Update Time: Singing along but need to expand my repertoire - it's a common joke in our family that Mom only knows half the words to most songs. Got the dishes caught up and running the sink full in the morning has really helped. It doesn't seem so overwhelming if the hot sudsy water is already there. I continue to meditate 3 times a day and while it is a good thing, it is also flagging a dissonance in my soul that I have known was there but have consciously kept corralled. I will have to deal with it eventually. I'm eating well but have kinda gotten into a rut because I know what works and don't want to stray too far afield; I'm watching my potassium and it is helping. The shot put form training has been fun and I actually went ahead and did a few full-out throws just to see what my baseline is. It felt so good to throw again. Lotta muscle memory still there; just not much muscle! But it will come back. Getting my walking in. Scaled back the stair-climb to 3 minutes instead of 5; start getting too much hip pain after 3 minutes. Decided I also needed to scale back on the bodyweight training. I've regained some strength after the illness but not enough to do the warm up, workout, cool down thing of Level 1 so I found a strength, flexibility, balance program for people over 65 and I can get all the way through it. I'm treating it as a kindergarten level, working up to Level 1. That plus the stair climb plus the walking plus the shot put form work and working in the garden is a lot altogether. My measurements last week: down 3 inches each on bust, waist and hips and added 1/2 inch to my calves. Just finished reading the Nature Fix, Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams. Highly recommend it to anyone curious about the science behind the positive effects nature has on the brain. And why nature is a necessity for humans, not just an afterthought to our development. Cheers to all, White Cedar

How exciting to get a garden going! Are you close enough to the sea that salt in the air is a problem? We were always having to wash it off the plants. Is your poly tunnel an above-ground cover over the beds or individual rows? Tell me about welsh onion and cucamelons, I've not heard of those before. We're hardening off seedlings and the potatoes go in the ground tomorrow. The spring onions are up about 2 inches. Cheers, White Cedar

You'd think living in the south we would have longer growing seasons but we don't. In the spring, it's always a race to get things harvested before the humidity, bugs, wilt, mold, winds, rain, demolish it all. In the fall it seems to take a crystal ball to decide when to plant after the summer yuk but still harvest before the first frost and freeze. Weird, weird, mini-ecosystem here. Last winter was so mild we were able to prolong the season which was great. Seedlings went out for their first foray outside today - they didn't appear too happy about it .

Update: Singing is going well and not having any problems eating healthy. Dropped below the 200-pound barrier which is a biggy since I haven't weighed that in 15 years. Enjoying the "check-in" meditations. For the dishes, I decided to start a sink of hot sudsy water first thing in the morning and wash as I go. That worked the first two days and then things got out of hand last night. And I kept cooking so now I have a big pile to tackle tonight. Monday and Tuesday I had some serious problems with weakness to the point I considered going to the ER. Shaky, shaky weak and couldn't get the blood pressure above 99/47. Went back over my diet and realized I'm not getting enough potassium and probably got dehydrated working in the garden Sunday. I've lost so much weight, it may also be time to reduce my heart medication. I take a beta blocker to mask the feeling of a premature ventricular beat I have. (Thank you dad for those genes.) So no walking, no bodyweight workouts. I did 25 reps on the shot put form and 3 minutes on the stair climber and realized that wasn't the brightest thing to be doing, given how I was feeling. Today, I was able to be up for about an hour before needing to rest. Going to go do dishes . Cheers, White Cedar

I've dropped below the 200-pound barrier - this is the least I've weighed in 15 years. I've lost 28 pounds total and 14 since joining NF. This is a big psychological boost for me!

Great idea to balance your work - it will create some "free to be me" space for you. Good Luck.

Yum..Home canned always tastes better. I'm down to the last third of the last jar of hot pepper jelly I made last year and really bummed. I'm pickling rat tail radish tomorrow morning. Also need to try some sauerkraut again and use up the last of the cabbage. We're hardening off this year's seedlings so they can go in the beds next week. Cheers, White Cedar

White Cedar slips from the mist and approaches the Druid Guild. In her 69 years of travelling the mist she has seen many things, experienced much joy and pain, won a few battles, and lost many more. She seeks to share the Druid enclave for a few days or a few years until it is time to once again travel the mist. Hi Folks, I just completed my first challenge as a newbie in the Rebels and after wandering the boards for a few weeks, I believe my place is with the Druids. I tend to be a quiet, peaceful person and a lot of life’s little quirks and foibles don’t really bother me anymore. For the most part, I like who I am and what I am doing with my life. Years and years of a stressful career helping others packed on the pounds; now that I’m retired I’m getting back in shape to still be able to do the things important to me. (BTW-White Cedar is an Atlantic coast tree prized for the beautiful way in which it ages.) Here are my goals for this challenge: 1. Sing daily for at least 30 minutes: In August, I want to be able to hike to a 9000-foot elevation to scatter my brother’s ashes at his favorite lake. Deep, diaphragmatic singing improves my lung capacity and is just plain fun. 2. Leave no dish unwashed in the evening: I’ve been doing dishes and keeping house since I was six. To paraphrase The Wrath of Khan, doing dishes “tasks me.” I have a big, deep farm sink and bending over the sink hurts my back and the repetition bores me. I’ve been washing some of these same pots since I could stand on a chair at the sink – they’re as old as I am! I mostly cook from scratch so I generate a lot of dishes. By evening, I often feel too tired to “step up to the sink”. It is so easy to say I’ll do them in the morning. But what an unwelcome sight in the morning and it starts my day in a negative place! So I need to find a way to make it work and follow through. 3. Meditate 3 times a day: this isn’t exactly a sitting meditation. It’s more of a stopping and taking the time to quiet my mind and check in with myself. Check my mind-set, check what my body may be telling me; re-affirm who and what I am and what I am doing that day. 4. Three times a week: Do a bodyweight work-out. I’m at level 1. Upper body strength tends to lag behind lower body. 5. Twice a week: walk at least 30 minutes. 6. Twice a week: Stair climb for at least 5 minutes and increase as I am able. The climb to the lake is steep and this will help with the calves and cardio. 7. Twice a week: Do 50 repetitions of my shot put form. I enjoyed shot putting in high school and decided I wanted to participate in the Senior Games just to see if I could do it. To that end, I’ve gotten my shot put and I’m working on muscle memory for my form. I use resistance bands strong enough to simulate the throw but not fatigue the muscles. Good luck and the best to all of you, White Cedar

Hunker down and bundle up. We'll all send "warm" thoughts.

Isn't it just amazing to see the new growth in the spring! Such a positive reinforcement that life goes on.