Growing my own vegetables has always seemed like a doable thing. In February I start looking at seed catalogs. I am wowed over the beautiful chards, striped tomatoes and unusual gourds. In March, I think about starting seeds but usually don't get them going til April.

This year, I decided to try out Four Square vegetable gardening. My garden looks so well organized. Is is a method of intensive gardening whereby each squarefoot holds a certain number of plants depending on what you're growing in that square. For example, one square foot for one tomato plant. One square foot can hold 4 lettuce or 6 pea plants. The lettuce seedlings I bought from the Tricycle Garden did so well and were delicious.The greenbeans, cucumbers,pepper plants and chard looked  lovely until last week.....

I find that I am not match for the critters. 

We have the groundhogs, Percy and Mazzie. This year they have not been quite so bold....yet.

 
 My biggest rival right now is a very rascally raccoon. The raccoon has remained unnamed unless you count what I call it under my breath. She (or he) not only deflated our fun inflatable pool but also  had a blast tearing apart the new $8 Slip and Slide. I know because she left prints everywhere. She woke me up three time this week rummaging through the recycling. Little creature really wanted to open the peanut butter container. Raccoon has also nibbled all the tender tendrils of my greenbeans and swiped several cucumbers. She made my pepper plants and ruby swiss chard disappear.

You can deter a groundhog to some extent but what can you do about a raccoon? Smart little badass.

All I know is I'm thankful these critters don't have a taste for butternut squash, granny plum melons, tomatoes or basil because I would cry.

photo by Kimmy Certa, Howdershi in his Catnip Pot , 2008

Chris: "Where are the kids?"
Kimmy: "In the garden catching fireflies as they should be."

Moments later I walk out onto the deck and see three children in a huddle.
They are catching fireflies and putting them in a white teacup. After catching the bug, they name it and let it go.

Crux:  "I caught one. I caught one! What's his name?"
Jacob: " Prince Caspian!"
Crux: "Ane, what this one's name?" He shouts with urgency.
Ane: "Teleffi!!"
Crux: "Teleffi? Okay, bye bye Teleffi." 

They run around the yard with tinkertoy wands catching, tea cupping, naming and releasing fireflies.
Their play is urgent, serious and joy centered.

"I named one daffodil and let it go," I hear my boy say.

Little snap shots. Big living.
I don't think I could be much happier right now. 

photo: Kimmy Certa, Butterfly Fairy. 2008 

After a lot of work and planning the last weeks of learning co-ops is finally over and summer "break" has started . We know this because we camp every Memorial Day weekend in Tappahannock .  We walk through the marsh on a long boardwalk listening to the bracken click against each other and watching the red wing blackbirds dance.

We swim, splash, laugh, wrestle, drink, eat and dig our feet in the sand. Our hair smells like smoke and our skin changes color.

We play rousing games of Big Bootie, drink, tell stories, listen to friends play the Ukulele and are awakened to a new camper playing classical guitar. Pure Joy. 

The children become a tribe. The dogs attempt to form a pack.

The sun and wind molded us and we knew we were alive.

Thank you River.

Thank you friends. 

We ate the bamboo but one can only eat so much bamboo. Mulberries, however, won't be a problem. I've got plans for these under appreciated berries. Today we made muffins. Tomorrow, mulberry wine !

You may also notice that some of the mulberries are white. For a few days I wondered why the mulberries on one tree in the alley weren't ripening and then I noticed that some of the berries were large and soft. I tasted one and it was sweet and ripe. Then, I recalled from my readings that there is such a thing as white mulberries. They taste just like the black ones to me.