The Flaming Hoe

Origami Pots for Seedlings

2011-01-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

Found this at www.smallgreengarden.com and think it's pretty freakin' awesome. Provided I can muster up the patience, I will be folding a few of my own:

At some point I see a window sill filled with Marigolds and kitchen herbs.

Rant....

2011-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

So...what's a hipster-single-mom-with-a-blog to do? In my efforts to live more sustainably, I have hit a few roadblocks. Is it me? It seems living sustainably requires either a higher median household income, or a desire to live off-grid. It also seems to require a bit more space than that afforded by my tiny apartment (no--I won't be raising chickens here). Is there no in between for us urban dwellers? Oh--and what if you're not particularly "crafty" or have no desire to raise sourdough starter? What if time and space don't allow for canning your own homegrown vegetables?

I'm guessing with a bit more imagination and effort, I could make a few small steps toward greener living. I suppose this blog could be a place to chronicle my efforts...epic failures and all. I mean what's one more aspiring hippie-mom in the blog-o-sphere? Who knows...I might actually come up with a decent idea or two....

Grasping Nothing...Discarding Nothing

2011-01-16T13:55:00.000-08:00

My daily activities are not unusual,
I'm just naturally in harmony with them.
Grasping nothing, discarding nothing...
Supernatural power and marvelous activity
Drawing water and carrying firewood.

--Pang-yun (740-808)

This Blog...

2010-04-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not entirely sure why I keep this blog. I live in a tiny apartment, and thus far my journey into "urban gardening" has pretty much fizzled. I did change the name--only because the new name "The Flaming Hoe" struck me as funny. I guess I'll give it one more go--you never know, I might actually get around to planting those tomato seeds I bought. :0)

Fantastically Marvelous

2010-02-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

“It doesn’t seem to me that this fantastically marvelous universe, this tremendous range of time and space and different kinds of animals, and all the different planets, and all these atoms with all their motions, and so on, all this complicated thing can merely be a stage so that God can watch human beings struggle for good and evil — which is the view that religion has. The stage is too big for the drama.” –Richard Feynman

The Greatest of all Causes...

2009-03-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

“Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes - goodwill among men and peace on earth.”

Albert Einstein~

Miss Me?

2009-03-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

So, here I am--after a long hiatus. You know you missed me. Right. I aspire to be the quintessential hippie chick. "Granola" is my mantra. Really. Okay, not so much. I like deoderant, and I bathe regularly. No locked hair or Patchouli oil here.

Having said that, there certainly isn't anything wrong with being mindful. Living simply, authentically and within ones means has it's virtues. Protecting the earth and our fellow inhabitants is obviously important. I just don't want to be continually bashed over the head with those truths. It's tiresome.

So here is my goal: To live as simply, honestly and realistically as possible. And to pass on whatever I learn without being a complete ass about it. Here's hoping I succeed.

In the Garden...

2008-04-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

I value my garden more fore being full of blackbirds than of cherries, and very frankly give them fruit for their songs.

~Joseph Addison, The Spectator, 1712

HI--and welcome...

2008-04-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them. I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master. I think the true gardener, the older he grows, should more and more develop a humble, grateful and uncertain spirit.

~Reginald Farrer, In a Yorkshire Garden, 1909

Welcome to my latest project (such as it is)! Once upon a time I lovingly tended a garden with some 90 rose bushes, assorted trees, a myriad of perennials, a small vegetable patch, and a few assorted annuals (thanks for enduring my run-on sentence). That was then--now, having moved to a small apartment in Sacramento I find myself having to start anew (in more ways than one). I have found that my once green thumb, well, is not so green anymore. Also, apartment living has forced me to make a few gardening adjustments (my garden will now be confined to containers). So--as my blog description implies... gardening has become a new adventure.