Artwala Road

A chore-based day here and now almost supper time with absolutely no work done save for cutting the grass and planting a few blooms which does not count as work work. The soil test report came in this morning from U Mass regarding the quality of the earth in our back garden where I had grand visions of a small vegetable garden this summer. It was not good. Our plot has a medium lead content and our friend and neighbor Sally’s is even worse. The note said that it was recommended we NOT plant vegetables unless we want to grow an extra nose or something.

I emailed Sal who is on her way to China for work. Then I went to a fabulous Italian vegetable / plant market in our town called Russo’s to do some food shopping. It makes me happy just to be in that place because they have varieties of vegetables and fruits that I hardly recognize, all piled high and oh so fresh. AND it’s half the price of Whole Foods Market which has become so ridiculously overpriced. Why do they have to charge more for something than another place? Well, beats me. Anyway, back to Russo’s. They have almost but not quite everything that Whole Foods does, even goat’s milk and a wondrous cheese counter with hand-made tortellini stuffed with various cheeses and spinach etc. They have fresh baked bread too, whole grain, and sweet little tea cakes which are extremely yummy. I bought a tiny banana-pineapple one and had a slice with a cup of green tea late this afternoon just to make a good day even better. (I’d been for a long walk so the guilt factor did not intrude too much.)

AND outside at Russo’s they have rows and rows of pots and trays with herbs and veggies and flowers. I needed to buy a few geraniums and other annuals to put in pots around the place but, given the news about the soil, I did not expect to end up buying little parsley plants, cilantro, mint, basil, sage, several varieties of tomatoes and even lettuce—but I did! Tomorrow I will buy big pots for them and fill them with organic matter then hope that they’ll thrive. Gardening is a tad challenging in the city and after a winter indoors I just need to get out into the dirt. I’m hoping that a container garden on the patio will satisfy this yearning for nature and the desire to grow some of our own food. With luck, we’ll get to pick our own salads and even get a tomato sandwich or two!  Could be a $500. sandwich by the time I’m done with all these pots etc. but whatever.  All part of the fun!
Sal called from the airport in Chicago after she picked up the soil test news on her laptop. I was out at Russo’s so missed the call. I do hope she isn’t too disappointed but really it will give us lots more opportunities to support our local farmers at the markets this summer and that too is pretty damned fine. So, on we go. Tomorrow I’ll pick up a few more pots then post a photo or two next time when things are planted. It’s a rainy day here and looks like the weekend is meant to be the same. Perfect for my little plants! And maybe it will force me to do some work work tomorrow after the drawing class.

I scooted out to the art store after tea and bought some really big paper for everyone on sale at $1.29 a sheet. (Amazing price.)  Can’t wait to draw big again tomorrow. It’s our second to last class then the summer off to tend the plants and other things.

May 17th, 2008 | Category: Dear Reader | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL