garden sharing

We spent a warm evening out in mom's garden this summer - - Rachel stitching up that gorgeous blue dress that she drafted herself, Gabrielle snuggling with my girl, and Mom with her shovel - - enlisting Amaleah and Selma to pull the snails off of the chard. it was perfect.

So one of the things I love so much about mom is that she gardens in her front yard; as she harvests her zucchini or pulls her weeds, there she is - - quick to strike up a conversation with a neighbor, or to offer a bunch of herbs to a passer-by. . .
and really,
gardening for her isn't only about the world's most amazing tomatoes or most fantastic basil (although she's got that too) - - it's about knowing the people that surround her, and about finding a way to love them.
the sweet little house that we are staying in this fall doesn't have a garden . . . but I went for a jog the other morning, and realized that one of our neighbors has an apple tree in their front yard;
poor abandoned tree; there were apples everywhere;
I wonder if maybe I will take the boys down sometime this week,
we'll ask for some apples, and get to know our neighbors,

through their front yard garden of sorts

at night I think

When we left Spain, we were in the middle of strawberry season; we ate strawberries as we packed our suitcases and emptied out our kitchen cabinets.

 I laid in bed the other night, thinking about Spain;
thinking about how, if I were there, I could get a full crate of Roma tomatoes for 3 euros at my market - with it being the end of summer and all.

and I thought about the glasses I had stacked on my counter to give away.

(and I hoped that someone threw a party with them this summer)