FDR Got It Right

My email pal lives in the north eastern part of the United States. She is the only other living grandmother in our family. I first met her when her daughter married my son. Since then we have visited several times over the years but really got to know and enjoy each others company via email. She sent me some newspaper articles about the bears in her area. She hopes for a sighting but prepares to deter the bears from doing any damage to her home and yard. She has had some close encounters but has no fear. I would have lots of fear if one came into my yard !!

She sent me a note along with the clippings and the note had a quote at the top which says: "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." The author of that quote was none other than our thirty-second president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He is better known for saying " there is nothing to fear but fear itself". Another famous quote, "yesterday, December 7 is a date which will live in infamy.". Also a timeless bit of wisdom, "Let us have the courage to stop borrowing to meet continuing deficits". He is the only president who was elected for four terms. I think he had great insight to make the comment about happiness. He also had great courage to overcome crippling polio to achieve so much in those years. No doubt, his struggle with that handicap heightened his awareness of where true happiness lies.

Therefore I declare him to be a great sage to understand that concept. Happiness is not to be found in temporal things. But rather in what we can create,or achieve, whatever it may be. Just watch a child learning to walk, how proud he feels to finally walk without help or his pride in learning to write his own name. A child is happiest when he can share his accomplishments. I think adults are the same. Achievement is best when shared. So, the next time a child comes to you with bright and shining eyes to share something he has done, exalt with him in his achievement; for that too is priceless to him. You will both have achieved an inner joy which money cannot buy.

A change of Pace

Did you remember to set your clock ahead last night. I did remember, but I overslept anyway. I always look forward to this time of year because I like to have more daylight in the evening. That means more time to be outside and do gardening chores.

I was at one of the garden centers yesterday and was really tempted to buy sweet onion plants. The description sounded a lot like Vidalia onions but of course the seller cannot call them that. I have grown onions before and did enjoy using them. One kind I grew were called Egyptians walking onions. I think the name comes from the fact that from the top of the tall blades a little bud appears which has a lot of new bulbils packed into a tight pod. The weight of it pulls the whole thing down and the little bulbils take root in the soil. I considered them more of a novelty than as a viable onion to use in cooking. Although I did use them as you would use fresh spring onions. My Gardener friend gave me a handful of them from his garden and it was fun to learn about them but I do not plan on growing them again.

What I do plan on growing are heirloom tomatoes and burpless cucumbers. I have the cucumber seeds ready to put in the ground when it gets warmer. They are my favorites to use in making bread and butter pickles. I use the recipe in the University of Georgia book on preserving food. These pickles are favorites of my family and friends. I think the burpless cucumbers make them special as the seeds are very small and do not present a problem in the texture of the finished product.

The heirloom tomato plants I plan on using are coming to me via a Gardener friend who lives near Athens, Ga. Last year I gave her some extra plants I had grown from seed. This year she wants to return the favor so she has ordered heirloom tomato plants from a grower in Alabama. May first is my target date for planting them.

For all of my gardener friends I hope you are able to get out and enjoy the extra time that comes from the time change. If you are in the north and still have snow, then you will have this to look forward to later on. But happy gardening anyway.