GREEN THUMB ACRES

I love to watch things grow--children, flowers, vegetables, friendships, dreams-and of course, the greatest of all things, love.

I don't know what my future holds but I have seen the seeds of hope planted. With the right nourishment, I may find them blossoming in the summer sun.

I have invited Oklahoma musical legend Joe Settlemier and his wife Donna to have dinner with us in the next few weeks and I will probably serve a baked chicken and some of our fresh, garden grown vegetables and herbs. I may not have much to offer in my modest home, but I will offer the best of my bounty and hospitaility. I really want them to have a nice day with us. They are such wonderful people.

I can not wait until I have a house with a proper yard in which to plant a true garden. Right now I am confined to a potted patio garden, which provides a nice bundle for us but not enough to give very much away to family and friends, which is part of the fun. My mother and father both taught me well the value and pleasure of putting my hands in the earth-giving to it and recieving back from it. My parents used to have a grand garden when my sister and I were growing up in New York, all varieties of natural goods from fruit trees and berries to many vegetables and a jungle of flowering plants and vines to compliment the greenery on our half acre plot of paradise. The air smelled of forcynthia and lavender, strawberries and mint. To a small child with a mouth full of sun-ripened tomato (I was often scolded for picking and stealing away with them, laughing) and hands sticky with honeysuckle nector and red current juice, it was heaven. There was fresh corn, red potatoes and countless others for dinner-including the jalepenos (or perhaps something hotter) my father unknowingly grew from seed he obtained from a friend that we mistook for sweet peppers until for the first time my mothers chicken cacciatore burned the roofs off our mouths and sent us all screaming for the sink. With the exception of the now laughable pepper incedent, I want this same joy for my son.

Above are a few photos of my peppers and Basil.