Oh, what a weekend… Busy, but full of so many good things. The weather in Seattle was phenomenal, and we spent every moment possible outdoors, loading up on vitamin D.
On Saturday morning, we headed over to the International District to volunteer with our friends from our community group at Danny Woo Garden. This is a community garden which was created for elderly immigrant residents living in this area just south of downtown Seattle, to foster their connections to the earth and to the surrounding neighborhood. It is an amazing space, terraced with patch after patch of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, tended to by a generation and a culture of people that have an intimate knowledge of and respect for the soil. Our mission, as part of our church’s urging to ‘bless our neighbors’, was simple: do whatever needed doing. This meant weeding, digging, planting, transplanting, sowing, building, chopping, and generally having a blast doing our small part to support the growth and sustenance of the garden. Once we were all given our tasks, we divided and conquered, and accomplished what I would like to think was a pretty decent chunk of work. Four hours after our arrival, peas had been planted under a new supporting trellis, much of the garden waste pile had been broken down and prepared for compost, the flagstone path in the children’s garden had been mended, several planter beds were freshly cleaned of weeds, and we were one dirty, tired, happy bunch.
The G-man was a huge help that day – what he lacked in ability, he made up for in spirit:
The dudes, ready for action.:
Shane and Jack were labeled our ‘trusty swordsmen’ and were given the task of chopping up some the larger garden waste for the compost pile. I can’t decide how I feel about this photo – funny, or kinda scary…?
Michelle, Jon, and I were put on a ‘fern rescue mission’ – moving several struggling ferns from a sunny spot to the this shadier space in the garden. Here they are, mid-mission:
Some of the gang (Shane was supposed to snap a photo as Jack was in mid-jump, but he’s a little quick on the trigger…):
Some garden lovelies:
It was fun to see us all rally to get things done, and the intent of the garden to build relationships rang true as we labored together, laughed together, and pigged out together as we rewarded ourselves with Vietnamese sandwiches from the deli down the street. And I gotta say, the good, good earth feels especially good when enjoyed under the sunshine with some of your very dearest friends.