I recently published a poetry collection, Movements Through the Landscape, and I'm in the process of publishing my book about the gifts and blessings that are given to us by our gardens. It's entitled The Gifts of a Garden. Both of them are available for purchase on Amazon. I thought I'd include the link to my Amazon Author page for those of you who are interested in seeing the books I've published.
Amazon.com: Paula M. De Angelis: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
When we were children, we sang along to the song School Days, at least at home. My mother was very good at finding records for children, and one of them was School Days. I'm not sure who sang the song we listened to, but the lyrics and music were written in 1907 by Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards:
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, "I love you, Joe"
When we were a couple of kids
There was no hickory stick to keep us in line when we were schoolchildren, just the Catholic school nuns. One look or word from them and you stopped misbehaving. There was also no rampant social media addiction to warp our minds. I don't know why I was reminded of this song today, perhaps because the reality of school days for children nowadays is anything but innocent and carefree.
I cannot imagine being a parent or grandparent and watching young children go off to school, not knowing if you will see them again. School shootings (and mass shootings in general) have become part of the norm of everyday life and they shouldn't be. There are people I know on Facebook who always post the same thing after a school or other mass shooting--"guns don't kill people, people kill people". It's semantics. Of course guns kill people. If access to those guns wasn't readily available, there wouldn't be guns to kill people. We can argue about the differences between a handgun and an assault rifle. I know that they are not the same. Most of the shootings seem to be done with assault rifles. Why? Because the intent is to kill as many people as possible. There is no other purpose to an assault rifle. You certainly don't need one to riddle a poor animal you're hunting with a barrage of bullets. What's left of the animal after that? If you defend the right to own an assault rifle, you are part of the problem. One solution, perhaps the best, is to ban assault rifles, as they have no place in civilized society. Another is to require thorough extensive background checks on anyone who wants to purchase any type of gun or rifle, period.
Do our senators realize that their children and grandchildren are at risk? Or don't they care? I ask that question because such shootings are unpredictable. They occur in all states, in small towns and in larger cities. Living rurally doesn't protect anyone or hinder such events. Uvalde is proof of that. Another unsettling factor in so many shootings is how the shooters post their intentions or photos of themselves decked out as if for war on social media. What is wrong with our society? Something is definitely pathologically wrong about society's love of guns. If it continues unchecked, there will just be lawlessness and random shootings everywhere in the next ten years.
When we were in grammar school and high school, we were taught how to crouch under our desks in case of an atomic bomb attack. Little good that would have done us. Once a year we may have had that drill. Teachers and parents did not focus on it because such an attack was not a very real threat despite the Cold War and the rhetoric surrounding the use of atomic bombs. Everyone saw the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and decided that such horrific occurrences would never happen again. It can't be so difficult to see the carnage after a mass shooting and ban assault rifles as well as change the laws as to who is competent enough to own a gun. Each life that is saved has incalculable worth. Why are we arguing over this?
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| Wisteria growing on the fence |
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| Wisteria flower in bloom--a heavenly fragrance |
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| The new addition to the garden family--a cherry tree |
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| The forsythia bush blooming happily |
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| The magnolia tree also blooming |
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| How the garden looks behind the greenhouse and the adjoining fence |
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| Another forsythia bush planted between the birdbath and the cherry tree |
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| the part of my garden facing my neighbor's garden--separated from mine by a large trellis |
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| facing the greenhouse |
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| pumpkin and zucchini beds covered by fiber cloth |
We've had some strange weather since spring began. A couple of weeks in March were actually quite mild and I got an early start in the garden. That was a good thing because I had to dig up a rose bush that had died. I cut it down last autumn with the intention of digging up the entire plant in March, right after the ground had thawed. That turned out to be a good idea, because the earth was actually quite muddy and it was easy to dig down with a shovel to find the roots. However, it was no easy task getting the roots up; the bush has been there for many years, apparently, and the roots had spread out widely. My husband got a hold of a crowbar and he got up most of the roots for me. But we couldn't get them all up. Luckily, the bush is dead so it won't be growing underground and sprouting up new stems here and there as it had been doing the past several years. None of those new stems survived for very long. The bush itself had become infested with aphids over the past several years, and even though I kept the infestation in check, I think it weakened and sensitized the plant for other types of attack, such as from parasitic mushrooms that appeared during the autumn, at which point I knew it was 'game over'.
April was another month with two weeks of warm temperatures followed by cold temperatures, but not freezing. I started most of the plants I wanted to plant outdoors as seeds in the greenhouse, and I planted the seed potatoes outdoors since it takes at least a month for them to begin to germinate. I also planted the gladiola corms outdoors at the same time, since it takes a month for them to begin to germinate. Pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and string beans (from seeds) were on the planting list this year. All of them grew well from seeds in the greenhouse and are now planted outdoors except for the tomatoes which need a bit more time in the greenhouse so that they can grow taller. The giant-type sunflowers, pot marigolds, rose mallows, and cornflowers that I also started from seeds are now planted outdoors as well.
May has been mild for the most part, with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees during the day and 50 degrees at night. But it has been a very dry month with very little rain, so that Oslo is experiencing a drought (not entirely due to lack of rainfall, but still). But luckily there is rain in the forecast for the next two weeks, so the garden should benefit from the predicted rainfall.
I bought two new lavender plants to replace two that had died, and got some new perennials from my garden neighbor Urzsula. She has given me a plant called 'brennende kjærlighet' (translated to burning love in English). It is also called the Maltese-cross, scarlet lychnis or Jerusalem cross in English. It produces big red balls of flowers, so it should be a nice addition to my garden. I also received a yellow iris from her and some large yellow loosestrife which is beautiful when it flowers. Other new additions to the garden are 'jordskokk' bulbs planted near the fence; they are called Jerusalem artichokes in English, but taste nothing like artichokes. I got about three pounds of them from another garden neighbor, Embla, and I planted some and made soup with the rest. The soup was excellent so I will definitely make it again. Jordskokk look like this (image from Jordskokk | Bama):
You peel them as you would potatoes and then boil them until they become soft enough to mash. If you are making soup you can use an immersion blender to puree them in the pot. Here is a good recipe for jordskokk soup if you are interested.
Jerusalem artichoke soup with bacon (Kremet jordskokksuppe med sprø bacon | Oppskrift | Meny.no)
Needed (for 3 people)
The jordskokk flowers above ground are yellow, grow profusely and quite high; they also have a tendency to spread out, so keeping them in check is part of gardening work. Here is how they look when the flowers are blooming (image from Sunchokes - Bi-O)
My wisteria plant is doing very well. I planted it two years ago along the fence and it has taken off and actually has quite a lot of gorgeous, spicy-scented flowers this year. I love wisteria, but from what I've read online about it, it is another plant that must be 'held in check', otherwise it will spread out and just keep expanding. The magnolia tree has also bloomed again, and this year I bought a cherry tree and planted it in the spot where the rose bush was. It too has settled in to its new home and has in fact bloomed, although I don't think we'll get cherries (the tart kind) this year. We'll see. I was happy to see that the two forsythia bushes that I planted along the fence also bloomed; forsythia is another favorite plant of mine--lovely cheery yellow flowers in the spring. I also planted a new lilac bush near the cherry tree. I'm guessing that in a few years I'll have to transplant it as it grows and expands, but for now it's happy where it is.
It's nice to be part of a community allotment garden. I enjoy talking to my garden neighbors, but more importantly, we share plants and seeds with each other and water each other's gardens when one of us is on vacation. The neighborliness and generosity are worth gold.
In my next post I'll include some recent photos that I've taken of the garden.
Oslo has become a city of dog owners. Whenever I am out walking, there are always people out walking their dogs. It has become a common sight. We have pooper-scooper laws, thank God, and most dog owners abide by them. I watch the dogs with their owners sometimes; the owners carry treats when they are training them, and it's funny to watch how the dogs respond to training. I also smile or laugh when I see dogs tugging at their leashes, barking at their owners to throw the ball or stick at hand, or trying to retrieve a ball that has floated out onto the small waterways with small falls that run down from Kiellands plass. You can see dogs of all kinds--dachshunds, chihuahuas, Russian wolfhounds, whippets, Welsh corgis, Jack Russell terriers, small and large poodles, bulldogs, German shepherds--the list is long. I like all the breeds but my preference runs to dachshunds, Russian wolfhounds and Jack Russell terriers. Even though most people in Oslo live in apartments, they still own dogs so it must be working out, living together in close quarters with their dogs. I'm on the fence about getting a dog; they are more work than cats because you need to walk them and keep them active. Cats are more solitary and will activate themselves, although if you invest the time, they can almost behave like dogs when it comes to retrieving and playing with toys. Our cat loved to run after catnip drops that we skidded along the floor to her; she played with them (and olives) before eating them. She also loved to chase my husband around the apartment; she would 'get her fur up' so to speak and then find him in the living room so that he could chase her. It was very funny to watch them play together.
I notice all animal, bird, and insect life now. When I am in the garden, I watch the birds fly to and fro between the different trees and bushes. They enjoy taking full baths in the birdbath, and then they find a patch of dry sandy earth to roll around in. I wonder why this sequence is not reversed, first a sand bath and then a water bath. There are a lot of sparrows in the garden, and they chatter among themselves, sometimes quarreling, other times happily chirping to each other. The garden is a haven for them as well as for magpies, crows, brown and black thrushes, wagtails, and ring-necked doves. The latter have increased in number during the past few years in Oslo. Sometimes local cats wander through the garden; they are often hounded out of the garden by the crows and magpies. But they still come back from time to time. One of the cats, the one who has taken a nap in my greenhouse, likes to drink water from the birdbath; the water can be dirty or clean, it doesn't seem to matter to him. Likewise for the honeybees, who don't seem to mind at all that the water is dirty. Nature. It will leave you in awe, and it will also make you laugh out loud. I'm grateful that I have the time now during the day to appreciate all of it.
I Worried
by Mary Oliver
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
Par for the course for Wiley Miller and Non Sequitur to be spot on. Today's comic strip.......
Sums up my thoughts and feelings about being disconnected from the world of cell phones and computers (at least for a few hours) when I am lucky enough to spend time outdoors or in my garden. The cartoon is called My device and was drawn by Michael Leunig.
For those of you who are just now discovering the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, I can say that you are in for a real treat. I've watched all three seasons to date; the fourth season has been announced and production is underway, with new actresses to play the parts of Elena and Lila. I'm very much looking forward to the new season. The series is directed by Saverio Costanzo, Alice Rohrwacher, and Daniele Luchetti. And if you want to start with the books by Elena Ferrante on which the series is based, you can find them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Here are two posts I wrote in 2019 and 2020 about the books and the series respectively; I'm posting them again today:
A New Yorker in Oslo: My Brilliant Friend is a brilliant HBO series (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)
There is nothing that I miss about the work world I left behind. There are however several people who seem to be 'waiting' for me to say that I miss working and miss my former workplace. Every time I'm together with them they ask me if I miss working. The answer is always no. I reassure them that I made the right decision since they seem to be worried that I made the wrong decision. They seem to think that they know me better than I know myself. I tell them that wild horses could not drag me back to what was. I've learned (finally) to let go and to live in the present. My workplace belongs to the past. I don't worry about the past and I cannot predict nor do anything about the future, so the best place to live is in the present. I jokingly say that I retired to spend more time in my garden. But it's really the truth. My garden is my happy place.
I was speaking with one former colleague yesterday since we still socialize from time to time. She had just gotten off the phone with another former colleague who updated her on all the doings at my former workplace. Summa summarum--nothing has changed. Nothing will change. The big egos are still running the show, rude as ever to the researchers they deem worthless (those who don't drag in a ton of money). Rude also to the clinicians who are doing research (or trying to) in addition to their clinical duties. What is there to miss about this type of workplace? Egotistical arrogant superficial uninteresting people (the majority of whom are men). They think they are going to live forever and carry on as though they will. And they can do so for my sake. I don't care a whit about them.
I also grew weary of the bureaucratic systems that were built up around the practice of science. There are forms to fill out and online systems to learn at every turn. Work life in the public healthcare system is simply about having your every move tracked by one or another system. As my husband says, they exist because there is no longer any trust between employers and employees. He's right. I suppose there are any number of employees who are scoundrels, who cheat the system if they can get away with it, who abuse it and thereby abuse fellow colleagues (in my experience it has been top leadership that has abused the system but that is another story). So the systems grew out of that mistrust. However, the systems now exist by and for themselves. It is very important as a researcher to know how the accounting and ordering departments work in detail, something that has never particularly interested me. I grew up professionally at a time when these departments were support systems for us. Now they dominate the work lives of most researchers, who already use a large amount of time reporting to the granting agencies that give them money to do research. Updating the latter is important, I grant that, but it is not necessary to update them several times a year. Once a year is enough.
Many pathologists with whom I used to work are leaving the public healthcare system for private labs. I can totally understand this. I wish I had left the public healthcare system years ago. Thankfully there are more private research labs to choose among at present, so that younger researchers don't have to tolerate what we older researchers had to tolerate. The private labs are efficient; they don't waste time on endless meetings and they let their employees do their jobs. A friend of mine, who is now retired, put it this way; he said that all he wanted to do was go to work and do the job he was paid to do. But he couldn't, because he had a boss who insisted that he go to useless meetings and learn administrative systems for which he had little use. What is the point of all of this? He told me that this emphasis on administrative systems is now called New Office Management. Whoopee. I suppose it replaces New Public Management? Who the heck knows, and who the heck cares?
Life has different stages, different chapters. Best to start a new chapter when you have the health and presence of mind to do so. Best to start anew with a sense of anticipation, of fun, of adventure. So no, I don't regret retiring. I transitioned into a new life, one that I'm grateful for and one that makes me happy. If other people don't accept that, that's their problem, not mine.
This is so true. The 'tired' that requires peace is the type of tiredness that I experienced on a daily basis for the past decade, before I retired. Weariness of soul is another way of describing the tiredness. There is no such thing as peace in modern workplaces, no such thing as respect or understanding for those who enjoy working alone and for those who tend toward introversion. No, you must be on all the time, available all the time, willing to attend pointless meetings ad nauseam and willing to be a team player. If you don't like any of these, you won't thrive. There is no longer any support for differences between people; we must all be the same, like the same things, feel the same way, and agree on specific issues even when we don't agree. Honesty is not valued; conformity is. Leaders don't want to hear the truth, they just want you to agree with what they want and decide. Many modern workplaces are just unhealthy places to be, causing anxiety, distress and negativity. They wear you down.
In 2016 I was blessed with a considerably-sized garden plot in a local allotment garden. It has given me peace and the chance to reflect on different things while I do the work that the garden requires. There is nothing else like it for the chance to know happiness and true peace.
I saw the movie The Holiday again recently, and one of the main characters had this song as his cell phone ringtone. I grew up with this mu...
