5 Joyful Discoveries from My Morning in the Garden
5 Joyful Discoveries
from My Morning in the Garden
This has been a tough week. My kids were not feeling great, but not sick enough to
stay home from school. We all have been adjusting to the new balancing acts that arrive with a new school year. During this time, I often catch myself struggling with how much needs to get done in one day and start grinding. It would make anyone tired just thinking about it. What do you do when you feel overwhelmed and can’t jump off the crazy train?
Nature is my greatest teacher and my garden is the place where I turn when life gets a little topsy turvy. This past week, we have been gifted with some absolutely stunning Fall New England days. Upon venturing into my garden today, I made 5 Joyful Discoveries.
ONE: Give Yourself Permission and Let Go. Today, I gave myself permission to jump off the crazy train in exchange for digging in my garden. I had no idea how much I needed it. I caught myself today thinking, “Victoria, you are a farmer and farmers tend to their land every day. This IS your work!” Before I knew it I was covered in dirt, infused with a new energy and felt a surge of creativity.
TWO: Define your Task. Imagine if you could follow a simple plan to a healthier life? My mother always told me, ” Always work in one area of your garden at a time.” I always remember this when I don’t know where to start. Create a simple plan before heading out to your garden. Today I focused on cleaning out my vegetable garden and was treated with so much more! Harvesting my forgotten potatoes was pure joy.
THREE: Take the Leap! Go OUTSIDE. Jumping off the crazy train shifted my thinking and definitions of “work” and “play”. Get outside, connect with nature and make joyful discoveries! This is where the inspiration begins.
FOUR: Deep thinking Leads to Joyful Discoveries. Some of my best work happens when I am the most relaxed and doing the thing I love the most. I forget this all the time. My deep thinking time is when I am digging in my garden. It is when I am playing! It is so simple, yet so easy to forget and neglect.
FIVE: Create a Practice. Today I made some joyful discoveries! I also learned that I need to create a gardening practice. I have a vision for creating an amazing Outdoor Classrooms Learning Lab and offering on-site outdoor trainings for Natural Teachers. Time to get digging a little deeper!
Do you have a Joyful Discovery from your Outdoor Classroom? Share your inspirations below. I invite you to send in your garden stories!
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I am working on closing my garden for the winter, and found a few green tomatoes, so we re going to use them to make a green salsa for our taco lunch this week. We also have a geranium we are keeping in the kitchen window..it will be interesting to see how well it does with our gray skies!
I spent the morning working in the garden and prepping for winter. My mind is spinning with ideas for the Spring Outdoor Classroom. I have a huge list and trying to get as much of the foundation work done before it get’s too cold. Time to start thinking about bringing the Outdoors In. Great idea with the green tomatoes! Do you have any pictures? Keep up the great work!
Yesterday I discovered that my lemon-basil was beginning to show signs that its season is over. With school starting in September, I forgot to pick it, use it and snip the flowers off the top. I cut a bunch to dry in the basement and then had a revelation for my classroom. We have been wanting to plant herbs indoors throughout the winter but I just hadn’t started the project yet. To kick it off, I brought in a bunch of the lemon-basil and gave each child a sprig to hold, smell and taste during our Learning Circle. I was amazed at how many children actually picked off a leave and ate it. One little girl noticed it smelled like lemon. This joyful discovery opened the door for our indoor project.