Early on in our lives together Lucy and I spent a lot of time in the garden but lately I've been out there alone. Sometimes Lu will stroll out with some seeds and chuck them about yelling 'Broadcast, broadcast, I'm broadcasting the seeds' but generally gardening has been a solitary past-time, squashed in between naps and nappies, books and pretending to be an attacking Allosaurus. I've assumed that my habit of hammering the point home hard has lead to some strong anti=gardening feeling among the locals.
Today I was out watering and surveying the estate; I looked behind me and there were Lu and Nell, turning over the bricks and very efficiently stamping on the slugs. And this evening, Lu requested rhubarb for dessert. She bent down and jerked out the stalks with perfect form. Then she wandered to the apple tree and pulled off a couple to stew up as well. These are not things you teach a kid - how do you specify the twist of the wrist to loosen an apple and keep the spur, the appropriate force of the yank needed to get the rhubarb stem out at the base? This is stuff you learn without thinking. And now, thanks to the garden, Lu and Nell will never want for slightly tart desserts best served with cream. And is there any greater gift than dessert?
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Nothing out of the ordinary
About me
- Kris
- Tasmania, Australia
- I live and work in a small town with my family. This blog is about gardening, working, eating and our life together as a family.
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5 comments:
Hi Kris,
I don't think there is a greater gift. Sounds like you just might have had a rare but special Mothers day.
Kind Regards
Belinda
Awww. She knows to "broadcast"?
My Mum watched Gardening Australia every week (she still does) for my entire childhood. Quite a lot of it sank in, in addition to my Mum's gardening.
Following yesterday's trip to the country, my kid was overwhelmed with the excitement of tractors and chickens in one location.
that's pretty impressive, not just how to harvest but how to combine produce to cook and serve, and how to eat. Yum!
AAaaah. Yes! The redemption has come.
Well...That's what it felt like to me when my two learnt to pluck a tomato or a bean. So often it feels like a game of shouting into a chasm, hoping that something is sticking because of your example, doesn't it?
So glad they'll never want for such a yummy dessert! (Abundance! they'll remember THIS abundance!)
It really is amazing what they learn just by watching and doing. Thanks for the reminder. ;)
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