Changes coming upon us...

Notice anything unusual about our last Benner zoom?

That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell - Kali is on the other side of the world! After a big lead up to the trip last August, Covid nixed Kali going to the Philippines that time around. This time, despite another Covid scare last minute, Kali drove herself and Tala to Dulles Airport a week ago today (with me and Jason along for the ride - and to bring the car and our bursting and mostly complete hearts home)... We enjoyed a last meal in the economy parking lot, and thought we were all smart finding a secluded wooded area to pee before taking the bus to the airport (I came home to find 4 ticks on me!!!).

Backing up...we packed the final days together with as many hugs, games, delicious meals, final visits with loved ones, walks, snuggles, and sweet times of connection as we could. Oh, and when I found the graduation cap/gown/hood, never worn, in Tala's room, we had to add in a quick graduation photo shoot...There was, of course, also some packing to do! There was just enough time at the last minute for Kali to get to seed her popcorn in flats and she'll be back in time to harvest it. 

The goodbye was a bit of a doozy as we were saying goodbye to both Tala and Kali at the same time - though it was also reassuring to know that they would get to be together. 

The trip was adventurous, with enough of a delayed flight to necessitate Kali and Tala running to catch a plane, that thankfully postponed take off until their arrival. Kali is still waiting for her main suitcase to join her in Davao - it's taking the long route! But they arrived safely, which was what mattered most of all.

This trip will be Kali's stories to tell and this may not be the space in which she chooses to share many/any of those stories. But we are enjoying the marvels of technology and getting to see photos and videos of her new experiences, as well as finding ways to connect in the mornings/evenings when the 12 hour time difference doesn't make connection times too awkward! I did get permission to share one of my favorite pictures received thus far (from the two days they spent in Manila)!

We are surviving here without her, even with some moments of thriving! The hardest time of day is probably nighttime when her presence in the shared bedroom with her sisters seems to be keenly missed (there is considerably more traffic to our bedroom at present). We miss her and also do not wish this time away too quickly for her. August will be here soon enough!

Phew, so many scrapbooks updates!

The last few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind and the family scrapbooker (me) has been just getting by some days. I would say that the last few weeks have been poignant ones with moments of celebration, grief, lots of loving, loss and letting go. In the garden there are signs of growth everywhere. And then there are those plants struggling to thrive. Why? What do they need to maximize their potential? What could we offer them that we are not? Why do some plants seem sick? What support do they need? Is our soil not to their liking? Are the plants around them not supporting their health? It just so happens that many of those questions are some of the ones that I find myself asking about my own life and the lives of those I love dearly. How do we support our thriving and the thriving of those around us? 

Well, one of the things we did recently is we happily celebrated the lives of some dear people!!

Dad had another birthday and our whole Tangly Woods pod (including our dash!) was able to be together for it! 

After the birthday festivities, our girls got to savor a rare sleepover at Ivy's while Jason and I went to a CONCERT downtown. It was our first of such a thing in the era of Covid, but it was one of the risk benefit calculations that swung in favor of the benefits. How proud I was of my dear friend debuting her first CD. It was a lovely celebration of her life and stories and music. I've been listening to the CD often ever since!

Then June rolled around and started out with another birthday celebration for Jonathan. Sadly a close call with Covid made the whole week a little topsy turvy so we enjoy a modified outdoor birthday celebration on the lawn and had to adore Luca from a distance, which, trust me, was quite painful for some of us!!

Another rather impromptu short visit from one of Jason's sisters and daughters was a treat on a recent midday. How glad we are for the growing red bud trees in Nora's garden, expanding the shade options for us on hot days for hanging out outside!!

On June 4, we passed through the 14th anniversary of Nora's death. I was glad that it started with a hike to Hensley's Pond with Jason! Always a very good way to start a day that is bound to come with a whole smattering of emotions!! One of the songs on Corrie's CD (see above mentioned concert) was this anniversary's theme song and healing balm for me this go round. She wrote Earth to Norah when our friends' daughter, Norah, died. I love hearing Terah sing along with the chorus, which is often running through my mind and heart these days!!

The earth is upside down

The trees and grass turn blue

For every forward bound

We'll keep our hands on the ground 

And our hearts all around you

...and we'll never forget. Forward we march with a pain in our step.

Here's what her garden was gifting us with for this anniversary!

And now for a quick update on some of the other gardens before I close for now! I think it would be safe to say that they are doing a combination of things for us. They are nourishing us, amazing us, and overwhelming us. They are adding beauty and complexity to life! We have had rain, plenty of rain! ....and a little hail (you might have to zoom in on the picture here to see the pieces of ice scattered around on the ground but it's there!). So no need to irrigate and the plants we want to grow, and those we don't, are growing at alarming rates in some cases. 

This is by no means comprehensive, but a few snippets:

The combo bed of lettuce, slicer tomatoes and beets is thriving! The lettuce has finally been able to grow beyond the slugs ability to decimate it! And so excited about the vibrant looking beets! Even the hail didn't shred the massive leaves too badly!

Jason recently cut the first of the barley. Now if it we can just have enough sunshine to get it dried out for threshing!

The black-eyed peas and brown beans have come up well in the potato patch. Now as soon as we (ok, more likely Jason) can get to the second hay cutting, it will be time for us the mulch the potato/dry bean patch. It's getting to it that is proving to be a challenge right now...

Our neighbors across the way finally got their corn planted, so it was time to get ours in the ground and the girls to get their popcorn sown in flats (we were waiting for their corn to sprout to plant ours as we really want to be able to save seed and, if we don't stagger ours with theirs, ours may cross with their GMO seed and then we don't want to save it...sigh! Every year it's a puzzle to figure out how to make it work out - will we have timed it right this year?!). Jason prepped the corn holes and I seeded the dryland garden with our red flour corn while he seeded the bronze flint corn in the pig paddocks.

I was working alone, but then some helpers came along. The problem was that these helpers wanted to take the seed right from my planting holes before I got the seed buried. "Some kind of help is the kind of help, we all can do without!"

More on another major family transition coming soon...