the Bloom
Lilacs
volunteer tomatoes
Garden. i look for, find, and listen to voices from Ukraine. The people there. I try to look at how this is sounding different from Syria and Afghanistan . The aloe, lilacs and tomatoes make that possible. They breathe, rather than speak, their breath being a language, they breathe to me how plants grow Everywhere. The most common denominator.
Last night on one of the major TV news programs, after scenes of brutal carnage, massive destruction in many cities in Ukraine, one segment ended showing a woman kneeling down on the ground, rubble and chaos all around her. In front of her was a round tire, filled with dirt and she was planting flowers…the human spirit has deep roots.
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Why it might sound different has a lot to how they make it sound. Which can be an awful thing . In perspective. Imagine being there. Any there. In general, death and destruction in the name of….whatever.
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those roots reach up to us, to our Hearts
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thank you for telling me of this
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I’m back because I just learned something about one of the first tomatoes that I grew when we came to New Mexico. We went to the Corrales Grower’s Market and there was a lady selling all kinds of tomato plants. I was intrigued by the one called Black Krim and she said it was a very delicious tomato so I bought it and it was. Beautiful. earthy purple black red color.
Well today I found this out about Black Krim from the “tomato lady” in Santa Fe: She wrote:
“Black Krim, a favorite for many people. It has a very interesting history as it originated in Ukraine. Black Krim is the Ukrainian word for Crimea. I didn’t know any of this. I knew it was from Russia but not specifically from Ukraine and to be exact, Crimea, which Russia took back in 2014 after invading it before this year’s invasion of Ukraine…”
https://giantveggiegardener.com/2022/04/05/black-krim-tomato-an-interesting-history/
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As I learn the names Mariopol and Lviv, I let the mind echo with Aleppo. I love how broad your listening is.
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Last night a dream of Janie, and now lilacs here. She loved growing things so much. How the two of you are tied together for me now. oxo
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Oh my those Lilacs!! My favorite—I wonder if they are budding at my lake house. Ukraine —my heart breaks, I search, I make donations, I witness…my heart breaks……
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Thank you for this shared history of the Black Krim tomato. I used to grow those too here in Tennessee—my most favorite tomato of all.
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Never seen an aloe bloom .. so beautiful!! Ukraine what is happening is beyond any words .. my mom a young woman when Hamburg saw endless bombings. She didn’t talk about it much but it opened her heart in ways that lasted a lifetime.
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LOVE! learning this, Marti. Maybe next time i will
be able to start from seed and if i can, Black Krim!
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did it have that ZING that the old ones have? That little
bite?
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this is a good echo, thank you for it
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i wish she were here…but maybe she is?
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let us know about the lake house
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it never goes away. and she let it lead her in a life of
Heart
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windthread 
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