Blisters & Dirty Nails

Dear Friends,

I was reminded of my first week here in the mountains when I looked at my hands this afternoon--rough, blistered, and dirty. They reminded me of a vendor I met at the Farmers Market. She was earthy looking, with her hair in semi-dreads pulled back in a bandanna, a sleeveless t-shirt, and Levis. As she discussed the benefits and beauty of the Jewelweed plant to me, I noticed how rough and dirty her hands were--a result, no doubt, of spending many hours lovingly tending to her medicinal plants. I thought she was beautiful. A real 'woman of the land'.

I later found out that she was, what the locals call, a "flatlander". Three years ago she and her family had moved up to Northern California from San Diego to go back to the land. According to the local paper, The Ridge Rider News, city slickers are invading the tiny town, replacing John Deer with BMW's. I guess that's what we are, city slickers.

Now back to my ailing hands! This past week I put in a flower bed on the side of the Hut, added more to the meditation garden in the front, and mulched the entire back yard with fresh pine and cedar chips that the power company left for us after cutting down trees around the power lines. The smell is absolutely delicious. Like when you drag in that fresh cut Christmas tree. By the end of the week, my nails were tattered and dirty (no matter how much i scrubbed), and I had a huge aching purple blood blister throbbing on lower thumb from raking the mulch for hours.

What I learned is that you shouldn't mulch too close to the house, which can be an inviting place for rodents, working for hours on end in the soil is really good for the soul, and I should have worn gloves.

Side flower bed and pine & cedar mulch.

Front flower bed