Abundance That Drips Down Your Chin.
As September begins, our Thursday visit with CATCH (Citizens Acting Together Can Help) was a celebration of abundance. The amaranths are reaching 8’ tall. Marigolds topple over from their own weight. The vegetable garden yielded a half bushel of tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos and another half bushel of arugula. And, most excitingly, the watermelons are slipping their vines.
What else could we do but sit down and enjoy a sampling of all the abundant food? There was laughter and camaraderie as staff gardener Jess Wszolek cut each item and offered samples to all seated under the leafy trees. After tasting the yellow and red striped tomatoes, our friend, LaShay, declared, “It tastes better than food!” Another friend, Pride, enjoyed the tongue twister, “Pride picked a peck of purple peppers,” as he ate his purple pepper. But the most anticipated bites were the Sugar Baby watermelon, with its orange-red flesh and thin rind, and the juicy, yellow Orchid watermelon. How could watermelons be different colors outside? Inside too? And we knew that Chef Dorinda was preparing for us a meal featuring what we had harvested, so the feast of abundance would continue after this outdoor sampling.
After four months of careful, patient planting, watering and tending of the plants, awe and joy naturally flowed from our CATCH friends and from our own hearts. Abundance is an experience that doesn’t need explanation; we all slid into it, marveled and enjoyed. As our friend, Donald, observed about his own generosity, loving others and sharing freely, “You get to the end of the month and discover you had more than enough.”
The Mystery of Abundance multiplies for us and in us. Delicious fun!
Above: Chef Dorinda & her team Na’imah & Maya prepared lunch using some of our harvest!
