Wilderness Calls by Paul Berensmeier Safari at Home
Dirt First by Will McQuilkin Grow Your Garden with Seeds, Divisions & Cuttings
Tina‘s river rafting in the Grand Canyon! I’ve got 10 days . . . surprise her . . . paint the house with “Firecoat” . . . a
Ah, to be a wildflower. Sprouting in the spring with all its promise and bright hope. To flower in the summer and feel the sun’s warm touch each day. And lastly to fall in the autumn, as the days grow shorter and the chill sets in. This cycle is important to all creatures on the planet, and should be a constant consideration for any backyard gardener. It can be tempting to take winter’s entirely off from the garden, and revisit those old paths and beds when the spring and summer dry our rainy brains. But winter can be a very productive time with little effort. One of my favorite wintertime activities is broadcasting seed. Walking garden margins before a winter rain with a pound or two of native wildflower seed, gently casting seed like a spent flowerhead is fun and exciting. It mimics the natural seed spreading happening all around us, as plants drop their flowers, fruit and seed in an effort to reproduce come spring. Some seeds even require some chill hours spent in the frost to properly germinate, especially native wild- flowers like lupine and milkweed. Let the winter rains water the seeds and keep a weather eye open for sprouts and flowers in the spring! Winter is also an excellent time to take cuttings and divide larger perennials and bulbs. Many fine winter days have been spent sweating over an iris patch filled with bulbs, cloned from a single mother plant twisting and bulging with life. Simply take a digging fork and carefully dig up the entire bulb clump, then tease apart the fist sized bulbs. You can replant them so that they have more room to spread, and give away extras as presents for your botanically inclined friends and family. Cuttings are one of the simplest, least expensive ways to grow your garden. Take a walk outside and look for new growth on woody perennial shrubs. Using sharp clippers, take about ten, four to six inch cuttings. Strip away any branching growth from the bottom half of your cutting with your fingers, make an angled cut and the bottom of the cutting, then place them in a one- gallon pot filled with perlite, a light potting soil, or native soil and water (in a pinch). Water regularly until you start seeing new growth on your cuttings, then repot rooting cuttings in a fresh pot, before planting happily in your gar- den. Here’s a helpful haiku to help you remember the process:
special primer invented in Australia that doesn’t burn. Outside painting morning, noon and night . . . what an opportunity to see what happens right at home . . . in our beloved forested Valley! Dark . . . night . . . owls call . . . arise . . . join them . . . get an extra early start. Open the door softly. . . quietly . . . who will come first? Doe graces me with her presence. . . . silently walking from forest onto deck. Elegance. The moon catches another movement! Larger. A buck with big beautiful antlers follows her. Stay still. Quiet. She walks up the brick path and through the breezeway. He fol- lows. What’s this? . . . another large shape appears. . . stay still . . . another buck! Quick . . . get the camera. . . . run to the other side of the house. The doe runs . . . playfully . . . around trees to stay ahead of her pursuer. The other buck emerges. They square off. A fight! Lowered heads . . . locked horns . . . powerful pushing . . . twisting . . . hooves digging into the creek bank . . . scar- ring it. A crackling and crashing of antlers! One forces the other down into the creek. They disappear. Silence. Start filming! Another clashing sound and they reappear, pushing, straining, out onto the steep cement driveway. The sound of hooves scraping and sliding for traction. A heated battle! They are oblivious to me. I can walk right up next to them and hear their heaving, grunting, blow- ing! Not too close! One pushes the other down the driveway, hooves scraping for attraction. That is enough for one. He turns . . . runs. The other dashes after him in hot pursuit. They disappear into the hillside forest. Silence . . . stillness. Wait . . . watch . . . The victor returns. He uses his senses . . . looking . . . listening . . . smelling the trail of the doe. He follows. A new pursuer. The game continues all around my house! Wow! . . . amazing what really happens during a day spent outside at home right here in our Valley! Remember to go outside and see the magnificence in our own backyard. Even if you are just working around the house . . . be alert . . . observant. Nature is so close and magical in our unique Valley! Authors note: Paul had the good fortune to film the buck fight! He put it on YouTube for you to enjoy. Go to YouTube.com and type in “Buck Fight at Lagunitas Home”. Enjoy! Reflections continued from page 14 Delicious food, music, art, great movies, the weekly New Yorker, wonderful books and Words with Friends. An amazing community. All of this happening all at the same time, the sadness and sorrow, along with the happiness and joyfulness. I am trying really hard to come to terms with and also practice what it means to be able hold all these truths and emotions together all at the same time and live my life accordingly. All these feelings, the negative and positive all at once, keeping my life in balance. Accepting the reality of good and bad, and avoiding the trap of falling into that trap of despair that pulls me away from a sense of wholeness and unity with other living beings in this earth. The rainbow of colors through the refraction of sunlight through mists and mois- ture in the fresh air I breathe, the chirping of feathered birds that squawk when I step outside, and the flowers that emerge every spring from the perennials in my garden. Or the artistry of the sun-glistened spider web that was spun in my yard last night when I sleeping. And not to forget the little grey lizard that stops and looks at me when she notices that I can see her too. I am realizing that at the same time when I remember to pay close attention to the miracles, it actually helps me and supports my efforts to find and use my Old Woman’s voice to speak out loud against oppression, patriarchy and injustice. That’s what keeps me in balance. Remember to practice mindfulness. And then act accord- ingly.
Ten cuttings I take Neatly stripped and tucked away. Watch - green growth in time.
Wishing everyone a joyous, restful winter filled with light and laughter!
Grati tude by Dave Cort, Community Ambassador
I am sending Gratitude to local residents who have let me know about recent births in the San Geronimo Valley and Nicasio. With Joy, we celebrate the birth of Alma Mia to Aaron Weiss and Christina Lorena on August 21, 2025. Like so many of you I was sickened by the battle over SNAP benefits dur- ing the Government Shutdown. My Gratitude goes out to the Food Banks, Restaurants, food proprietors in all sectors who stepped up to support people throughout the country who lost their benefits and their food challenges were magnified. Locally, the food lines and numbers served at the weekly food distributions at the San Geronimo Valley Community Center’s and at the San Geronimo Community Presbyterian Church Honor Pantry immediately returned to COVID levels. Deep appreciation to the San Francisco/Marin Food Bank, Ceres Project, Extra Food, and local residents who supply the food as well as the dozens of local volunteers who work with our staff members to distribute the food. It is my estimate that during the last week of October over ten tons of healthy, free, food was distributed from our local sites. I also want to send gratitude to my colleague and long time friend Socorro Romo who recently retired as the Executive Director of our sister organiza- tion in Point Reyes Station, West Marin Community Services. Socorro was the first ever Latina leader of an organization in West Marin history and under Socorro’s leadership West Marin Community Services navigated the pandemic and her organization had incredible growth in their comprehensive services.
I wrote this a year ago, in October 2024: It’s still true.
Everything is moving very quickly in today’s world while I am moving slowly. It takes me so much longer to do everyday things—watering my plants, grocery shop- ping, cooking a meal, folding the laundry. How will I ever get everything done? How will I ever finish all my various projects? Will I have the time to read all the books and magazine articles that are sitting on my night table, along with every- thing else? The unfinished knitting projects in the basket in my closet. I know I need to take care of business, pay the monthly bills, put my house in order, go through my closet, empty out old files, look through old photographs, decide what to save and what to throw away. It’s endless….
Have a wonderful, safe and joyous holiday season.
SGV Community Center Stone Soup Page 15
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