The garden of music

The “At Home” recording project is about recognizing that what we have right here is what is. We can allow ourselves to get lost in thoughts of the illusory “out there,” of shoulds and maybes, or we can just be with this moment.

When this perspective is expressed as a perceptual/spiritual view, it could be called Zen, Taoism, or some other mysticism. When it’s expressed as a lifestyle, it’s called living locally. When I express it as an art form, I call it singing at home, and recording “At Home.” These are just different facets of one way of life.

So today, “At Home” was about gardening.

The last few days Jesse and I have been working on our family kitchen garden. Between it and our 2000 sq. ft. community garden at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre, we grow as much of our own food as possible. We’ve been turning the soil, sifting, and adding compost. Yesterday evening Jesse was in his house next door rehearsing with Rich Burnett, and Geordie Gordon while I happily raked away outside. Music and gardening—can’t beat it.

Today I had intended to focus on music because the forecast called for rain. When I saw that the sky was fairly clear this morning, I shifted over to gardening.

I like to grow plants fairly close together in beds with walking paths between, which is more space efficient and creates an environment where my plants ouch each other and crowd out the weeds. So I started shaping the beds in hopes that I could plant the chard, onions, and various lettuce varieties I have growing in trays.

Jesse had his music playing in a constant rotation of great styles: R&B, Funk, Reggae, African, Jazz, Country, Folk, and Classical. Jane had the new Paul Simon CD playing in our house, so as I worked away and went in and out for odds and ends, it was a world of music. Such is our wee home community.

I managed to get all the plants in, and put a row cover over the chard, which saves them from leaf miner moths. In the next couple weeks, I’ll be transplanting kale, and planting peas, carrots, beans, and a variety of greens.

Whew! Time to take a shower and get ready for our singalong gig tonight!