Summer Solstice is a great time of year, but it is especially noticeable near the Arctic Circle - where the sun does not set.... literally.... there is no sunset.... which is a wild phenomenon if you have never experienced it.

   Despite all the extra hours of light in the far North, a tomato plant given to us by a friend, produced fruit that never made it past the "green ball" phase.  We learned that the plants up there need a greenhouse to get them to ripen - because they need the consistent warmth along with the sunlight to get the job done.

   Even though tomato growing was a little different up there, our dog son wasn't. He had his schedule and every evening at 8pm he would come to let us know it was his bed time. Even though the sun was high in the sky. He wasn't afraid of missing out, he knew what he needed and kept that foundation in place no matter where we traveled. 

   I've learned a lot about self-care from my dog - thank you Munge!

It's turned hot and humid in the South, so we've had to work a little smarter and less harder to manage the heat. 

   During our time outdoors working and clearing brush, I had a chance to really appreciate the world around me. No screens, no ear buds, just me and nature. It was such a wonderful moment of peace, that I took the time to truly appreciate what was around me.

   Taking time to do this helps recharge our system, just like watering the thirsty plants out in the garden. 

Crows are amazing, and even those who have studied them for decades are mystified by their intelligence and social behaviors. 

  Crows keep a close family unit and the hatchlings of last year, are the babysitters this year. A baby crow lives and learns for several years before heading out to start their own family.

   Crows can count and communicate important information along great distances to other members of the group.

   And because of this, they are wildly successful at adapting and raising young.

   They are stronger together than a single bird alone.

   Just like us.

   There's never been a better time to find a community - in real life or online. Learning and sharing with others fills a deep need and can help us be happier, healthier, and live longer - better.

   If you are struggling to find a group - check out a community center near you, or online for groups that are connected to an interest or hobby that you have. And it's OK to shop around - the best groups are the ones that you feel at home in, like birds of a feather.

Do you ever find yourself thinking the same depressing, negative, or pwerless thing about a situation, or person?
   Why does this always happen?
   There she goes again....
   I guess there's nothing I can do...


   Our brains are hardwired to see dangers and problems everywhere... and in the good old days, when life expectancy was age 35 for men, and even less for women - it was a helpful path for our brains to develop (like survival of the fittest). 

   But, that same survival mechanism creates a heaping help of misery for us today. The other cars on the road are not predators about to devour us, and the printer at the office is not a plastic demon bent on making us angry... well, maybe that last one is true...


   However, the truth is that we focus and hardwire way more of the negative into our brains which then creates a negative result when we try to be happy. But is there a way to change the path?

In his book Hardwiring Happiness, Rick Hanson, Ph.D. shares a means of creating new paths over time to help our brains notice and create positive experiences leading to a positive mindset. Here's his website if you'd like to learn more: https://rickhanson.com 

Human Nature is a pretty negative thing, we are tuned into the worst, the bad, the danger.... so what can we learn from the Mockingbird to change the station?

Want to learn more about this amazing bird? Or hear some recorded riffing? Here's a trusted source to learn more (including a handy map of where they like to sing): https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Mockingbird/overview# 

We've just had a day of rain, with cool temperatures and a dreary sky.

  But, it's evening and the birds are singing all around the yard and garden.

  As I pause to take in the beauty of the sound, a peace and sense of contentment fill my soul and I want to share this with someone. 

  What makes for happiness? Why do we tend to notice all the negatives?  I've just started a new book on the topic of happiness and will be sharing more about my discoveries on this topic. Here is the book called "Hardwiring Happiness" by Rick Hanson, PhD https://rickhanson.com/writings/books/hardwiring-happiness/

Did you know that God's first name is Andy? 

  It's a cute joke, but as I walked in the garden today it reminded me of a hymn and the joke.

  I started this podcast as a way to share stories and lessons from the garden that have helped me and others grow a positive mindset.  But, this podcast almost never happened. I had never thought of doing a podcast, and didn't like the idea that I might not be good at it.

   But that fear is true about anything we've never done before. Every successful person that we know about has had a lot of failures, and they also all started as beginners. 

  The trick is to be willing to be a beginner, and to keep doing the things that you love and are excited about - because, over time, and with repetition - you will get to be good at them.

  Need some encouragement? There are lots of great groups out there online (or in real life) that help teach, train, and support new hobbies and interests. I mentioned one that has really helped me this last year as a new entrepreneur - it's called DinoMite Entrepreneurs and you can join the free Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FziC8aLb5oE1eaX/ 

The garden is growing and is actually further along than we've been in years past.
  
  And we are celebrating the excitement of green tomatoes growing on the vine.  But we also have some things that just aren't going the way we planned, planted, or hoped.

So, how do you deal with things that don't happen the way you wanted?

It really comes down to saying "so what?...now what?" and moving into a solutions phase rather than staying too long being upset that it happened. 


Sir Ken Robinson has a super TED Talk about Children and Creativity :      https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Grit... Strength... Survival... Determination....


 What does it mean to be a survivor?   How does adversity and challenge make us stonger?  


   In this episode, I share the story of an extraordinary red-winged blackbird that we nicknamed Zachary Bass, after a movie character who survived against all odds.   This one bird, inspired us to become "bird nerds" and learn more about our feathered friends, and the true meaning of challenges that make us stronger.

We've had a lot of rain and I'm standing outside the garden looking at the growth and considering our deer fence - a simple set-up of metal posts and fishing line. 

  How in the world does something so simple keep out the deer?  

  They brush against it at night and it startles them. That's it... the fence isn't really keeping them away from their goal, their fear of the unknown is what keeps them away from the delicious okra and beets they want to gobble up. Hopefully the deer never Google the solution to this issue... 

  But, in a similar way, we can be held back from the things we want to do, from the garden we wish to create in our own lives. Gaining information, support, and professional help where needed can get us past the things that are holding us back so we can grow again.

Sunflowers have a few amazing qualities...  one of which is that they always seek the sunlight.  We have several volunteer sunflowers popping up around our bird feeders and in the garden.  


  Even though they are just a few inches tall, and there are no flowers on them... I can always tell the sunflower seedlings hiding in the clover and grass... because in the morning they are bent toward the sunrise, and in the evening they are bent towards the sunset.  It is an amazing phenomenon that can help us in our own lives.

  Want to know more amazing things about sunflowers? : https://leaaverygear.com/blogs/other-outdoorsy-things/33-fun-facts-about-sunflowers-to-brighten-your-curiosity

  Want to plant some of your own? Baker Creek Seeds is a great company with lots of beautiful varieties - here's a link to their page ( I love to look at the pictures!) : https://www.rareseeds.com/search/sunflower
  

We just started our yearly bout with something we call "Green Ball Syndrome."  It's a condition we bring on ourselves, and happily suffer through the effects of this condition.  

  Green Ball Syndrome is what we call it when our tomato plants fruit.  The pretty yellow flowers turn into a tiny green sphere that given the proper conditions, turns into a delious, ripe, red, home-grown tomato!

  My dear hubs had a funny chat with his brother when they were both growing tomatoes in their gardens, which led to the green ball joke.  However, comparing ourselves to others, is no joke.  It can lead us down a negative path.  

In this episode I'll share some ideas on how to avoid the comparison trap, as well as what my brother-in-law's advice was for "Green Ball Syndrome". 

"I love pulling weeds!" said no one ever!

Weeds can ruin a garden, but how do you keep them under control? 
We nip them with a garden hoe, before they get too large to deal with easily.

In this episode, we'll talk about hoeing, nipping, and dealing with the weeds in our lives before they take over. 

A garden is never the same from one season to the next, it's a lot like life. But for some reason, I can accept that things won't always go the way I planned in the garden. 

In our lives, we can take things so seriously. Replay incidents, accidents, and events over and over. But, we can never change the past. So, how do we learn from what happened but not dwell on it? Failing forward is a concept I'll share in this episode, along with a story about some of the big garden fails we've had but that we've learned from to grow better each season.

In this episode I share a story about a sign in my school's teacher's lounge that read, "Don't Talk About Yourself, We'll do that After You Leave!" 

Just before an acredidation board came to tour the school, my dear hubs helped me make a sign to hang alongside this one that showed a version of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote about Large Minds Discuss Ideas, Medium Sized Minds Discuss Events and Small minds Discuss People. 

Funny enough, both signs disappeared within a week.

But, the idea behind Eleanor Roosevelt's quote - about the size of our "talk" is an important one to consider. Not only from what we say, but just as important is what we listen to or allow to "speak" into our hearts and lives. With such constant and easy connection to audio / video / chat / social media / television / radio... it's easy to mindlessly listen and watch things that can bring us down. 

In my small group on Facebook, we are going through a book chat, the book is Jamie Kern Lima's Believe IT!  and this week she was sharing about the idea of a microphone. We each have one, and we can decide to whom we hand the mic for our hearts and minds. We can also adjust the volume to allow the "big talk" the Idea talk more space and attention. And, when needed, we can lower the volume or take the mic back from people and things that would make our minds smaller. 

Here's a link to our Facebook small group called Faith & Beauty with Tisch
We are a group of GAL PALS the positively effect our little corner of social media.

My dear hubs likes to tease me about how good I am at creating "maximum dammage" in the garden. 

It's a fun play on words, because we build up a dam of dirt around each row of tomato plants - it helps us funnel water to the roots of those plants instead of splashing water everywhere.   In this episode, we'll talk about ways to channel our resources to the things that need them.... and to weed out the things that we shouldn't be pouring our limited time, effort, attention and creative energy into. To see a video of our actual garden when this episode was recorded, click here: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/DpWCGS1WJp4Rfhcb/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Plus, here's a link to the awesome "Homegrown Tomatoes" song we'll be singing all summer:  https://youtu.be/U1_P85kMIX8?si=uQzVQjxrcVgU-K_F 

(I like this version best because it has all the extra versus! - I did record a version of this episode where I was singing the song... but Tom Fisch does it way better!).

Have you ever had someone tell you, "well, it could be worse"?

Is there always a silver lining? 
A positive mindset doesn't make the circumstances dissappear, but it can certainly make the trip better for us and all the passengers around us. 

In this episode I share a funny story that my dear hubs likes to tell, along with some insights from the garden and life to help us consider ways to look for the positive.

Each year our neighbors think we have an instant garden...  but the truth is that appearances can be decieving.  Like with social media.  It is easy to think that everyone is living the good life and you are missing out.  In this episode I'll share 3 simple steps to get your joy and sense of contentment back if you've been scrolling and not finding peace. 

How do you keep on the sunny side when there is so much to be worried about?

In this epsisode I'll share how life feels when you don't know what results you'll hear or what that will mean for your life. So much uncertainty can create an environment of anger, frustration, and chaos. So, how do you stay in control and not let the anxiety win?

The Relaxation Station

It's the day of the Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 and lots of folks are really excited to "watch" this amazing event. We're focused on the next cancer test today and keeping life good and happy while we "hurry-up and wait". 

There's a little cabin in our yard with a porch and a sign that reads "The Relaxation Station". It's a physical reminder of taking the time to relax. But, how can you relax when you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or full of anxiety? 

We use the most important part of the alphabet to create that space to give us the room to enjoy and appreciate life  "a..b..c.......j...k...l...m....NO...".

I've shared ways to add things into your life to top off your tank, and feed your soul. Today, let's consider what we need to let go, say no, and step back from, so we have the space to handle the most important things. And to find your own happy place, or relaxation station.