The Beauty of a Clothesline, Part II

When Is a Clothesline a Work of Art?, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

I posted the pic above a few days ago, when the sun was shining enough to dry clothes in about an hour. Today it's raining and I want to add my promised addendum to the clothesline post. Thanks "Amanda" for your comment and agreement about the beauty of clothes hung out to dry -- and the silliness of communities that outlaw this simple way to save energy.

One group has gone even further to celebrate the clothesline:

Project Laundry List
Our Mission: Project Laundry List uses words, images, and advocacy to educate people about how simple lifestyle modifications, including air-drying one’s clothes, reduce our dependence on environmentally and culturally costly energy sources.

What fun! And why not get behind these simple things that can go a long way to reducing energy usage.

The main block to handing out clothes (as long as you don't live in a clotheslines-outlawed community) is lack of time. Then the question becomes: Do I want to have the kind of life where I don't even have time to stand out in my lovely back yard and hang up clothes while listening to the birds sing? That is the kind of question that has driven me to seek more simplicity and less consumerism. The less I buy and spend, the less I have to work outside the home, the more time I get to spend with the wind, the birds and my family. Now that's a good deal.

I'll end with this wonderfully poetic take on the beauty of clotheslines from poet Mendy Knott called "Instruments of Peace" from her blog A Creative Life. Here's a snippet:

"Looking out the window, hands in the kitchen sink
washing up the dishes gives a person time to think.
I see our colorful clothing fly,
this old Arkansas home’s prayer flags;
from t-shirts stitched with slogans to denims and dust rags.
The blessed sun shines down.
The breeze it blows and fills.
They sail and pull at pins
as if the billowing clothes
could keep this old world spinnin’
spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’ spinnin’
spinnin’ round."

(Read Mendy's whole poem here: Instruments of Peace)

First Harvest at Larrapin

First Harvest at Larrapin, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

While we've nibbled out of the Spinach bed already, tonight we had
these two batches of greens to harvest before the big thunderstorms
that are coming. That's spinach on the right and Ragged Jack/Russian
kale on the left. We love to saute it with a little olive oil and
garlic in a big iron skillet (or wok). It stays very green and is
delicious.

When Is a Clothesline a Work of Art?

When Is a Clothesline a Work of Art?, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

There's just everything right about a good clothesline: good for the
clothes, good for the environment and in my opinion they are often
lovely to look upon. More on clotheslines soon.

Spinach Fortress: Don't Laugh -- It worked!

Spinach Fortress: Don't Laugh -- It worked!, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

The spinach seemed to draw the bunnies as well as the guinea hens (see "Guineas Under House Arrest" below...) so out of desperation one day I put up this stick fence around the spinach and pea bed. You can't see the peas because the guineas had munched them to the ground when the rabbits weren't doing the same. It worked! With the guineas secure in their pen, the fence keeps the bunnies at bay. I think it's kind of cute, so I left it.

We've had several spinach salads out of this bed already. It's spring planted so it's just now getting going really well. Year before last I planted fall spinach and overwintered it -- now THAT's the way to have big delicious spinach really really early! I hope to remember to do it again this fall.

New Grosbeak Visitor

New Grosbeak Visitor, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

I mentioned that we've had lots more birds this year since we've put "backyard habitat" practices into place. This is a new visitor. Look at that cheeky posture and the rakish red scarf! Welcome to Larrapin Garden friend!

Cherry Blossoms Falling Beautifully

Cherry Blossoms Falling Beautifully, originally uploaded by Gardener At Larrapin.

This was from a week or so ago - an ornamental cherry that drops its blossoms in sheets of pink. They are even lovely on the ground.

What was particularly funny (though impossible to photograph) was the sight of the young male roadrunner dashing about with a fat cherry blossom in his beak instead of his usual stick (he's building nests everywhere) or dead lizard!