Moving on
There's no cure for sadness better than friendship. Thank you for all your comments and emails. And yesterday, I was welcomed at the May meeting of the Herb Society of America's Pioneer Unit, held at Winedale. I talked about herbs (naturally) and Henry Flowers, who manages the gardens at Festival Hill, brought an extensive, impressive display of nightshades. Fun to be with friends, fun to share what we know about the plants we love. Here's just a glimpse of Henry's display.
Notice the peppers, tomatoes, and tomatillos. And here's the rest (second photo)--the potato end of the table! Notice the vodka (you knew that vodka is made from potatoes, didn't you?) and the eggplant: the "mad apple," it was called, when it was brought to Europe from Asia. Henry has also included a petunia, a nicotiana, and several other ornamentals.
A great display that gave people a very clear idea about the remarkable range of this plant family.
Home again for a while, I hope (with just a couple of day trips out), and happy to be here. It's Bill's turn now--he went off to New Mexico this morning, where he can enjoy some R&R and maybe do a little work on the house. Log houses always need something, it seems! Next week, I'm getting back to work on the next Beatrix book, The Tale of Applebeck Orchard. Can't wait to find out what it's all about.
Reading note. Writing a first draft is very much like watching a Polaroid develop. You can't--and, in fact, you're not supposed to--know exactly what the picture is going to look like until it has finished developing.--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird







