Reap what you sow...

I am not talking about the post title as a moral, but it's literal meaning. The gardening bug got to me this spring and I planted a few seeds in the yard. I even made a raised bed with the help of a little muscle from the spouse. After a visit to one of my friends who has a green thumb and is an avid gardener, I was very inspired. I decided to start small. A quick trip to Home Depot brought home a untreated Cedar plank, cut to size, and some galvanized nails. Soon, my raised bed was ready, a little one, but I was very proud of it. Filled it up with some great soil and I was ready to go.
Herbs were first on the list and I planted a few seeds in a planter before transferring them into the bed. Three kinds of basil, (Thai basil for the first time-it's great in salads and Thai dishes), Oregano, Thyme, Chives, Mint, Rosemary, Garlic Chives were all on the list.

I got cherry tomato plants, no taller than 3 inches tall, from Whole Foods and put them straight into the bed. They started to grow... oh so fast! In no time, they were almost 4 feet high. I had to scramble to get supports for them, because in no time, there were laden with flowers and fruit.

There were so many little green tomatoes on the tree at one time! I was wondering when they would ripen. Patience!

Two zucchini plants were in the ground but I guess I didn't read up before getting them. To this date, they only get male flowers, and I have yet to see a fruit. I must follow up and see where I went wrong.

Meanwhile, my backyardigan friends were having fun in the yard, playing among themselves and getting a snack from me every now and then.

Bell peppers and Serrano peppers were also bought as little plants and they went into the raised bed too. Bell peppers have been slow, but I did get quite a few Serranos. The initial fruit were very bland but now they are finally getting some zing to them. 

The Thai Basil was happy, some pretty purple blooms soon appeared and the leaves garnished a whole lot of salads and curries.

Everything comes to he who waits... the tomatoes in abundance. For about two-three weeks, we got  approximately 30-35 cherry tomatoes to snack on everyday. Then it slowed down some, now there are a lot of flowers again. I actually graded them according to color.

Among flowers, from what I had earlier from last year, the Calla lilies bloomed, so did the Mogra (Asian jasmine), Pink Jasmine, roses and Gerber daisies. It was a small garden. I have a long way to go to get to the stage my friend is at, she hardly visits the store to shop for vegetables and herbs, she has them all in her backyard. It is a good start though, some hits, and some misses. You live and learn!

Thinking about my life...

The year began on a hectic note, we went out of town for our New Year get together with friends and got back on January the first, happy, thankful to have such wonderful friends, and very tired and ready to get a decent nights sleep. Soon after was our long awaited trip to India, which was going to happen for me after a long gap of 6 years.

The three week trip was moving quickly, I got to meet so many cherished friends and I was meeting part of my family after six years. Nostalgia hung heavy as we traveled down roads that were once familiar, now not used as much after monstrous highways took away the brunt of the traffic. Bittersweet moments were scattered all over.
One such meeting with my college room mate and very good friend went late into the night. She went down memory lane and stirred up so many little details I had forgotten. Among them was how we would rush to get to our favorite buses home after college. Along with buses run by the state government, private bus operators had some good buses running on almost all routes, and they had a nice schedule they would stick to. Some of these were 'express' buses that would travel non stop between two cities and were great for commuting students. We would hand over Rs.1 (half ticket for students) and take a window seat. The buses would play tapes of popular Hindi film soundtracks and the journey would end after a refreshing hour of cool breeze on the face, listening to some nice music, buried in one's thoughts.
My 16 year old niece often asks if we are going on a long drive, because she likes to sit at the back in the car, listen to her ipod and 'think about her life'. I always found that last line funny, until I realized that we used to do the exact same thing, except we used to board a public transport bus, sometimes wait for our favorite one because they'd play our favorite music and then get lost in our thoughts. Cars back then did not have radios or tape players, so our car drives used to be rather silent. I've realized that the accompaniment of music is quite a necessity if you want to get lost in thought.
Now I wonder what those thoughts were about, about how life would shape up? Or simply how and when I was going to finish my next assignment that was due, or was it just something that had occurred between friends? It's funny how every age has its own trials and tribulations, along with moments of contentment. There is a line in a song about childhood - छोटी छोटी ख़ुशी छोटे छोटे वोह  ग़म … small joys and small sorrows.
It felt like I had only blinked and a couple of decades had just passed by. Where did all that time go, and when did it happen... way too fast!