Seed Delivery, Citrus Water, and Working with SSCS

 It was citrus water and more citrus water all weekend. For this, I juiced grapefruit, orange, and lemon, then topped it off with spring water.

 So refreshing: a large jar of citrus water each morning this weekend. Without even expecting it, I found it subdued my appetite.

We received delivery of a bulk of the Asian veggie and herb seeds for this summer’s food gardens.

A box arrived Saturday containing most of the veggie seeds we’ll be using in this summer’s garden. This was in the box:

·       Holy basil (Tulsi)

·       Lettuce Leaf Basil

·       Thai Long Green Eggplant

·       Thai Burapa Hot Pepper

·       Thai Pink Egg Tomato

·       Thai Baby Watermelon

·       2 varieties of Chinese kale

I spread the seed packs out on the kitchen counter and dreamed. Then I gathered them up and placed them in the big banana leaf basket we’re using to hold all the seeds for this season. The basket is filling up.

I did the citrus water this weekend, juicing the grapefruit, oranges, and lemons in their entirety – skin, seeds, and all. This made an acidic, slightly bitter juice that I cut about 50/50 with spring water. It was a tiny bit sweet and citrusy. Very refreshing. So now that I know that I can tolerate the citrus water, I’ll go ahead and do the citrus water fast with my friends next week.

My husband and I went for our Valentine dinner date on Sunday. Valentine’s Day fell on a Tuesday this year, so we elected to go out on the weekend. It was so nice, and particularly great since the chef was perfectly willing to ‘veganize’ a dish for me. I don’t expect restaurants to do that, so it’s especially epic when they do. A wonderful dinner date with my amazing husband. Grateful.

Here’s some big news: in two days, the temperatures here will reach 65 degrees. This is unheard of for February in southern New England. It will stay warm for a couple of days, then cool down into the 40s and low 50s. February started rough, but it looks like it’s going out sweetly. We may have an early spring this year. Snaps for Mother Nature right now.

It took a long time, but all my paperwork and references for onshore work are with Sea Shepherd. I love that they screen carefully. They’re concerned about who speaks and acts for the society. Commissioned volunteers like myself are not working on our own behalf, or to disseminate our own views. We work for SSCS’s causes, which just happen to align with my own. The fact that they want to make sure that I’m consistent with their mission makes me glad to be working with Sea Shepherd. Maybe one day, I’ll have the chance to segue into offshore work.

One of my favorite quotes on ocean conservation was uttered by marine biologist and author Sylvia Earle. She said:

No water, no life.

No blue, no green.

So true. How can you safeguard land while not doing the same for water, and vice versa? Go outside, pick up a stone, and hold it. You will see in that moment that everything is hitched to everything else in creation. We are all connected. We are all one.

Live in peace.