Taurus
May 1, 2009
“It’s May. It’s May. The lusty month of May. The time of year when everyone goes blissfully astray. .. ”
Probably Rogers and Hammerstein weren’t astrologers, but they were right on with their song from Camelot. May is the month of Taurus, the Bull (April 20-May 19), the most beautiful, sensual, and fertile month on Earth. Taurus is the flowering of Springtime and Taurus’ holiday—Beltane or May Day, as we call it—is a day of love-making festivals all around the world, revealing the Bull’s link with fertility. Many Taureans are proud of their love-making skills.
May 2009
May 1, 2009
Farmers are like artists. We are passionate about the work we do. Our canvas is the land, our medium is the plants we tend and instead of paint brushes, our tools are tractors, hoes, shovels and muscle. The landscape is like a painting that begins each season as a rough draft in the mind of the farmer who considers the best place to seed each crop. There are many considerations when creating the composition of this painting. Unlike the artist’s blank canvas, however, a farmer begins with a dynamic, living surface. My husband, Stewart, knows this land well and has shown me how there are sections that are sandy and not suitable for many crops. He knows where, long ago, a wash ran through a field as evidenced by a wide, rocky band of earth, near which he has unearthed matates and manos left by artisans of the past. Only the farmer with an intimate connection to his land knows the subtle slopes, climbs and dips of his canvas that dictate the flow of water. Crops that are heavy nitrogen feeders like corn, need to be planted where previously nitrogen fixing plants, like legumes grew, or, even better, these crops can be seeded alongside each other, working symbiotically to feed one another while one crop provides a natural trellis for the other. In considering the composition of the gardens, the farmer must recall what grew there before so as not to deplete the soil. Perhaps a hedge of sorgam should grow along the perimeter to buffer hungry deer from the vegetable garden. To make harvesting easier, alley-ways should be carved into the ground alongside heavy crops like melons, squash and pumpkins. Vegetables planted for customers to pick like beans, squash and cucumbers should be seeded as close to the farm stand as possible as should flowers which, in our case, double as a “butterfly garden” for kindergarten students here for field trips.
The Ongoing Art Scene in Arivaca
May 1, 2009
If the roots of art began in the Arivaca area back in the 1940s, it has continued over the years. Lifestyle changes brought about by a move to this isolated haven sometimes trigger the artistic need to create a new inner world. Arivaca viewscapes attract both artists and those with an appreciation for art in their home and yard. Besides the lovely homes that have been on the Home Tour, there are the amazing ones never-to-be-revealed. (Don’t call me.) While meditating on this subject I began to realize just how many artists there are or have been, who ought to be remembered for the beauty or thought-provoking scenes they created.
May 2009
May 1, 2009
