ways i spread myself through my community

today is about eight weeks out from the average first frost in boston. that means today is the last day i can prune my rosemary. all its current growth needs to get hard and woody over the next four weeks so that those parts make it rhough winter. all the green on the plant will freeze and die off but the woody stuff will survive and produce lots of new leaves and things next year.

anyway, when i pruned, i took all my sprigs and put them in water because i’m learning to propogate them. i want to give them away as gifts (and keep 1-3 for the bathroom, my room, and the living room or kitchen). this photo below is the sprig i snipped about five weeks ago. it rooted and i transferred it to soil so we’ll see if it survives. and if does… i’m about to make a ton more. :)

this reminded me that i have been meaning to write about ways that i spread myself throughout my community. i’m learning to think more in ecosystem terms and so how i spread myself through my community is about creating connections so that resources (ideas, desire, love, money, time, information) can flow.

other ways i spread myself

kombucha scobys: i used to have many scobys that i kept alive for years. i’ve probably given away at least five of those. any kombucha made from those children of my mother scoby that gets into other people’s bodies connects us. amanda also gave me one of her scobys when she and vince moved away. so now i’m connected to them via that one. seeds i save: i save seeds (usually tomato, basil, & cucumber). when i give those away and people grow those plants, those are connections we have. sourdough starter: my old advisor, amy glasmeier, gave me some of her sourdough starter. lore has it that that starter was part of her father’s or grandfather’s and he would actually keep some of it on his body (utilizing his body heat) when he traveled. that way he could always bake bread but also he could make sure it stayed alive. and now i’m keeping it alive at my place and giving it to other friends (like james leighton). worms: i ordered worms from uncle jim’s worm farm, but i’ve given them away to at least two people, including my friend leo. our colonies of red wrigglers are sibling colonies now and they all create earth/soil (together but in different places). just feels cool and important to know that there are ways of being connected other than social media.

words / writing / post-processing
404w / 11min / 11min