Name calling

I am Tescille. I was Tescille Cole for 31 years. I have been Tescille Riser for 11 years now. I am Babe, Momma, Cille, Mrs. Riser, Aunt Cille, a cook, a reader, a singer, a musician, an overchiever, a mentor.

Today, I was Farmer Riser. 

Choir directors spend so much time indoors that we create a world that is much like Seattle. Overcast, humid, drizzly, chilly, and seriously lacking in Vitamin D. The past three weeks, I have tried to get outdoors. I'm successful on the weekends. Every weekday, I've been trying to make it home before the sun sets so that I could work in my garden. Home before the sun sets......very rare in my line of work. 

I finally achieved it today. I got home at 5pm and had a couple hours of daylight remaining. I got my work clothes on and climbed in the garden. Ok, I swung a leg over the 24 inch tall fence we built to keep the dog out of the garden. That was money well spent. The Firstborn Child played with the dog while I worked - listening to endless chatter. 

First, I weeded the garden. Ummmm....this is SERIOUS psychotherapy. Better than any adult beverage. No shoes or gloves, just me working in the dirt. What an amazing feeling. Then I cultivated the soil with my Garden Weasel - the dog barks at this tool for some reason. I found some black ants, cultivated some Sevin Dust in that patch, then began planting onions and garlic. Afterwards, I felt like a million dollars. It felt good to get dirty again. 

Finally, compost. Oh, how I love compost. I researched composters online since I have no skills to build one. I found a $25 piece of heavy duty plastic called a GEOBIN - a composting system. A roll of plastic that takes less than 5 minutes to set up. I took the neighbors yard clippings (2 big bags worth) and dumped them in. Oh, how they stunk from sitting in those plastic bags for 5 days. Stinky, sweet, and moldy. Good compost. I've been adding kitchen scraps tonight. I'm going to let nature do the work from here. 

Growing stuff, making compost....Farmer Riser. It feels GOOD.