There’s some new things going on here at Poppy Corners, and I think an update is warranted.
First up, my summer class has begun. I’m taking “The History of Environmentalism in the US and California,” and so far, it’s quite interesting, although I’m only in the second week.
Secondly, I have accepted an internship with a non-profit organization in Oakland called Friends of Sausal Creek. My job title is ‘Communications and Community Education Intern,’ and I’ll be working on things as varied as the monthly newsletter, restoration projects, updating the website, and leading school field trips (when they resume). Friends of Sausal Creek works to restore, maintain, and protect a watershed which runs from the hills of Oakland all the way down to the San Francisco Bay. For more information about this excellent organization, visit their website here. The picture above accompanied my introduction in the newsletter.
The summer garden has really taken off in June, with the arrival of some hot weather and warm nights. We’ve even eaten our first hot peppers of the season! I’ve done some succession planting with annual herbs and cucumbers, and will do so with beans, as well, this week. The tomatoes have lots of blossoms, so I’m looking forward to that first end-of-June cherry tomato.
And it’s soft fruit season, with berries coming on every day. It’s delightful to have an assortment with our dinners each night. My raspberries in particular have taken off this year, and have put out runners all over that side of the garden. I’m going to have to figure out how I want to manage them in the future. A thicket, while in theory sounds great, will be hard to maintain easily as raspberries are thorny.
Rin has graduated from high school, and I loved this bit they contributed to the last issue of the school newspaper. It echoes my own feelings about being a student, and the ways in which I best learn. Perhaps you can identify with this as well.
We are very excited for Rin’s matriculation at Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall. It seems the perfect fit for them! We are so proud we could burst.
Adam is home from Cal Poly (for now); he’ll be going back and forth to San Luis Obispo this summer, as he is renting a house with two other students, and they have planted a new garden in the backyard. It’s pretty fun to be sharing gardening knowledge with him. I expect he will soon surpass me, just as he has done with cooking and music.