soiled again

I am giddy with dirt. My wonderful neighbor came over yesterday and tilled the entire back of my yard for a garden (dayenu!*). He took down the nasty chicken wire fence (dayenu!) and dug out three posts (dayenu!). The entire space is 35 x 15. That's alotta garden. I'm amazed by how rich the soil is. There doesn't seem to be a huge drainage problem (it's about two feet above the rest of the yard), and there aren't many rocks (dai-dai-enu, dayenu, dayenu!). I'll put down some more dolomite lime, but I think the situation will be just fine for growing, as long as the elm doesn't shade it too much.


This is a shot of the Trevor Chang Memorial Shed and the tilled patch. And last is a "before" shot of the back area, just before we moved in, after a summer without watering the lawn. I know, it doesn't look much different. Dirt doesn't photograph well. But to me it's a world of difference.

*"Dayenu" is a Passover song about the Exodus, thanking God for all the things he did for the Israelites. "Dayenu" means "it would have been enough!" and the word is repeated after every verse. One site says that it's like the Hebrew version of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall." Not exactly, but I like the comparison. What I love about the song/concept is that it can apply to all kinds of situations. Like gardening. And war. And political injustice. And religion. And cleaning your house.

A translation of some of the traditional lyrics of "Daiyenu"
A Jewish atheist's "Daiyenu"
A Gay/Lesbian "Daiyenu"
A domestic "Daiyenu"

Happy Passover, everyone, and may you have enough, and then some.