The lockdown is nearing two months.
It has been a restful near two months by God’s grace.
Every day I learn new things about the way of life in Mangan and it can only be about my returning and rest.
Having restful parents tops the list.One day a few years ago I asked my mother if I could just stay home and do nothing and my mother said ‘yes’.
This two months at home has been an internship with nature.
There are so many things I have been learning but I remember a few things off hand and those I better write down so that I can go back to it from time to time..
1.Farming requires a deep understanding of nature.It requires discipline,consistency,integrity and it moves to its own rythemn.You join it respectfully and move with it.If one lacks integrity and is unable to keep up with it,it shows.
2.Nature is a good teacher.It is forever flinging surprises at you like a flower which suddenly blooms and brings much joy to the heart.
3.Mornings are beautiful in a farm.Earlier you catch the dawn,more of the wonder it brings to your everyday life.
4.There are seasonal vegetables that are one time grow but there are others which keep giving yield as long as we are disciplined enough to keep breaking the shoots and using it in the kitchen or else it just flowers and finishes its haul.
These are vegetables like celery,broccoli,nettle,coriander,water cress,etc which need to be worked through consistently and there are others like cauliflower,radish and cabbages ,etc which are a one time grow.
5.Potatoes are annually dug and brings a significant yield but one often leaves behind a lot of potatoes in the field in the first dig which gets collected for the second time when we prepare the land for another crop.
My mother makes sure that the second crop is shared amongst the people who work in the field.Reminds me of the book of Ruth.
5.The fruits and berries are sweeter after a haul of sunshine and is slightly bland after the rains.
6.Bananas after it starts to ripen in the tree can be cut and left to ripen in the rice bags.
7.Cows moo for a reason.It moos when it sees strangers around,when it is hungry,when it is time to feed the young and when it is time for milking and occasionally when it is unwell..They are by nature compassionate creatures.
8.Cottage cheese can be made by just heating the curd till it separates from the water.
9.When using sugar syrups as additives for various fruits and savouries it needs to be cooked properly.It is done when it brings forth strands and is sticky.
10.Vinegar which is sold in the market is acetic acid and it can be easily made at home with fruits and herbs.
11.While planting green herbs all one needs to do is throw the seeds in the prepared mud and leave it.Nature takes care of it.
12.Ginger does not grow in wet land it rots so one needs a drier land for it.
13.For growing capsicum one needs dry manure but wet land.
14.Compost heaps require special care and even the urine of the cow can be collected in wells and used as manure .
15.Birds feed on fruits and flowers .Its wonderful to have bird feeds in the garden but one should be ready to watch the tiny,beautifully harmless birds maul the occasional beautiful flower.
16.When rose plants shed and changes colour one trims the shoot .The shoots bring forth flowers another season but so does the cut shoot if it is planted into the soil.
There is life in the trimmed plant and in the discoloured bits which has flowered for the season.
One can have life around and yet be oblivious of it.
16.Nature is a generous giver.There is no end to what it has to offer but one needs to be selflessly mindful of the other creatures around.
We all are definitely becoming richer together and are thankful for this grace at a time like this.
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