Currently Reading

I have two books going at the moment — my morning read “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” recommended by a kindred here, and I’m so pleased she gave me a heads up on it…my nighttime read is a Tracy Chevalier novel, “A Single Thread.” I’m finding it slower going than Quiet, and I’m not sure yet about how much I like it. I enjoyed previous works of hers including “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “Falling  Angels,” and  “Remarkable Creatures,” and I love how she uses “roman à clef” as she weaves her fictional narratives. For novels with excellent research on historical backgrounds, hers are well-done, but the pace of this latest read of hers feels slower, hence my hesitancy to comment on it.

An Announcement

   Recently, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri shared “We’re no longer a photo-sharing app or a square photo-sharing app,” but rather “we’re trying to build new experiences primarily in four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging.” Given IG’s constant changes where from my end it seems like they throw an on/off switch, I’ve decided to de-emphasize Instagram and focus more on Twitter, and especially here at ArtFoodSoul. What is also very frustrating is censorship, not only in photos, but writing topics. It may not be apparent to my followers, but when we look at stats and see that one innocuous post may get a quarter of a million impressions on Explorer, while a post that may touch on a more sensitive subject matter may have much less than 10,000, something is off here. Perhaps subconsciously, I end up writing or posting photos that I feel will conform to IG “standards,” which of course is a moving target.
      In using Twitter and ArtFoodSoul more and IG less, I’ll likely reach fewer followers. That’s okay. I just don’t want some mystery entity, wielding a suppressive algorithm, looking over my shoulder waiting to pounce on the first false word or photo that I post.

A Welcome Rain

Yesterday was a gorgeous rainy day — and I say gorgeous because we need the rain — and the garden is thriving. Still working on one area for redesign, but I love when I can start seeing the vision come together — it’s like when you’re writing or painting and it takes a while and then all of a sudden, there it is, you’re almost there and you can see it. In the meantime, elderberries are ripening and I need to get some before the birds beat me to all of them. They’re great for cordials and immunity boosting syrups. The grapes are blowing my mind, and now that I realize how easy it is to make grape juice, that’ll be on the post-harvest to-do list. Dahlias, coneflowers, and glads are all bursting with blooms, we’ve had a few beans and blueberries, and before long the beach plums will be ripening. That’s just a taste of what we pack into this wee plot of land tucked in between the larger properties that surround us. It’s not really necessary to go big to grow good.

Garden Grooming

Did a bit of grooming in the garden yesterday afternoon before I realized just how humid it was despite the cloud cover and what felt like cooler air. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned previously how I’ve been trying to keep up with trimming off the spent sweet pea blooms from their vines before they turn to seed. I’m happy to report that I am remembering to do this, and my efforts are definitely paying off. The flowers are blooming later this year than in years past since I’ve implemented that bit of tending. Other garden tasks included a bit of weeding and planting — had some sprouted sweet potatoes and a ginger root that I’d forgotten about in the kitchen basket, so I cut them up and planted them in pots. Curious to see how they’ll do. More on the garden tomorrow. Whoopee for Wednesday!