Queen on Charlie's chest.  Sunday Aug19, 2018

Our imposter caterpillar eclosed this morning--11 days after I rescued it in the Garland Community Garden. Charlie and I released it amongst his flowers but not before it lit on Charlie's chest for a few seconds.

As I've said before, he is indeed the butterfly whisperer.

The unusual, new, and the familiar made their appearances.

Garland Texas is filled with makers.  Yesterday, August 4 was the first Saturday of the month and thus the Garland MarketPlace on the historic Garland Square and I got to renew old acquaintances and make some new ones. I was pleased to see that Garland was well represented among the makers who also came from other nearby communities such as Sachse, Rockwall, Mesquite and east Dallas.

Bron Kendrick Storybookpewter.com with his pewter sculptures and Cowboy Bob books.

Now I know where to go when I get ready to learn more about mold making and greeting cards.  Bron who was born and raised in Kansas worked for Hallmark cards there for five years.  It was there that he learned all about casting pewter for small sculptures.  His children’s book is all about Cowboy Bob—a funny character who flies through the air and lands on the bad guys.  He is an inspiration showing how anyone can be a hero and not be perfect.  The ten stories in this little book written and illustrated by Bron have some history woven into them.  It is available on Amazon.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THIS MAKER:
Bron Kendrick
Storybook Pewter
214-780-8866
storybookpewter.com

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Edgar Limones, owner and creator of Dog’s Little House, with his wife and daughter.

Edgar designs and builds unusual doghouses.  If you think your dog deserves a doghouse that looks like Frank Lloyd Wright designed it, then Edgar is your man.  This craftsman and wood worker is located right here in Garland, Texas.  This was their first public event featuring their lovely wooden designs.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Dog’s Little House
www.dogslittlehouses.com
Edgar Limones
Shionarad@gmail.cm
972-972-5514

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Billee Curry, owner What a Gemstone Jewelry “inspired Jewelry of Light”

Billee is another new friend I made on Saturday.  She has been in business since 2009.  Her lovely jewelry features gemstones such as crystal quartz, aquamarine, turquoise, amethyst, garnet, apatite, carnelian, citrine, black onyx, black spinel, pearl, red coral and more.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
What a Gemstone Jewelry
Inspired jewelry of Light
469-222-7783
www.facebook.com/WhatAGemstoneJewelry

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Bob Michel of Charis Honey Farms

Bob has been a regular at the Garland MarketPlace for a few years now.  I always make sure to stop by and chat with him.  His honey is locally gathered and wonderful.  Be sure to try it if you haven’t.  Bob mentioned that honey production is down a bit this season due in part to the drought—not good news for us honey lovers as we can expect to pay more for our honey this fall.  But that’s the good thing about the organic world—next year is always another story.

Charis Honey Farms
Bob Michel
469-233-2870
www.CharisHoneyFarms.com
Charis.HoneyFarms@gmail.com

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Ama holding her latest creation--peach and lavender jelly.

Ama, who is a regular at the Garland MarketPlace, gets all the fruits for making her jams and jellies from our nearby farms.  For example, the peaches to make here latest creation came from Hamms orchard in Terrell, Texas.  Here jams and jellies are delicious.  Last year her lemon and lavender combination won first place at the Texas State Fair.  I saw some lovely crocheted potholders—a new addition to her product offerings.  Her mother made them.  Ama sells them for her mother’s “mad money.”

Ama’s Kitchen
770-378-5510
Canned goods just like your Grandma’s

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Teresa Diegel, Independent Chalk Couture Designer

There are various DIY companies cropping up all over now that are modeled somewhat after franchises.  A DIY creator like Teresa purchases supplies from these larger companies and then markets them locally at farmers markets such as the Garland Market Place by showing all the creative things that can be done with the products.  Chalk Couture is the company from which Teresa purchases her products to sell.  Their home décor creating products include Chalkology Paste, Chalk transfers, Chalkology Ink and special boards to applying the Chalkology products.

The end result of these designs looks like an artist has been at the blackboard.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Teresa Diegel
TJDesignsChalk.com
tdiegel@gmail.com
713-806-1018  

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Sabria Davis amongst the Five-Dollar Bling

If you must have the bling and you don’t have the cash for a lot of it, then Sabria’s booth is the one to stop by.  She has a wide selection of costume jewelry from paparazzi and each piece is priced at only Five Dollars.  Paparazzi is another company like Chalk Couture who sell special product lines for others to creatively market.

Sabria Davis
Fabulously Yours by Bri
Paparazzi
FabulouslyYoursByBri.com
Facebook.com/Fabulously YoursByBri/

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Dyetanya Williams with her two sons behind a display of DSherell soaps and bath products

Dyetanya has a wide array of soaps, scrubs, oils, deodorants and bath products—all made by her.  She hopes in a few years to have a storefront where people can watch the process for some of these products such as her soap in the making.

DSherell Bath Products
Dyetanya Williams
Dsherell.onlineweb.shop
d.sherellco@gmail.com
469-515-1659

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 Jeff Richter, a good advertisement for his product

Beard Commander has its headquarters in Waxahachie, Texas.  Their specialties include balms, oils, shampoos and conditioners for beards.  They have added a sideline of BC Seasons and Rubs.

Beard Commander
Jeff Richter
Balms Oils Shampoos and conditioners for beards
Jeff@Beardcommander.com
214-980-1133 BC Seasons and Rubs
BC Seasons and Rubs.com
Scott@Beardcommander.com
Waxahachie, TX

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Damien McDaniel Freelance Artist

Damien is another talented regular at the Garland MarketPlace.  He does all kinds of illustrations but at the MarketPlace Damien does excellent caricatures of the visitors.

Damien T. McDaniel
Freelance Artist
Caricatures, Graphic Design, Tattoo Design, Motion Graphics
www.facebook.com/Damien.t.mcdaniel
501-837-1143

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Rocks N Mud is coming to the Internet soon.  They make unusual jewelry.  In fact, I purchased a necklace for a friend who has a birthday coming up.  It is a round pearl held in place by a dragon’s claw.  My friend is a fan of the TV show “Game of Thrones.”

For now if you want to find out where they will be next:

Rocksnmud2929@gmail.com

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Gray’Z, Inc.

Who can resist a cheerful twosome like this?  Their homemade candles and air fresheners come in all kinds of aromas—from mulberry to latte; from crème Brulee to baby powder.

Email:  grayzincoffices@gmail.com
Aromas that drive you crazy
www.grayzaromas.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/grayzinc/

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Always in a thumbs up mode, Michel Funke, founder of family run business, Bubba Funke Jelly (Bubbafunkejelly.com) is also a full time fifth-grade teacher.  His wife, Christy is a professional videographer.  Most often Christy is there helping Michel in the booth, but this Saturday was on a shoot in Los Angeles.  I eat Michel’s jalapeno cherry jelly almost daily on my toast but I learned that his spicy jellies can also be used as rubs on meats such as pork and chicken.

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The Texas Salsa, the healthiest taco chips in Texas, had a booth at the Garland Area Market Place.

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 Susanne Matthews and her granddaughter from Granny’s Gourmet (214) 809-9984

Granny’s Gourmet, a regular feature of the Garland MarketPlace features fantastic baked goods.  I had one of her individual lemon pies on Saturday and it was delicious.  If you want some special bread or pies for a party or family gathering, give Susanne a call.

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Kirk Lovett

WANT TO BE ONE OF THE VALUED MARKETPLACE VENDORS AND START TAKING ACTION TO MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE?

E-MAIL: Kirk.Eventive@Live.Com
PHONE: Tel: 469-275-9616

Get inspired!  Visit the Garland MarketPlace the first and third Saturday of the month and see entrepreneurs of all ages, shapes, colors, religions, and ethnic backgrounds taking action to make their dreams come true.   Learn first-hand from the people who are doing it.

One of the peach trees in my front yard - July 17, 2018

This morning I was thinking when I was down at the garden watering and harvesting some produce to take to Good Samaritans tomorrow about the blackberry bushes in the garden.  25 of the 30 blackberry plants we have at the Garland Community Garden came from shoots of four blackberry plants in my own front yard.  In addition, I have donated 30 blackberry plants over the past three years to Loving Garland Green’s various plant sales.  It’s amazing the outreach to the community that these four plants have achieved.  And of course, in a very organic way as steward of these plants, I too am connected to these plants and to the web of my community.

After watering at the Garland Community Garden,  I was home and picking some blackberries from the bushes in my front yard when I thought of this connection again.  

I was watering my three peach trees, which are loaded to the max this year, when two beautiful Japanese women stopped to talk.  I think they were tourists.  Their English was limited and my Japanese nonexistent, but somehow we communicated any way.

Once again I forgot to take a photo.  (I guess the heat was making me light-headed.)  One of the women asked for a healthy peach, or so I thought.  She was actually asking for a branch that had a healthy peach on it.  Finally I understood and gave her a branch that had a healthy peach on it.  Either I was mistaken about the two women being tourists or perhaps they were going to graft the branch onto a tree of the person they were visiting somewhere here in the neighborhood. 

Again I thought of connections to Garland and to my neighborhood in particular.  Perhaps this is the only opportunity for my immortality.  I’ll live on through the plants I’ve shared with others. 

These two women randomly stopping to talk reminded me once again of that time back in May and June of 2013 when I dug up my front lawn and planted a garden.  My back yard is a forest so I decided to dig up my front yard and replace my lawn with a garden, more or less modeled after a woodland forest garden. 

In 2013 I had lived in my home for 9 years.  At least once or twice a week I was in the front yard, mowing grass or pulling weed or fertilizing the lawn and not one person ever stopped by to chat.  During the first week of my efforts at digging up my lawn, several people, complete strangers, stopped by to talk with me.  After that first week I started keeping track of the number of people stopping.  From about mid May until the end of June 2013, I counted 112 people who stopped to talk with me.

Conclusion:  Gardens bring people together. (Many of the folks who stopped by are still my friends today.)

Today was a quiet Fourth of July for me as there was no downtown Parade in Garland Texas.  I miss that.  Firewheel just isn’t the same feeling of old time Americana that we get in downtown Garland.  I really prefer the feeling of small town local when it comes to the Fourth of July.  I remember a great Fourth of July a few years ago with my family.  There was the wonderful parade and then the festivities continued in Central Park.  It was so nice.  No one was in a hurry and it didn’t feel crowded.  I would like to see those kinds of celebrations again and I’ll bet a lot of people are with me on this opinion.

Old Glory flew down at the Garland Community Garden today.

In lieu of a parade, I took our flag down to the garden and spent a few early morning hours futzing over the plants.  Most of the blackberry bushes are spent so there was pruning to do and of course watering—always to be done in this weather.  I enjoyed chatting with my friends Burgi and Jane who were also there.

Then I came home and finished reading ELPASO, a large and somewhat historical novel written by Winston Groom, also author of Forest Gump—an interesting story that I would give a B-.

After that I made three shopping bags from feed sacks I got at Roach’s last week.  Bubbles decided to get in the photo too.

As part of my research for Eco Makers (a maker cluster segment of Garland Area Makerspace), I continued reading about recycled materials—plastics in particular.  Plastics and gardening are inexhaustible topics. Even if I had two lifetimes it’s not likely that would be enough time to learn all there is to know about either plastics or gardening.  There is much to learn; however, both topics although seemingly polar opposite may be closely linked to our survival as a species.

While 80% of plastics can be recycled, only 10% is recycled.  We have some work to do.  We are about in the same neighborhood when it comes to food and protecting the environment that grows our food.  95% of the food we eat is grown in soil.  Today 33 percent of the Earth’s soils are considered degraded (symptoms include increased crusting from overuse of herbicides, increased erosion often from overuse of herbicides, decreased nutrient cycling, and increased desertification).  All symptoms of degradation result in a decrease of a given soil to support the full potential of a plant.  Another thing about gardens is that urban gardens in particular will become increasingly important for communities as we move deeper into the 21^st century. 

Community leaders need to wise up with their codes and write a few new ones—not nitpicking rules about whether someone’s lawn is up to snuff but rules that really do make a difference such as not allowing residents to haul off organic matter such as leaves from their yards.  Leaves should remain as close as possible to where they fall.  They can be mulched and doing is a lot less labor than raking and bagging them to be hauled off to a landfill where they will be taken out of the natural cycle and sequestered for hundreds of years.  Those leaves represent organic matter for future topsoil.  Much of the soil that is left will eventually be carried away and down our storm sewers through erosion. 

Another good rule might be to put some limits on the amount of herbicides and pesticides citizens can pour on their lawns and plants.  They aren’t the only ones they hurt when they do this. 

Cities all over the world are becoming pesticide free zones.  Paris is one of those cities.  After 10 years now, the dense urban area of Paris has more honeybees than its surrounding agricultural areas that also follow the industrial monoculture type of agriculture practices found in the USA.

We are leaving our children our legacy of waste.  If nothing else, it seems like we should do all we can to teach them how to clean up some up our mess:  how to recycle plastics and how to reduce use of it as well as how to grow some of the food they eat.  When people grow some of the food they eat, they are more aware of the interrelatedness of their behavior to the cycle of life.

Four pounds of produce from my front yard - harvested Sunday June 24, 2018

I thought about a gentle reminder I got this morning from a dear friend of mine in regard to my deep distress over the President's treatment of the families of immigrants in South Texas.  She said that at least he signed that executive order halting the disbursement of children to cities thousands of miles from their families with no mechanism in place for later tracing and reuniting them.  "That's something to be thankful for", she said.

And I thought:  "Yes that is indeed something to feel grateful for and I do."  I allowed myself to feel thankful that this has been accomplished.

It's interesting what gratitude does to us.  For me it brings a feeling of relief from stress somewhat like the exhalation of a sigh.  Perhaps the feelings of gratitude  are feelings of love.  At any rate gratitude, like love certainly produces a sense of well-being, a state of grace.  Also, gratitude seems to come upon me in waves once I allow myself to be grateful about one small thing. And that's what happened to me this morning.

After truly feeling grateful that children will no long be sent away, I felt grateful for having a friend like Deborah to remind me to be thankful for what is, even if I feel like at the time it is not enough.  That is important.  Then thinking of Deborah reminded me of all the other friends and family I have that I am also grateful for and I allowed myself to feel gratitude for them.

I went into my poor, neglected yard and harvested four pounds of vegetables and fruit.  When I first planted this garden five years ago, I carefully weighed and tracked every single thing I harvested.  That first year I harvested 625 pounds of produce and figured the value, given current market value at just over $1000.  I was indeed grateful.  Today I remembered all the food my garden has yielded for me over the past five years and I am grateful.  I even weighed the produce today--something I haven't done from my garden for at least three years.

Gratitude is expressing thanks to the world and to our friends for the gifts we are given.  Gratitude comes with its own rewards.  I've kept a gratitude journal off and on now for over 15 years.  A friend of mine in California gave it to me.  I'll faithfully write in several days of gratitude and then I'll put the journal away and sometimes not pick it up again until months even years later.  I'll have to look for it again now that I've thought of it.  I've never been one to keep a regular diary of any sort.

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Gratitude is not to be confused with complacency. Just because one feels grateful, it does not necessarily mean a task is finished.  It is often a necessary wide spot in the road of an uphill climb where we stop to rest and gather strength with the remembrance of good things that have been achieved.