Seeds and Jews
We put in a lot of time the previous week doing our annual seed orders. We start with beans, pole beans that is, together and work out way through the vegetables. It takes us three nights to reach zucchini. On the 4th day, Woody inventories the planting supplies in the sheds and I do the flower orders. Not too many, as by now I start few annuals. Mostly we grow perennials, but I can’t live without marigolds and sunflowers. I get the bulk of my seeds from Fedco. Their catalog is on ordinary paper, not slick magazine stock, and has some drawings but no pornographic pictures of huge red tomatoes or shiny blue-black eggplants. Their prices are the best and their descriptions are honest. They’re also the best source I know from potatoes. Second longest order is from Pinetree, also in Maine. After that I hit the shiny catalogues for what I haven’t been able to find in Fedco or Pinetree. I do get a number of tomatoes and peppers from Totally Tomatoes. Their prices are decent and they have many varieties that are hard to find elsewhere at reasonable prices or hard to find elsewhere at all. Friday morning we set off for Amherst, where I was doing a mini-residency at the Jewish Community of Amherst. They worked me half to death – I am still exhausted today – but they were great people. Their rabbi Ben is young, enthusiastic and does a moving service with a lot of singing that both Ira and I enjoyed very much. I gave a talk on writing poems for the Jewish year on Friday night after the service and dinner. Saturday morning I met with a group for a conversation about writing. Saturday during the service I read my Nishmat [morning prayer] and gave a talk about writing liturgy. Saturday evening we were taken out to supper at a Persian [note how nobody ever says an Iranian restaurant?] and the food was excellent. I do some Iranian cooking and like it. But this was more generic Middle Eastern for most of the menu, which is fine with me. I love and often make Middle Eastern recipes. Then I gave a poetry reading. the following morning I gave a workshop in midrash, what it is, why do it, examples of very different ones on the same subject [Sodom & Gomorrah & Lot’s nameless wife]. Then I gave them three passages [Cain & Abel; Jephtha’s nameless daughter; Rebecca & Jacob fooling Isaac] and had them write a midrash on any one of them. then they shared them in their groups, which was everybody sitting at their round table. I believe everything I did went pretty well, but I was ready to collapse when we got back. I could scarcely stay awake, but had to unpack, strip the beds and wash the linens. Also make up with the cats. They were all pretty pissed at us – glad to see us but feeling very deprived. Naomi from the library comes and feeds them but they don’t consider that ample recompense for our absence. I hope to get back to my own writing this week. It took two and a half weeks to prepare for Amherst.