The Ever Strange Mind of The Night People

Sooooo......It is 4:22 am and I have been awake for an hour and a half. Sometimes that happens,

I wake up and just can't get back to sleep. My mind starts to turn - this time I was planting the garden in my mind!

After tossing and turning for about half an hour, I turned on the radio, hoping that it would take my mind off the many thoughts twirling about in my mind.

Now our radio is tuned to the 630 CHED which is a talk radio station. From the hours of 2 am -5am the Coast to Coast radio show brings out the "Night People".

The "night people" call into the Coast to Coast show to discuss the current topic (sometimes); but more often than naught, they call in to report UFO sightings, government conspiracies, bigfoot sightings, future predictions or often just to ramble about whatever is on their minds.

According to the "night people", our governments are controlling our minds, covering up the fact that aliens have landed and not only are walking amongst us, but impregnating the women! They speak of conspiracy theories on everything from Roswell, N.M., the Kennedy assasination, 9/11, the Iraq war and even how radio waves are used for mind control!!

These "night people" seem to have a completely different view of the world than we "day people". Perhaps it is due to the fact that they can't sleep either and their minds are also twisting and turning making mountains out of molehills (as one's mind is quick to do in the quiet of the night).

So I listen to the "night people" calling the radio to discuss their latest theories. It is like coming upon the scene of an accident, you don't want to look, but you can't help yourself. Even though the musings of the "night people" seem to be just a bit out there, I struggle to stay awake to hear the discussion. Gardening thoughts are replaced by questions of "what if" as the discussions in the darkness make it all seem just a little more plausible!


As the birds begin their wake up calls outside and the sky begins to lighten in the east, I realize that sleep will not be forthcoming any more this night.

The discussions of the "night people" fade in the memory as reality takes over and thoughts of conspiracies and UFO's and mind control are pushed aside as the coffee pot brews and I step outside into the real world to see that it is exactly as it was the night before!

The Greening of the World

I love the shade of Green of the new leaves in spring.

It is that bright, chartruese green that tells me that the start of the warm weather is upon us.


It also portends the working season. That time of year when we get to enjoy the fruits of our labour only after we have laboured to cut the grass (2 hours - every 4-5 days), pull the weeds (a daunting and never ending task) and finish putting the "Bones" into the yard.




The Garden has been dug and Hubby (always concerned about "erosion" has cut and pounded rebar into landscape ties to create the "foursquare" plot. Planting is still to come. Each year, I plan to get the garden in early, yet it seems that either the weather or the preparation delays getting the seeds into the ground.





ANOTHER trip to the Greenhouse to pick up a "couple" of things is like being a kid in a Candy store and trays are filled with a little of this and a little of that......"ohhhh, imagine how these would look along the front border".







I really should NOT go to greenhouses!!!











The spring blooming shrubs (Mohican Wayfaring Tree) start to put forth their blooms, although I have three of these shrubs and this is the only one that is as leafed out and has blooms as yet.














The Tulips planted two fall's ago seem to have established themselves in the rock garden and surprise me with their blooms.











The Jumping Jacks not planted by us seem to have popped up everywhere - almost to the point that they have become a nusiance. Their bright purple faces bring color to the garden before anything else so they are allowed to stay albeit controlled (as if that is remotely possible!)










The Rhubarb plants - one transplanted from the Wetaskiwin Garden - having made a move in between it's final resting spot - and the other two transplanted from Mom's garden - are promising lots of rhubarb and strawberry tarts! YUM!!!





Yes - the Greening of the World is a Wonderful Time of year - bringing the promise of warm days to come, fresh vegetables, sweet berries and delicious baking!

Rhubarb and Strawberry Tarts

Preheat oven to 425

Frozen Tart Shells (after all there are more important things to do than make tart shells)

2 cups Rhubarb chopped

1 cup sliced strawberries

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp flour

Put fruit in bowl - whisk eggs with remaining ingredients and stir into fruit.

Fill tart shells

Bake tarts at 425 for about 6 minutes - turn oven to 350 and bake for another 20 minutes or so - watch the edges of the tarts to guage doneness. (The recipe times are for a pie so I have adapted them for tarts - use your discretion as to times for your oven)

Enjoy warm with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream!

The sweetness of summer at its best.

The above recipe can also be made as a pie - bake @ 425 for 10 min - 350 for another 30-40