Tasting Sunshine

Have you ever tasted sunshine? I have and it’s something anyone and everyone can and should be able to do!!

Do you grow any herbs, vegetables or fruits at home?

Since Covid, many people are starting to get more interested in self sufficiency and the importance of immune boosting foods. More people may have time now to work on projects at home, or wish they had a way to organize their home so it was easier to work from. Others still go to work and don’t have much time to grow a garden… but there is still a way for us all to taste sunshine. It’s important!

What I mean by this is … have you ever gone to the store and seen lettuce or spinach leaves? Have you gone to the farmer’s market and seen lettuce leaves there? What about peaches? Apples? Have you ever seen strawberries in the store? Look for the glow, the fullness in the color of it… can you tell when it’s been soaking up a lot of sun or if it was grown under artificial lighting, or maybe it’s been shipped so far and packaged so tight that it seems dull? There’s a difference in the sunshine in that food… that’s what you’re seeing.

My garden is nearly 2 years old now, right now only thyme, rosemary, and mint are growing in it, but before I had strawberries, peppers, oregano, basil, sage, and parsley too. There is something so valuable about growing a little garden… it’s the best way to taste sunshine. Last year, the strawberries were the most delicious strawberries I’ve ever tasted. Fresh picked they were still warm, full of sunshine. Tasting sunshine is possible. When you eat foods grown from your own garden, the sunshine tastes like love, filling your body and spirit.

Every summer is a little different, the things that take turns growing over each other along the fence. The honeysuckle is taking over and it’s making me want to experiment with oils. Later when I’m able to harvest them, maybe I’ll be able to use them for something nice… The blackberry is also coming back more this summer, they’re so good – wild and thorny, the berries are big and full of sunshine too. I can’t wait to eat them. Last summer the passion vine produced so many fruits but they never turned from green to purple, and I don’t know how to use them, though they’re edible. I thought I’d make juice, but never did get around to it. The flowers though are so beautiful, I can’t wait to see them again. I picked a few and dried them last summer… going to experiment with them too more this time and make some teas. The elderberry tree is growing huge, I actually have two of them, both shooting up more limbs. I’ll have plenty of berries to harvest. I make my own elderberry juice for 2 years now and I think it’s the reason I have such a strong immune system. The sunshine and antioxidants have made me stronger.

I hope you’ve tasted sunshine before!

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Thinking about this just makes me grateful for programs like Memphis Tilth and other urban garden opportunities that exist locally. More children are able to taste sunshine, more schools can have gardens and ways for children to understand where their food comes from. And there’s so much sunshine to soak up here in Memphis!

I’m going to plant some strawberries again this year, and I can’t wait to share some of my elderberry syrup this year. I’m going to make some things happen – lots of ideas I’m working on. Say a little prayer and smile towards the sunlight 🙂

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I saw a huge halo around the sun around 1pm yesterday while I was out walking the dogs in Shelby Farms. Wow! The clouds were real wispy and then a plane flew right under the sun, its contrail casting a shadow in the sky. It was gone within about an hour or so.

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We would be nothing without the sun… the body and spirit need it.

Tasting sunshine is a wonderful way to enhance your life and nurture Earth.
Take good care of yourself.