Tulips Today

Tulips are a beautiful flower but only for the early spring. It is still too chilly to plant most things, but it is highlight time for tulips. Tulips, like the red cardinal that stalks my garden, mark spring. I remember once being in Holland in June and there were tulips everywhere. But here they are special for the spring. They come, show their beauty and fade away till the next spring. My wife really likes tulips. Coming in our driveway I pointed out to her how the tulips were fully bloomed. She said we needed to plant more tulip bulbs. I asked why. She said “because I like them so much.” I guess that is a good reason, since if we like something we want more of it. However, personally I would like more time to enjoy and smell the tulips we have than more tulips

The tulips are in the front of the house where soon there will be a rain garden on one side of the lawn. But it was in the back of the house, in the garden, that I spent most of my gardening time today. I am still getting things ready — mounds, vertical growers, watering system, filling pots, checking on seedlings and such. But soon, maybe tomorrow, I will do more planting. Like my wife with the tulips in the front yard I want more, more herbs, vegetables and flowers, in the back yard. The idea of using the Growing Renewal Affordable Food (G.R.A.F.) system is to grow more in less space. Of course the trick to doing that is worm-enriched soil.

Since it has been sort of cool outside I did not bother watering the worm condo and worm depository. However, today when I dug into both of them they were smoking warm. That is not good since worms do not do well in hot. I cooled both down with water and all should be well. Just in case, however, I will probably get some more worms from Growing Power next week.

Richard Oulahin

My spring was broken this morning with sadness as I heard that a friend from the sixties, Richard Oulahin, had died. We were both Marquette students 40 years ago and both involved with social justice and peace issues. Briefly we lived in the same community house. Although I knew Rich was involved in the anti-war movement at the time, I did not realize until reading the obituary that he had been kicked out of Marquette for his peace activities. However, Rich was a proud member of the large club of us who have been suspended, fired or kicked out of Marquette for peace and justice struggles. After Pat and I returned to Milwaukee in 1995 we came across Rich at the restaurant in the Esperanza Unida building. We stayed in contact for a while and contributed to and attended the event when the mural on the side of the building was dedicated. Although we were both working and advocating for persons in need we lost contact. I heard a while back that he had suffered a serious injury, but only learned a few weeks ago that it was a brain aneurysm. I thought about visiting him in the rehabilitation center but, as before the attack, was too busy to do it. There is always a note of sadness in spring, but like the life of Rich, hope, joy and the tulip rise up again.

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