Letter

I can't quite pull myself to harvest the knotweed. I think part of the reason is that in my neighborhood it grows among parking lots and I imagine that might make it heavy metal knotweed or maybe that's a good excuse for my cowardice. When we first bought our house 18 years ago, Bill asked me what we should plant in the little empty lot. I said asparagus, corn, apple trees, everything edible! Why mow a lawn when you can grow asparagus?

My cranky friend Armand has an amazing garden and when I walk his neighborhood with my dog we often talk about his plants and harvesting and cooking food. He also loves things I love: pressure cookers, making pasta, vats of chicken soup, pizelles and biscotti. Lately he is looking pale and tired and complains of being sick. I hope he's okay. He is surrounded by his family and grandchildren but they don't appreciate the harvesting, baking, foraging, and canning that Armand does. He gives me herbs and I drop off loaves of bread. I hope he'll be okay.

I just went last week to fill four 5 gallon plastic buckets with free fresh manure from the nearby dairy farm. I am slowly feeding my big urban maple tree and she is smiling big green leaves. They are hypnotic. The best memories of my childhood were those of coming home from school and staring at the leaves of trees moving in the breeze for hours, and then descending to paint in my basement studio. I don't have my garden here but a few blocks away, at the community garden, next to the public library. I am easily violated by booming car stereos, drunks, fighting, barking pit bulls. So I find outdoor sanctuary at the community garden or on my long walks.

I am blessed to have created an indoor sanctuary. My antique Westinghouse fan has just enough rattle to drown out the neighborhood noise. My home-made muslin curtains blot out the glare, and my dog and I enjoy our long days.

During the day I make ten thousand trips up and down the stairs from my studio to my tiny turquoise kitchen, to cook and bake. I always feel better with some kind of incubating going on - sourdough, yogurt, or just plain boiling potatoes. I did that yesterday and I hope to make good use of the leftover potato water in my next bread. We ran out of mayonnaise so perhaps I will make some. I love basil leaf and red onion sandwiches with mayo on my toasted sourdough bread. It's my favorite sandwich of summer. My raw red onion habit is perfect for my solitary days, and my cooking and my dog are my office mates.