Vortexes, Radicles and the Healing Powers of Water

The temperature in Boston is currently in the low teens and we're expected to get more snow tonight. It saddens me that while we're getting bombarded with all this snow, and even people in Atlanta are getting hit by blizzards, residents of the arctic city of Iqaluit, Canada had to cancel their New Year's snow mobile parade because of unseasonably warm conditions. Apparently, the crazy weather of last two years cannot yet be attributed to global warming but might be a result of a weakening polar vortex. I wish there was something I could do, like send that vortex a care package full of Campbell's Chunky Soup and EmergenC. "Beef up vortex! You can do it! Hold that cold air up there!"

As huddle in my sweaters, cursing the vortex and awaiting New England Snowmageddon: Part 6, there are some things I am thankful for. On Saturday I attended the first session of the Boston Natural Areas Network's (BNAN) Master Urban Gardener (MUG) program. In eight weeks, I'll be a super volunteer for BNAN, equipped with new knowledge on pest management, composting, starting community gardens and other fun things. This means I'll be helping out in community gardens across the city. I'm hoping I can also use my new skills and new network to both start a community garden in the empty lot on my street and launch an annual Jamaica Plain Garden Tour. If fancy neighborhoods like Beacon Hill can have garden tours, why can't we? There are plenty of amazing private and public gardens in the neighborhood, as well as people who like plants.

In addition to being excited about the knowledge I'll gain in this program, I am very pleased with the diversity in my class. I was expecting the crowd to be mostly middle aged white women but we've actually got a great mix of ages, races and backgrounds, and there are a lot of dudes. Some folks know little about gardening and others have been gardening in zone 6 for decades. I feel like I already have 30 + new friends to dork out with and with whom I can make stupid jokes about seedlings being radicle. Most of all, I look forward to being addressed as "Master."

After my first class, Wyatt took me to the famous Cuddles and Bubbles hotel in Hyannis on the Cape. Some might find themed hotels tacky but I found hanging out in a hot tub all night to be particularly satisfying. We had wine, cheese and strawberries in the tub before heading to Main Street for dinner. After dinner, we got back in the water and ate chocolate. I'm not sure I've ever felt so relaxed. I felt like poop on a stick all last week and now, three bubble baths later, I feel like a rock star. Leslie, our AfroFlow Yoga teacher, always reminds us we're more than 60% water and praises the elements' healing properties. Especially now, I feel there is a lot of truth in that and I'm adding baths to my list of healthy habits. On the not-so-healthy habits front, my boss just brought me a box of Arab sweets from Jordan and I feel like the post-holiday diet is never gonna get off the ground. Oh well.