Learning from the garden

A lesson on life cycles

From my window right now, I’m looking out at a monarch butterfly hanging from the purple bloom of a butterfly bush. Behind it I can see our garden, where more pops of purple and pink and white and red and yellow are like exclamation points amid so much green.

Those pretty ornamentals are the engine of the garden right now, thriving on daily doses of summer sun and whatever rain comes their way. A lot of our produce-bearing plants, on the other hand, are just barely holding on, in large part because I haven’t been in there to pull weeds and feed nutrients and ward away pests.

A volunteer flower popped up in July.

I will get back to it soon, but it’s been hard to focus on much of anything since our beloved dog, Belly, passed away this week. Teri and I were so lucky to have had 10 incredible years with him. She says that Belly taught us to care about something other than ourselves and each other before we had Jagger. (We rescued Belly when he was 1 1/2. The shelter told us his name was “Billy” but that he was young enough that we could change it if we wanted, especially if it sounded close to Billy. Teri and I were really into Jelly Bellys at the time, and this new dog of ours loved to roll onto his back to accept belly rubs, so Belly Benn it was.)

Everyone who has been so kind about this sad news has thoughtfully inquired about how Jagger is doing. The truth is, Belly was like a furry, gentle brother to Jagger, and he misses him and gets down about it and has been a frequent visitor in our bed since it happened. But Jagger is also incredibly empathetic and mature beyond his years. He tells Teri and me to take deep breaths and be calm when he sees us upset, and he says, “I’ll be your Belly now” when he senses us missing our fourth family member.

Brotherly bonding in 2019.

Like any 5-year-old, he’s already ginning up plans for a pet fish or a bearded dragon. But he knows we’re not ready to talk about another dog for a while. The other day in the car he said to me, “You know, with the cycle of life, if we get another dog, they would pass away in 10 years, and then we’d be sad again, so I don’t think I want to get another dog.” I was blown away. I was also a puddle of tears bound by a seatbelt.

As I look out at the garden, I’m reminded how much it’s taught Jagger about those life cycles, about growth and decay, birth and death. I’m grateful for it, and I’m motivated to get back out there with him to give it the TLC it needs and deserves.

Foraging oyster mushrooms in our yard.

In lieu of a garden-inspired recipe, I’ll share my method to make Belly’s all-time favorite treat:

Take three chicken breasts, slice them into very thin strips, and cook in a dehydrator for 8-12 hours. They’ll keep in airtight container in the fridge for several weeks, until you make more for a very good boy or girl.

Until next time — thank you for reading.