Category Archives: true life 2010

I am not the buddha you seek

This evening I was killing a bit of time at a coffeeshop before class. A woman walked up to me, introduced herself as a meditation leader at one of the local sanghas, and proceeded to ask me if she could bask in my, and I quote, “soothing yellow aura” for a few minutes to ground herself.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her my aura probably wasn’t going to ground her tonight, but it might grind her into little shards seeing as I was cranky. Really cranky. To say I was feeling less than charitable towards my fellow humans this evening would be a gross understatement. At the risk of putting too fine a point on it, I’d venture to describe my mood as a wee bit homicidal.

I certainly wasn’t going to tell her that, she seemed so happy to have found me.

The freaky part wasn’t that this happened. It was that this has happened to me before.

Many times.

Not the feeling homicidal part – the part where people want to dwell in my alleged buddha-nature.

Tonight’s encounter reminded me of one that happened in March 2003 in the coffeehouse that was next to my old office, except this woman seemed to be sober and intensely serious.

I hope she found what she was looking for.

Rosemary & Rue

Here’s what either made it through Winter or has been replanted in my herb garden this Spring. It’s nice to be able to dog-proof the herbs by surrounding them with a fence and a border of Echinacea varieties, daisies, zinnias, and hollyhocks. No more dogpee, no more dog-owners ripping out plants that they don’t want their dogs to accidentally ingest. Everybody wins.

(updated on 5/15/10 to add chili peppers, chives, foxgloves, garlic, nasturtiums & roses, which I somehow omitted)

  • artemisia southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum
  • basil (sweet, Queen of Siam)
  • bergamot (Monarda didyma) – not to be confused with Citrus aurantium bergamia, a citrus tree from the Mediterranean that produces the bergamot oil that gives Earl Grey tea it’s distinctive flavor
  • chili peppers (Capsicum annuum and Capsicum chinense
  • chives
  • dill (Anethum graveolens)
  • eucalyptus. In case of koala bear attack. Safety first.
  • fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
  • foxgloves
  • feverfew (Chrysanthemum parthenium)
  • garlic
  • garlic chives (Allium tuberosum)
  • German chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
  • hyssop anise (Agastache foeniculum)
  • lavender (Lavendula stoechas)
  • lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
  • lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla)
  • lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus )
  • lovage (Levisticum officinale)
  • mint (spearmint, peppermint, chocolate & pineapple)
  • nasturtium
  • oregano (I’ve misplaced the tags – two varieties of seedlings from George Washington’s greenhouse at Mount Vernon).
  • parsley (Petroselinum crispum) – curly & flatleaf
  • pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
  • roses
  • rosemary
  • rue (Ruta graveolens) – Repels witches. Or attracts them. Depends on who you ask.
  • sage (Salvia officinalis) – common, purple & pineapple.
  • savory, summer (Satureja hortensis)
  • savory, winter (Satureja montana)
  • tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
  • thyme (lemon, lime, creeping, French, German) – I replaced my lawn with thyme. You should, too. It smells nice when you stand in it (watch out for bees) and it could come in handy if you need to mummify a relative.
  • yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
  • The borage (Borago officinalis is missing and is either currently misidentified or I may have inadvertently weeded it out early in the Spring. I still have some seeds left, just have to remember to replant.
  • cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) & some parsley has grown wild and gone to seed and needs to be replanted. I’ve let the largest ones keep growing because they were the plants Rania sketched for her shadowpods designs.

True Epicure & I would both like some horehound and patchouli cuttings or seedlings, just because we’re compulsive completists. I don’t even know what I’d do with them either than stick them in the garden and label them and be amused by them. That’s what I do with many of the herbs on this list, so they’ll fit right in. If you happen to have any, drop me a line or leave a comment.