Tisha B’Av is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar. The Beit Hamikdash (holy Temple) was destroyed. In addition to fasting, one is supposed to limit activities to those that are mournful. I wrote more about Tisha B’Av in past years in particular about the story of the fox in ruins and another fox in ruins watercolor.
In this version I added an abridged version of the text from Makkot 24B. I added a volume of Makkot, one of the volumes of the Talmud, to the right.
They saw a fox emerge. “Why are you laughing, Rabbi Akiva?” The prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled. Akiva, you have comforted us. – Makkot 24B
This year I also worked on my calligraphy by copying sections of Eikha (Lamentations), the megillah (scroll) that we read on the night of Tisha B’Av.
My eyes are drained of tears
My innards churn
My liver spills to the ground
Because of the brokenness of the daughter of my nation
— Eikha 2:11
This sketch was created with ink and watercolor on Tisha B’Av 5785.
Streams of water flow from my eye over the brokenness of the daughter of the nation.
My eye flows and does not stop, refusing to cease.
(Eikha 3:47-48)
I love the feeling of painting water with watercolor.
Because of the deer and other critters in our neighborhood, I grow my cucumbers in a cage. Pictured are the cucumber vines and climbing nasturtium. Nasturtium have yellow and orange edible flowers (and edible round leaves) that you can use to dress up your salads.
Growing cucumbers is not as simple as stick a few seeds in the ground and watch them grow. One needs provide good soil with proper nutrients, enough water, and a way for the plant to climb up. In addition it is a good idea to plant cucumber companions in the general vicinity of your cucumber plants. In order to learn what to plant and what not to plant, I did this art illustration. I already had nasturtium and radish in my cage. This year I sprinkled several zinnia seeds and moved the marigolds into the cage. I also removed some mint that was growing directly outside the cage. Dill is one of my favorite herbs, so I made a special effort to keep the dill going strong by adding compost around the base of each dill plant every few weeks.
Marigolds are easy to grow. They are a good beginner plant. For some unknown reason, few of the marigold seeds that I saved from last year germinated. I was able to buy several marigold seedlings for a low price early in the spring at our local farmers market. Those are flourishing.
Painting flowers is harder than it looks. I first painted the marigold with watercolor. I didn’t think the orange was strong enough. I switched to gouache and applied thick, small strokes. I am happy with the result.
Radishes are easy to grow. You stick the seeds in the ground, and a week later you have round little leaves poking out of the ground. Make sure to plant in loose, rich soil, and in a month you will be pulling radishes. Sometimes I eat radishes raw. Sometimes I ferment them in a little jar with sea salt and filtered water. You can also steam the radishes if you like them sweet.
Radishes are easy to paint. Make sure you have a nice, thick red paint and a good brush. Paint a few layers, leaving one side a bit on the white side to show form.
A friend gave me these large black cloth bags for planting. I am experimenting with a little container garden. Pictured are marigold and cucumber seedlings. I put in some celery seeds. Hopefully, sometime this fall we will get some celery.
Zinnia come in a variety of colors. If you have full sun, a plot of land with decent, loose soil, and determination, you can sprinkle zinnia seeds in May or early June and receive the reward of flowers in the summer.
Have you ever eaten a nasturtium flower? What would you do with a radish? Have you eaten a cucumber that is not from a supermarket?
Someone asked me: why are you posting yarrow? Is it your favorite flower? No, I responded. My favorite flower, at least for this year, is cosmos.
So why am I posting about yarrow? I realized I am posting in order to learn yarrow’s health benefits. Here are a few:
- Improve digestion
- Accelerate wound healing
- Alleviate colds or the flu with yarrow tea
- Reduce inflammation
You can learn more about the healing properties of white yarrow (yarrow millefolium) elsewhere.
Yarrow comes in a variety of colors. In my backyard I have big yellow yarrow flowers that are currently in bloom in July. In the front of my house I have white yarrow. Yarrows are perennials. The Latin name is Achillea.
Pictured is achillea millefolium (white yarrow), coreopsis, and lamb’s ear flowers. I painted the illustration with watercolor, gouache, and collage for the bright pink lamb’s ear flowers.
This was going to be a post about rudbeckia or black-eyed susan. However, a deer ate my beautiful yellow flower that miraculously blossomed in front of my house. So I looked for inspiration elsewhere.
Borage is growing in my plant cage. I had the cage built because the deer ate most of my edible plants. This year I am concentrating on growing cucumbers. A good companion to cucumber plants is borage. I originally put three borage seedlings that I bought at the Highland Park Farmers Market in my backyard. However, despite my deer fence in the backyard, something nibbled at the borage. So off it went into the cage.
Borage is grown as an annual in New Jersey. It is native to the Mediterranean. Some special notes about borage: you can eat the flowers and the leaves. I have seen the flowers described as cornflower blue or as smoky blue. To me the blue is slightly on the purple side.
I sketched several pages about borage in my sketchbook.
Borage is a quick growing annual with hairy leaves and cornflower-blue star-shaped flowers.
Days to Germination: 5 days at 70° F
Source: The New Seed-Starters Handbook by Nancy Bubel
Magical Elixir Healing Chicken Beef Soup
Are you looking for more energy? Want to serve a delicious and nutritious soup to your family? This magical elixir healing soup is easy to make, and you can freeze any leftovers.
This soup is my version of the meat stock for Stage One of the GAPS diet, a healing diet. Also on Stage 1 are ferments (the juice of the brine, not the vegetables) such as sauerkraut (just sea salt and cabbage).
Ingredients
2-3 lbs. chicken bones
3 beef marrow bones
Filtered water, enough to cover the chicken and beef bones
3 Tbsp. Redmond Real Salt or Celtic Salt
2 small onions
2 carrots, peeled and cut into coin shapes (optional)
2 stalks celery with leaves
1-2 garlic cloves (optional)
2 peppercorns (optional)
3 white turnips, peeled and cut (optional)
Recipe for the soup
Put chicken bones and beef bones in a large pot. Fill water to cover the bones. Add the salt. Cook on medium, then simmer when it comes to a boil. Add the vegetables about 1 hour before serving. Cook for 2-3 hours total.
For more on the GAPS diet, see the blue book called GAPS Diet by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. You can also learn by watching videos in which she is interviewed.
Note: whenever you can, use local produce. Get to know your local farmers.
