The Ways of the Wind

"Out of the veins of the world comes the blood of me;The heart that beats in my side is the heart of the sea;The hills have known me of old, and they do not forget;Long ago was I friends with the wind; I am friends with it yet."--GERALD GOULD.

Whenever a piece of the land is to be set aside for gardening, two powerful rulers must be consulted as to this possibility. When the seeded earth child is born and garnished in flower, the same two must also be invited as guests for the celebration. These rulers are Lord Sun and Lady Wind. The sun is a faithful friend and guardian to the little one, sending light and delight through the mionions of the shade. But of the wind, ahh what of that? Who can answer for its wispy wiles? Can we really understand its fickle vagaries and impossible possibilities? When it comes to the wind, we must practice care and caution, with diplomacy our shield of defense. For the wind is not one but a multitude of moods. To lure out the gentle whisperer as we skilfully but not insultingly bid the more unfriendly faces adieu is our purpose. To invite the wind of summer, the bearer of vitality,the uplifter of stifling air is right and good, but to do the same for the winter winds that blight sap-tender foliage would indeed be an error.

Therefore, the great art of the planters of a garden is to learn the ways of the wind and to make friends with it. If the soil is sodden, it can be drained; if sour, it can be sweetened; if it is poor, it can be nourished; but if the garden lies where thewinds of winter and spring whet their steel-edged tempers against it, we will proabably be forced to bid our little plantlets adieu.

And while you're pondering the foibles of wind, why not learn to tune windchimes to catch their various tunes.

"Men, they say, know many things;
But lo, they have taken wings,--
The arts and sciences,
And a thousand appliances;
The wind that blows
Is all that anybody knows."
--THOREAU.

Many thanks to Mabel Osgood Wright for some interesting tidbits of thought on sun and wind.
Athena Workerwoman