Earlier this week I was stung by yellow jackets. That lesson hurt to learn! Yet, I learned how to send love to them from a distance, and how to ask them kindly to move to a new place where they will live without being disturbed, and where I can get back to gardening without fear of being attacked.
Yesterday I went back to the garden to do my chores, and yes, to see if the yellow jackets had left. Before going into the fenced-in area where most of the vegetables and herbs are planted, and where the yellow jackets live, I did the usual: I walked around the area and took it in as a whole. Noticing and enjoying just being there. It is wild black raspberry season, so I took a good 10 or 15 minutes just picking those little caps of bursting flavor, eating several, and filling my bowl. I left many for the birds and the bugs, and still took many home. Later, I processed them into a berry syrup for flavored water and froze it.
Next, I surveyed the rest of the plantings that are outside the fence – the squash and cucumber plants, which are doing okay but not great, and the medicinal herb garden. I feel it needs a lot of tender loving care, but as the temperature was already hot and it wasn’t yet 9:30 in the morning, I decided to leave it for another day.
Have you noticed a little procrastination? Well, maybe, yes it probably was. Mixed with some trepidation. But now it was time. So, I did what I do now when I am a little scared or worried – I prayed. First, I asked for protection, so that I would not be stung. Next, I asked the yellow jackets to move, once again, to a new spot at least a mile away. I took my time. I requested it several times. Ok, now it was time to see if the prayers had worked.
In I went, and I started an inspection to see how the plants were doing. I started on the side farthest away from the ground nest. Looked good. I moved to the middle area, looked good. Then I checked where some tomatoes are planted and ate the only cherry tomato that was ripe. YUM! Continued on and inspected the next row. The plants are growing but not well. Some vegetables are coming but not great. I think I need to boost the soil.
Ok, we are at the second to last row – right in the middle of the row is IT – the yellow jacket ground nest. I squatted nearby and watched and waited. It wasn’t too much later when I saw a yellow jacket fly into the hole in the ground. And shortly after, another. I kept my breathing slow and deep, keeping myself calm and loving. So, they hadn’t left.
Time to finish the inspection. Hmmm – the zucchini plants right next to the yellow jackets are doing GREAT! There were 6 babies that might be ready to pick tomorrow! I picked a male blossom to chop up and cook with my lunch.
Inspected the rest of the row, doing well. The final row is the garlic and the potatoes. The garlic is amazing. The stalks are an inch wide! I can’t wait to see the bulbs! This is the second time I grew garlic, and it completely astounds me.
And the potatoes… I dug up 7 plants last Monday (the day I was attacked) that were turning yellow and was gifted by many potatoes. And they were so yummy! Yesterday I dug up more, very carefully and quietly so as not to disturb the yellow jackets (YJ). This particular row is dangerous, as it is close to the nest, yet it is also the most abundant.
And then it hit me. A lesson from the Garden. The Yin and the Yang. The violence right next to the abundance. I want to eat the potatoes and the zucchini, but it will require me to make friends with the YJ. See, they are part of the ecosystem of the garden. And they are a necessary part. They are the pollinators for the vegetables, and without them, there might not be a harvest.
Did you notice the beautiful blossoming trees this past spring? Did you notice that they were not buzzing with bees like usual? Yes, I noticed that. And then I read that we have only about half the number of bees this year. So, gardens like ours may need the YJ.
So… another lesson is that I must also be GRATEFUL for the yellow jackets and the service they bring to the garden. This also means that I may have to be the one to harvest for the others who have planted there. If they have fear near the YJ, the YJ might get fearful right back, and do what they are known for – swarm and sting. I don’t want that. For anyone.
More lessons. Who is a YJ in my life? Who gets angry or hurtful around me? Did I cause it, or are they being defensive – defending their property, their home, their peace, their life?
How do I act when a YJ person is around? Do I return the anger and the hurt? Or can I try my best to breathe slowly and show kindness to this person who is hurting, who is frightened? Can I stay calm so that I don’t get stung by their barbs?
Back to the garden. Life is metaphor. We can see themes running through it if we open our eyes to it. In the Garden of Eden, there were two trees, the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Wisdom. As the story goes, Adam and Eve, the first two people, were as innocent as the animals. The serpent told Eve that if she ate from the Tree of Wisdom, she would know Good and Evil. God had told them not to eat from that tree or they will die.
The serpent is the Devil, of course. Temptation. And the Devil’s actions can bring a person to Hell. Let’s define Hell as a time in one’s life (not afterlife) when a person turns away from God and exerts their own will in opposition to God’s Will. Since God’s Will is for all action to be done with love towards all creation, when a person acts according to God’s Will, they have created Heaven. When the first two people ate from the Tree of Wisdom, they put themselves in Hell. Now they would know Evil. Now they would know Hell. Now they could turn away from God if they so choose.
Why do I bring this up? Because the garden I work at is near Devil’s Lane. No kidding!!! So, being so close to the devil, to anger, violence, stinging, and fear, I can feel that I can easily go into Hell. I can be angry that some of the plants aren’t growing well, or that the bunnies ate the broccoli, the cabbage, the lettuce and the kale. I can be fearful of the YJ and the ticks and stay away and give up.
Yet we ALL live close to the devil. You know it, don’t you? How far away is your fear and your anger and your violence? How often do you wish you could sting that person who wronged you?
We MUST get back to the garden. Despite all the dangers. We must find that abundance – of love, of kindness, of garlic and zucchini. We must love All That Is, all of Creation. And when we do, we can sing, “I’m in Heaven”. Come, join me! And let’s eat!
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