LifyStyleByAmanda
DoomsdaysCWMy beautiful mess of a #HomeGarden . Leaving some #WildStrawberries and other flowers there to attract #pollinators. The #ButternutSquash is a wash, but I have #JapaneseCucumbers and #SummerSquash almost ready to plant. I dug up the #SweetPotatoPlant, which did produce a teeney weeney potato, but not worth the space (and wasn't doing well). However, the #BlackOilSunflowers and #HopiBlueCorn are doing quite well (and I have more to plant), and so are the #AnasaziBeans!
Binky's Culinary Carnival
Garden Writing and Other WanderingsAI Could Never Feel Grateful
May 27, 2026
Things That AI Could Never Do – #12 in a series
The world is topsy turvy in so many ways these days that my mind is saying ouch! It brings a heaviness that surrounds us; and yet, the heart still finds a place for gratefulness. This May day is filled with the chattering sound of the creatures that make their home here in this beautiful corner of Massachusetts. The voice of wildlife can be heard in the tall white pines and majestic oaks. It permeates from the bushes low by the ground and the vernal swamps in the woods around. Soon a loud and unmistakable cackle fills the air as the neighbor’s Guinea fowls announce their arrival. It is a welcoming sound, and hopefully they have their tick radar on as they peck their way through the yard on to their next conquest. Thankfully, nature marches on unperturbed by the daily news.
The yard here in Freetown has become a haven for bees and birds and other wildlife, but it has been a long process. The soil is sandy with rocks left over from some long-ago glacier that took the topsoil and mercilessly dumped it somewhere else. Well, that is my explanation. The trees love it, but the garden soil must be continually amended. It takes a lot of patience to watch a pile of leaves and sticks turn into compost. I am grateful for the microbes that are working their way through the compost and the soil. They are doing the hidden magic that makes life on this planet possible.
The ants are circling the peony buds signaling that they are ready to open. And when they do, we know that summer will be full on and there is no turning back. Another brief but glorious summer is waiting in the wings, and we must make the best of it. The dahlia bulbs brought up from the cellar are bearing a few sprouts, and it looks like some have survived their long bout in cold storage. The seeds saved from last year’s butternut have sprouted. It was one of the largest squashes I have ever grown so we will see how its offspring does. The heirloom tomatoes grown from last year’s seed are ready to go out in the garden. Every year brings a new experiment. Every year brings a new reason to feel renewed.
Gratefulness is a singular human emotion that does not depend on others for its existence. If we choose, we can have an overflowing abundance of it free from dependence on an outside energy source. It is purely self-created by the thoughts of our choosing. Gratitude lives deep inside us in a realm that AI can never enter, a place we should call sacred ground.
#butternutSquash #dalhias #flowers #gardening #guineaFowl #homesteading #massachusetts
Butternut Squash Cake
This cake bakes up moist with warm squash flavor and a soft crumb. It feels cozy without being heavy.
Great with coffee or as an easy dessert.
✨ Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it to you. ✨
Plain slice or light glaze 😄👇
https://www.binkysculinarycarnival.com/butternut-squash-cake/
#butternutsquash #homemadecake #bakingideas #foodblogger #binkysculinarycarnival
✨ Comment RECIPE and I’ll send it to you. ✨
Would you serve this with dinner or meal prep it for the week? 😄👇
https://www.binkysculinarycarnival.com/air-fryer-butternut-squash/
#airfryer #butternutsquash #fallsides #easyrecipes #homecooking #fromscratch #foodblogger #binkysculinarycarnival https://mastodon.social/@BinkysCulinaryCarnival/116615060438031356
