Welcome to 2026 and year five of Stories and Journeys. This time of year I get to experience and celebrate light in the midst of darkness. There is my personal experience of aches and pains somehow helped along by the cold of winter, and then relief from pain whenever that happens.
Then I have been reliving my approximately 10 years as a founder and co-cordinator of Minnehaha Avenue Community Garden. For several years during that time I would put out a call to any gardeners who wanted to gather in the community room of Gandhi Mahal restaurant to celebrate the return of daylight known as winter solstice. We would share favorite memories of planting, growing and harvesting from the just completed season. We would share our visions for what we would like to plant, grow and harvest in the new season.
For me, my recently completed season is the harvest from three of the four double-high raised beds in my back yard consisting of sweet potatoes. For this harvest I am grateful for the help I received from Lucas, the son of my nextdoor neighbor. The photo for this column is my sweet potato harvest suggested by my partner in getting the draft of each column ready to submit for publication, Eric Hart…