《菜園里的樂(lè)趣》
作者、中文朗誦：蘇玉蓉
英文朗誦：大衛(wèi)佩奇
每天早晨，顧不上吃早飯，就先下地干活，澆水，施肥，鋤草，扶枝，搭架子等等總要忙上一陣兒。傍晚太陽(yáng)落山后，給前園后園澆水也要一小時(shí)左右，常常忙得滿頭大汗，卻心滿意足。
一場(chǎng)大雨之后，我可以“農(nóng)閑”了。望著雨后一陣瘋長(zhǎng)的菜園，仿佛像一年級(jí)的學(xué)生一夜之間跳級(jí)進(jìn)了三年級(jí)，著實(shí)喜人。走進(jìn)菜園一串串密密麻麻的西紅柿，架子上帶刺的小黃瓜，毛茸茸的小冬瓜，碧綠細(xì)長(zhǎng)的絲瓜，和各種各樣的蔬菜都爭(zhēng)先恐后地向我炫耀著它們的姿態(tài)?？粗H手種下的蔬菜長(zhǎng)勢(shì)茂盛，心里流淌著喜悅，總?cè)滩蛔∨纳蠋讖堈掌窒斫o好友，這種喜悅之情不參與其中自然是體會(huì)不到的。
轉(zhuǎn)眼夏天到了，清晨迎著徐徐升起的朝陽(yáng)，迎面吹來(lái)涼爽的晨風(fēng)，聞著撲面而來(lái)的各種花香，菜香混合著泥土特有的清香，不由讓人神清氣爽，倍感舒暢，干起活來(lái)也就不覺(jué)得累。幾只蜜蜂，蝴蝶在菜園里縈繞翻飛，凝聽(tīng)鳥(niǎo)兒聲聲歌唱，順手從架子上摘下一個(gè)頂花帶刺的黃瓜，那種清香，生脆是走遍全城的菜市場(chǎng)都買不到的。
每天到菜園里轉(zhuǎn)一圈總能采到七，八個(gè)大西紅柿，一滿藍(lán)子豆角，或一些鮮綠的蔬菜。我的小菜園簡(jiǎn)直像個(gè)聚寶盆，從六月到十月基本不用買菜，不僅自給自足，還要分享給朋友和鄰居。左右鄰舍互通有無(wú)，交流著種菜的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，分享著豐收的喜悅?？傊行┎素S收的叫你發(fā)愁，后來(lái)聽(tīng)說(shuō)西紅柿可以凍在冰箱里，冬天可以用來(lái)煲湯。豆角用開(kāi)水焯一下，冰凍起來(lái)，冬季里解凍后，炒出來(lái)一樣青綠好吃。還有人說(shuō)開(kāi)水焯過(guò)的豆角用針線串起來(lái)曬干，冬天可以煮紅燒肉，紅燒雞。這些方法我都學(xué)著做了，確實(shí)味美，餐桌上一片贊美聲。
前園的花草除澆水之外，也要定期打整。雖勞動(dòng)辛苦，但優(yōu)美的環(huán)境令人心曠神怡。身居鬧市，卻鬧中幽靜，頗有一種“采菊東籬下，悠然見(jiàn)南山”的感覺(jué)。很享受這種閑逸的生活，這也許就是在城里當(dāng)“小地主”的樂(lè)趣吧。
Pleasure in my Garden
Author: Su Yurong
In the city of Toronto, even smaller houses have enough space in the front and back yards to grow plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables, to beautify the environment, and to enrich your life.
My vegetable garden is not big, but it has a lot of variety. I grow pumpkins, loofah, winter melon, cucumber, gassho melon, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, lettuce, millet, green beans, sweet potato, leek, green onion, and garlic – all planted in my small garden. I use every space. Perilla, fennel and mint are also planted in all the corners and extra spaces in my garden. As well, leeks and mint are perennial vegetables, that I planted one year, and now they come back to grow every year.
Every morning, instead of eating breakfast, I first go to work in my vegetable garden, watering, fertilizing, weeding, and creating supports and trellises for the branches of the growing plants. In the evening, after the sun sets, I am back outside, as it takes me about an hour to water the front and the back garden.
After a heavy rain, I can enjoy a day of easy farming. Looking at the vegetable garden after the rain, the healthiness of the plants is so gratifying – I see densely packed tomatoes, thorny cucumbers on the trellis, fluffy winter melons, green and slender loofahs, and all kinds of vegetables showing their vitality to me. Watching these vegetables grow, fills my heart with joy. I can't help but take a few photos to share with my friends. Yet this kind of joy cannot be fully experienced without participating in the gardening experience.
Now it is summer in Toronto. The sun rises early in the morning, and the cool wind blows on the face, bringing the sweet scent of various flowers. The rich smell of vegetables mixed with the earthy fragrance of the soil is so invigorating. I feel so comfortable, never feeling tired when working in the garden. My garden is full of bees buzzing, and multi-coloured butterflies fluttering and lingering in the vegetable garden. Listening to the singing of the birds, I picked a prickly cucumber with small flowers, straight off the vine - the kind of fragrant green cucumber that can’t be bought in the vegetable market.
Every day I can pick seven or eight large tomatoes, one full basket of green beans, and many other fresh green vegetables. My small vegetable garden is like a cornucopia. From June to October, I basically do not need to buy vegetables. And vegetables that grow from my own toil, are so much more gratifying and fresher than those that are store bought. My cucumber off the vine crunches with freshness! The garden is not only self-sufficient, but I also share with friends and neighbors. Neighbors on the left and right communicate with each other, sharing the experience of planting vegetables, and sharing the joy of harvest.
Some vegetables have such a bumper harvest that I worry about what I might do with it all! I heard that tomatoes can be frozen in the refrigerator and used for soup in the winter. I can boil the beans with boiling water, freeze them, and thaw them in the winter, they will be as green and delicious when they are cooked. Some people say that boiled beans can be strung on threads to dry, and they can be cooked in braised pork and braised chicken in winter. I am learning these methods, and I must say the beans are really delicious.
In addition to watering, the flowers and plants in the front garden should also be regularly trimmed. Although the labor is hard, the beautiful environment makes a person feel relaxed and happy. I am living in a busy city, but it is all quiet and relaxing in my peaceful garden.
This feeling recalls the ancient Chinese poem – that here is a feeling of "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely, and seeing distant Nanshan come into view".
作者、中文朗誦介紹
英文主播介紹
大衛(wèi) 佩奇：老師，作家，社區(qū)素養(yǎng)教育者。擔(dān)任教師和社區(qū)負(fù)責(zé)人已有30多年。 他寫過(guò)很多早期幼兒教育的書，并為早期幼兒教育領(lǐng)域提供了許多教學(xué)資源。由于他杰出的工作而被授予安大略省副州長(zhǎng)獎(jiǎng)。
