Spring Feels Official

Spring feels official now that I have sown my first seeds for the year. Icicle radishes, not so much to eat but I’m prepping a new bed for May planting & these radishes help loosen up the soil like nature’s power drills. 

Can’t get in the garden today– rats– but I have some chores & errands. But I plan to spend the weekend out in the garden– cleaning up, doing some chores, planting some early spring crops, and getting ready for the growing season. 

Nothing makes me feel more connected to life, the universe & everything than getting my hands in the dirt. It makes me feel connected to myself.  I find my zen zone; that sweet spot of mindfulness where every act is a reverent meditation. I’m not in nature, I am nature. I am a part of her. I am her tool, I am her worker bee, I am an extension of her. 

Gardening fills me with hope & optimism. Puttering around on a barren plot of land in early spring, throwing a handful of seeds here and there, and watching it all slowly emerge and then burst into life– bringing along the birds and the insects and the earth worms and bunny rabbits– fills me with excitement. Then the hot summer, tending the garden is an exercise in patience and discipline. You become more observant to every detail and attune to every element as you try to keep the balance of the micro-ecosystem to the benefit of all dwelling within it. Then the harvest comes, and it is pure satisfaction– literally reaping what you have sown, enjoying the fruits of your labor, sharing the bounty. Putting the garden to bed for winter is like tucking in an aging grandmother at night with a loving kiss on the forehead. Then you retreat into the darkness for a long rest, satisfied and dreaming of the next awakening. 

I revel in the cycle of the seasons and the dances of nature.