GARDEN DIARIES

I had that beautiful seed catalog sitting here on my coffee table just staring at me, but every time I thought about ordering seeds I was either out of money or it was snowing. I even toyed with the idea of not planting anything this year. But then we would have these days in between the days of snow and yuck where the sun would come out and the temperatures would be near 70. On those days I would have this flicker of something stir inside me. I would think maybe, just maybe. So it was during one of those moments that I ordred those seeds. And I am so happy I did. They came on Friday after a week of gray and worry and opening that large manilla envelope full of bright packages of seeds brought the sun into my heart. There are things that I do that I am completely surprised that I actually like doing. Running? I actually missed it last week when I couldn't do it. Hanging the clothes on the line to dry should be a chore. I hung clothes on the line last week for the first time in months and with each item I pinned to the line, I felt peace and calm enter my soul. As a kid it was torture to pull weeds and hull peas. Now I love putting seeds in the ground.

Saturday, after tagging items for a garage sale and avoiding tagging even more items for the garage, I grabbed my garden tools and headed outside with my pile of seeds. I planted all kinds of lettuce, spinach and collard greens, carrots and parsnips. I planted it all. I even dug a trench near the fence line and planted a row of okra. And I know I probably shouldn't have planted everything but I've never been one to follow any of the planting rules. I think not following the rules of gardening has worked well for me in the past. Yesterday I planted more than seeds. I planted patience and hope and peace. This morning I sat outside with my cup of coffee and just stared at the dirt knowing that soon I would be able to reap what I've sown.

It's a good feeling.