GARDEN DIARIES

Last week I received a package in the mail from Suebob containing packets of seeds. The seeds are from her local school. The kids there grow a big vegetable garden and then the cooks in the cafeteria use those vegetables in the school lunches. Reading this story made me teary with happiness.

Look at that! How can I not plant Very Happy Carrots?!?

This weekend, Mom and I were sitting on the couch watching the morning news and they were talking about how difficult is is to get kids to eat their veggies. I looked over at Mom and said "I never had a problem eating my vegetable." Mom said it was because we grew our own vegetables and maybe that was it. I think being a part of where my food came from made it easier to convince me to eat that food. That is one of the reasons that story about those kids means so much to me. That package also arrived on the same day my garden was being covered in snow. It was a day I was thoroughly dejected and fed up with even an idea of a garden.

A few weeks ago I planted seeds and hoped for Spring. This weather has made it extremely difficult to remain hopeful for anything to come from the seeds I planted. But there are things sprouting away out there. It's amazing really. These tiny seeds that look so fragile and like they really don't have a chance in the world, but then you throw it in the dirt and add some water and suddenly you have the makings of a salad right in your own backyard.

It's the slowest, sweetest kind of magic.