THANKFUL FRIDAY

I have become pretty apathetic in regards to my vegetable garden this year. I made the decision last year to not spend any money on the garden this year. If I planted anything it would be the seeds left over from last year. I have mentally moved on from this yard and this garden and have a blueprint forming for our garden built in our space. It will be so much bigger and the chickens will graze through it and the sun will shine down through sparkly glass sun catchers and somehow a hammock will be involved. I have big dreams. We did have a day a while back where the weather was so nice, I ended up on my yoga mat in the back yard. As I flowed from up dog to down dog, my gaze kept landing on the neglected garden. When my practice ended on my mat, I took it over to the garden. I cleaned out the raised beds and the dead things in the herb (now mint) garden. I turned the soil, gathered up the seeds from last year and tossed them in. I can't even really remember what I planted. That night, it snowed. I woke up to a fresh white layer of snow blanketing everything and this wouldn't be the last time I'd wake up to the same scene. I think it snowed three more times before Spring finally muscled Winter out. So I was surprised to look out the kitchen window and see that things had sprouted. We've had a pretty decent spattering of rain the last few weeks, with yesterday being the heaviest and now when I look out at the garden, I can actually make out plant structures. Enough to decipher what it was that I actually planted.

I am thankful for rain, but more than anything, I am thankful that I went ahead and planted those seeds. The joy of growing our own food has not worn off. It's still a thrill to walk out back and pull a tiny onion out of the ground or to know that next week I won't have to buy salad greens. I can just step out and cut off enough lettuce for two. And I am not the only one that gains joy from this experience. Michael and the Cabbage both love going outside and checking the new growth. The Cabbage is less likely to eat any of it (I'm going to plant a cherry tomato plant back there soon...she eats those things like grapes), but she still gets a kick out of seeing the things growing up out of the garden. I'm thankful that I didn't give up on the garden at this home just yet. It may have started out as mine, but it has become ours.

As much as I'm thankful for the rain, I am thankful that it is dry today and expected to be dry tomorrow. Saturday is the Kansas City AIDS Walk. Last year it was rainy and chilly and I ended up with frozen soggy feet. This year I will wear better shoes. I am thankful that it will be dry. Again, I am so grateful to those of you who donated to the cause. You guys make my heart swell. So Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am thankful for Easter egg hunts and wisdom words from Father Terry. I am thankful for time spent on my mat and on the treadmill this week. I am always thankful for you. Here's to a lovely weekend and very very Thankful Friday!