Finally!
But, strangely early...climate change should be renamed climate instability to convey a better sense of reality.
While I do love the early warmth, I know that this is eerily felt by other species who may be drawn out of their genetically driven slumbers only to be met by instability caused by human driven carbon pollution, among a few thousand other travesties.
However, the garden beckons. And every year brings an urgency to learn more, to pretend that I'm moving in a direction of greater community strength, so when the SHTF, I am able to have a teensy bit of resiliency. I went to the Transition Towns London meeting this spring to find lots of new faces and new energy. I hope to be able to find like-minded, calloused-handed folks to share my passions with.
Having a small baby in the spring is very exciting. Everything is new for Ethan, and me. I see everything a little differently, always a look-out for an ill tasting pine cone, a stick, soil, insects, and anything else that looks like fun for a 10 month old. Ethan has a sense of humour, which is great, and I'm happy to do the switch-a-roo for something better for him to handle. Also, I try to let him be. Time to just sit and be himself, with just a watchful, yet discrete eye, so he can crawl around and really get into things. This afternoon, I enjoyed letting him play with 6 foot long cedar stakes, which provided endless delight.
I cleaned out my mini-greenhouse, sized up remnants of last year's projects left undone, and mixed the compost.
I raked a large patch of forlorn lawn and sprinkled a little grass seed. I swept up pine needles, noticed the intensely blue-green leaves of young catnip, positioned the empty rain barrel to capture a good rain, and dreamed of where I will transplant the plethora of day lily's who presently reside where the new raised tomato bed will be. Only the lily's don't know it yet.
I've brought in the house all my growing trays for a good washing and the kitchen table's been moved toward the windows to support a few hundred seedlings.
Which is for, I should have mentioned, the garden for the house we just bought. We've been renting the house from my family, so there has always been a sense of impermanence. However, today my friend Jana brought me some spare blue iris for the front garden. Where, hopefully, they will live happily ever after.
