Is there any better feeling?
It was a long, hard, bitter winter for my family and I. While the weather wasn't too harsh, our cicumstances were... we fought depression and boredom. We fought with eachother. We fought with our finances. We fought cancer.
The ultimate reward for a season of hardship is the catharsis of dirt under nails and sun on shoulders as we get back to the soil. The sweat and flex of muscles as we strip away the old, turning over the earth to plant a new beginning, is like a healing ritual that seems capable of fixing anything and everything. This past long weekend was the 'official' start of the gardening season for many, and I dove into my garden for the first time this year with an intensity I had forgotten was possible. With aching back and tired legs, I sat on the soft grass on Monday afternoon as the sprinkler watered my newly-sprouted pea seedlings and emerging mesclun greens with a smile on my face and a warmth in my heart that I had missed.
It feels good to be back.
What are you growing this year?
