Burrrrr

Winter was mild in the Pacific Northwest. Snow was just a news item about places far away.

I knew I was getting excited too early about gardening. But it is healing to my soul. After being without a harvest for too long I gave myself permission to indulge in preparing for dinners to come. Sure there were herbs and lavender, potted strawberries, a bit of salad and the pole bean; but that is not the same as tending a garden that nourishes the heart before it fills the stomach. I think I will always adore shopping farmers markets for flats of sun ripened strawberries, stone fruits, apples, pears and sweet local corn. I love when friends and family with a garden have too many carrots or beans to deal with and invite me to relieve them of some of the burden (grin). Gardeners are some of the most generous people you will meet. But as much as I love that, there is still nothing like taking my morning coffee out to my garden to welcome the morning with birdsong as I note what changes have taken place since my last visit.

It awakens my heart with a sense of God given purpose. I know that my impact on this earth is no more then a good season of sweet peas. I don't even care that it is short, sweet and easily out done by others. I just love feeling the pleasure of my God and seeing hope for tomorrow in lessons learned by delicate carrot or onion sprouts struggling to overcome the burden of the loam that weighs them down but soon becomes the anchor and nourishment for life, short though it may be.

The talking heads on the evening news were excited about the possibility of snow in Seattle. Film crews were sent to the far corners of King County to record actual footage of snow flakes coming down. After a year of tragedy, police gunned down sitting in their cars or sipping coffee while preparing for the day to come, young girls whose life should be coming into full blossom are found grossly violated in shallow graves, video violence of children attacking each other as authorities look on, infants brutally murdered by mom's boy friend or stolen by the nanny. . . who can blame the media for child like excitement over the possibility of snow. Sometimes non-news is good news. They said it loud and often; get ready, snow is coming! This morning I was relieved to see that it has not come to my house yet.

However, I was concerned about the unending rain we often receive in the Pacific North West. Ray and I took some time to cover our toy box of a garden with plastic. We do not want our infant sprouts to drown. Can you see the picnic table-clothe weights that we hung from the plastic to keep it in place? That seemed like a fantastic idea until I came out to find it all bunched up behind the garden. Cloths pins pinched plastic to cage and it was still in place this morning.

For the last few days I have been taking my 2nd cup of coffee on the back deck. Bird song, clean air and sunshine. Not today. The cold is too hard-core for this old lady.

Lemon Thyme and Oregano. The pots are to encourage the puppies to go around the bed. In the foreground is a lavender who would like to me moved to a sunnier spot. Way to the right is a rosemary that survived our mild winter. I wish I had covered her up last night.

Golden Marjoram The chives behind the marjoram have never been this lush this early. Itty-bitty parsley is tentatively taking root on the right.

Here comes the sun (little darlen) Here comes the sun and I say, it's alright!