Are We There Yet?
Has this winter seemed exceptionally long to anyone else, or is it just me? Maybe I say that every May, but this one was particularly tough. It’s a long stretch from the festive distractions in December to now, and for those of us in the Pacific Northwest, it’s dark and rainy, rainy, rainy…you get the idea. But we made it. It is finally Spring in the garden.
My First Half Marathon
I ushered in Spring this year by running my first Half Marathon. Running through fields of tulips is a perfect way to celebrate coming back to life. I awaken as I run toward the sun, feeling its warmth on my face and crossing off a hard-earned bucket list item.
The Need To Nurture
I realized something this week as I was planting my beds and modifying my watering system. I was in absolute heaven working in the sunshine and feeling the quiet tranquility overcome me. My eight months of winter anxiety started to disappear. Although we are a big veggie-eating family, it is not the veggies in my garden that I love the most. It is the act of growing, nurturing, and watching my plants grow that I love the most.
Less Is More
With good intentions, I grow food that I wish we would eat more of. But, I’ve noticed a trade-off with some items, such as processing time from garden to plate.
Season after season, I have become more honest with myself as I watch things either go to seed in the garden bed un-harvested or painstakingly harvested, sitting in buckets waiting to be rinsed, scrubbed, defoliated, chopped, and cooked. I find myself forcing the care of certain crops; in turn, everything else suffers because I don’t have the time to love them.
I have discovered that I just don’t want to nurture some things. Even if they are “supposed to be in the garden” or in our lives.
This year, I have decided to focus on cultivating less. Paying attention to fewer crops that we especially love during the summer.
More Flowers
What other things in my life do I love the most? This year, I want to focus on and nurture the big things that are most important to me.
So, I’m going with more flowers this Spring in the garden since I spend a lot of time watching the bees anyway. Kitty has voted to keep the catnip.
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1 thought on “Spring in the Garden”
A reflection on life to hold on to the things that nurture us and bring us joy also to learn to let some things go so we have more time for the things and people we love.