Back in the Garden

 During dark, cold winter days I sometimes don't realize how much I miss being outside, but then the sun finally starts to warm the earth for Spring and I stick my hands in the dirt and it's like I wake up.  It feels like I'm an old coat just pulled out of the back of a dusty closet to get shaken out and aired in a sunny breeze; like the tin man finally getting his joints oiled after being cooped up indoors for too long.  Maybe some of those feelings are because I HAVE been in closets a good deal lately as I clean them out and 'nest' before the arrival of our new baby; and maybe also because being quite pregnant and indoors more than I care for does indeed make my joints need a good oiling.  All this to say, it was such a joy to work in the garden today.

 "When can we plant the seeds!?" the kids want to know.  Preparing the soil takes most of the time... the planting part is the fun, fast part, like rolling paint on your walls (after they've already been prepared and trimmed).  They showed such patience as we dug, raked, hoed, and broke apart the soil to extract the thick layer of weeds in our way.

 Of course, Silas was just busy digging for dinosaur bones.

 William and Vera each chose one pack of vegetable seeds to plant today. "And we can plant one each weekend until they are all planted!" William suggested.  Not a bad idea kiddo.  William chose to plant the spinach.  Vera chose the kale.  Silas stuck with the dinosaur bones.

I'm growing too!  :)  And while I may not get out in the garden much in the coming months to maintain the state of things, today was lovely.

(p.s. - just in case you noticed, yes, Silas got a hair cut recently)