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All the fresh spring growth has me thinking of the garden and remembering this post today.
You reach out with any little part of yourself and rise from the dirt to be what you are. How you make my heart ache with your sense of belonging.
Vanity of vanities! We all have the same breath.
(Solomon was right.)


That’s the start of my dot journal goal-tracker and summarizer for the month of March. I’ve been doing Julia Cameron’s 12- week program, The Artist’s Way, since December 21 and I have just under two weeks left to complete it. It’s been ridiculously effective, centering, fun, and challenging. I don’t want it to end! So I’ll probably just keep going…or see what else she has to offer.
Also, it’s garden time again! I’ve already gone crazy stocking up on flower seeds and bulbs.
The kale, arugula, and lettuce planted in September are showing their colors – purple, red, and green – so pretty! The thyme and lavender survived the winter. I apparently planted something else that is also doing great — I thought it was spinach upon first sight, but it looks suspiciously like broccoli at its center. I don’t remember planting broccoli in the fall. I’ll have to consult the garden journal to confirm what was planted in that spot.
The Lenten roses and the daffodils with small blooms have been showing off for two weeks now and the crocus are in bloom. The big-bloomed daffodils are about to pop open. The pear tree is a big show-off with all the white flowers festooning the branches. The key lime tree, an anniversary gift, survives winter indoors. She bloomed a couple weeks ago and smelled amazing. Two key limes now grace her branches! That’s the first time that’s happened in the three years since we got her.
I planted microgreens indoors yesterday. I’m so ready to get outside and play with the worms in the dirt. It’s still too muddy though, so I guess I’ll break out the graph paper and start dreaming and scheming on how to flower up my world today instead.
Tumbling-hair
picker of buttercups
violets
dandelions
And the big bullying daisies
through the field wonderful
with eyes a little sorry
Another comes
also picking flowers
–e.e. cummings
It’s been a busy spring filled with seeds sewn and flowers bursting. Seeds were planted in so many places I can’t keep track of it all in spite of my journaling, mapping, and labeling. I get impatient. If a seed doesn’t sprout within a few days a different seed gets popped into the same tray. Nature has her own rhythm and won’t be rushed. Suddenly there are multiple things growing from the same cell. I am no longer sure what’s what. The rain has washed away the ink from my labels. The garden will be full of surprises.
Life is not all fuzzy sprouts, sweet-scented petals, and swirling cursive. The concrete spillway leading from the pond collapsed and caved in from erosion over the last few years. It needed immediate attention. Hours upon hours were spent in the pit with mud in my hair, in my ears, and under what was left of my jagged fingernails. Digging rocks from the mud and moving them from here to there is prison work, I tell you! Then there was the construction on the learning garden and the hauling of poop from here to there. It is almost complete. So worth it to see he beans already beginning their ascent to the top of their tee-pees. I can’t wait to show you! Until next time…
“The daffodils are blooming!” Kiki announced in a lilting voice as she breezed in the door.
The granddaughter, who didn’t know the difference between a daffodil and a geranium – and who didn’t much care, sat in the kitchen playing Donkey Kong on Colecovision. Her eyes were nearly glassed over from staring for so long into the screen and her thumb muscles ached from over use.
This would not do.
“Come outside and see!”
The glassy eyes slid her direction for a moment, then back to the screen, where the jumpman had just cleared another barrel.
“Come on, Valley.”
A barrel hit the jumpman. The child groaned. So much for saving the princess. She sighed, turned off the little TV, and stood up to get this over with.
Outside, the daffodils were indeed blooming. Not just blooming – they looked like they were singing. Trumpeting nearly.
“Heralding spring,” Kiki said.
They looked like fairy princess dresses – perhaps the princess was saved afterall.
Overlapping Seasons
It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.
–Rainer Maria Rilke
It snowed this weekend…right atop the autumn leaves, budding roses, and daffodil blooms.
The Duck Report
We lost one of our ducks, Baby Gold, to a raccoon who found a breach in El Diablo’s Duck Defense System (DDS). The perp was apprehended and sentenced to exile.
The seven remaining domestic ducks have been joined by three mallards (two males and a female) who have taken up residence in the pond. Not to be outdone by P. Recious Rainbow, Kiki Duck is now nesting with a *crazy* number of eggs beneath her feathers.
Project Moon Pie
We’ve introduced another label (ball) and another action word (touch) to Moo Moo’s repertoire. The ever-determined Moo Moo has taken to watching videos of her performance trials to improve her skills.
…and speaking of improving performance, here is:
Good News for Crazy Cat Ladies
Thanks to researchers in Japan (of course) we now have scientific evidence that looking at cute kitten and puppy pictures/videos facilitates performance in dexterity and focus tasks. I am not making this up…click that link and you can read about it for yourself.
This is exactly why you should read my blog. I post cute baby animal pictures regularly. I can help you at work. I bet you’ll even snag a raise. Subscribe today!