My not-very-green thumb

I have always wanted a garden. When I was young, my parents let me experiment in the back yard from time to time, but I never harvested anything more than a rotten pumpkin and three ears of buggy corn. Ever since I heard about self-sufficiency, tho, my interest has been peaked. I wanted to try a garden --for real -- this year.





Now, a few realities of my situation: I live in an apartment, on the second floor, with only a small balcony. I have no idea of the difference between a weed and a seedling. My father-in-law offered to "coach" me if I'll come spend some time this summer in his large garden, and the Internet is a literal cornucopia of information. After taking a deep breath and getting my husband to laughingly hand me the check book, I've set out on this adventure.





Any of you experienced gardeners, feel free to laugh heartily at what I next say. I horribly over-seeded and over-watered my little peat pellet greenhouse tray thing I got for $6 at Wal-mart. It molded *gasp*. After clearing out as much of the yuck as I could, I still had a good amount of seedlings. The next challenge is in the growing of them. Pots are EXPENSIVE! So I wandered around a little while and hit upon a wonderful discovery....

A Rubbermaid sale! So my little garden will be grown in big plastic tubs filled with dirt. My husband was once again entertained. He laughed as he exclaimed, "Well, if you fail, at least we'll have more storage boxes!" My little green friends are hanging out by the balcony door until it gets a little warmer out. I'm amazed how much they've grown already -- it's only been a week and a half! This is the "salad" box, I've got a few others scattered at other sunny windows.

Here's my list of attempted veggies. My goal is to have fresh salad at least once or twice this summer ;-) :

1. Cucumbers (4in super sweets)
2. Summer Squash (a mini variety, 3 - 5")
3. Mixed lettuce
4. Spinach
5. Cherry tomatoes
6. Spearmint (for tea)
7. Chamomile (also for tea)
8. and Impatiens to fill a pretty flower pot I got as a wedding gift

This certainly is an adventure. I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into, and I'm scared to death of killing everything before it even sees the great outdoors (of an inner city balcony). Maybe God will laugh, too, and allow me to harvest an abundant crop.

Rebirth of the Spirit

Today is my favorite day of the year. Everything just seems to have an energetic thrill running through it, a subconcious hum of awareness that says to me, "We're here! We're waking up!" Today is the first day that actually feels like spring.

Although it isn't technically spring yet, my world is bursting with potential. About 2 days ago I heard the first birds returning to the area. Two of them were scouting out nesting places this morning under my classroom window --even though there are no leaves yet and won't be for another couple weeks. I saw the first swooping falcon while I was driving home. My landlord is outside at this moment with his weed trimmer. Such a comforting noise, and the smell!!! I threw open the windows and doors the second I got home. I feel so inspired to create, or clean, or just play! Winter staleness will disappear over the next few days as sunlight purifies the dark corners of my house.

The cycle of the seasons has always been inspiring to me. The seasons serve to remind me of all the other cycles in my life. Sometimes we're up -- walking on the mountain with God, where everything seems clear and certain. Sometimes we're down -- in the valley where everything is muddy and dark, and nothing seems certain. The seasons remind me of the cyclical nature of faith and give me hope. As certain as spring follows winter, clarity in faith follows confusion. Sometimes the winter is long indeed, but that only makes the spring more sweet.

Spring wakens my spirit the same way it wakens the seeds in the ground. My heart begins to leap and praise God through the multitude of blessings inherient in the lenghtening days and bright sunlight. The promise of growth, of produce, of animals and flowers, causes my heart to sing. May God bless you richly with a spring awakening of your own.

"11 See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me."

Song of Songs 2:11-13