Every year, about this time, I catch it. Like a fever, it rushes in and takes hold, capturing my best thought processes and running them into sweet oblivion. This year, it is worse than ever before. It is… Spring Fever. It means bright vivid greens, topped with pops of fresh, new pastels. It means the smell of soil as it is being prepped for tiny little seedlings. It means a mind full of hopes for a season of abundance and sunshine. It means garden season, which as life would surprise, turns out to be my favorite time of year. In my zone, it really should be a year-round attempt if I were on top of my game the way I wish. As it is, I’m still relatively new to the grow-your-own-food scene and finding my balance of it all. One day….
Still, while winter keeps its wet, dreary hold on the world outside, I sit inside beside my cozy fire, wistfully flipping through seed catalogs & searching every seed site that has emailed me their coupons and deals for the upcoming spring. Normally, I would be filling my hopes and wishes for garden season to fully arrive by starting my earliest seeds and finalizing the garden inputs for the healthiest soil possible. It is astounding how much a little preparation can do for keeping your garden organic and reducing pests.
This year, though, I find myself a bit lost. So much of who I am now is encompassed in the importance of these things. However, this year circumstances keep me from my spring-time love. So I find myself floundering. Last week, I bought a huge batch of turnip greens to cook, just to get the feel of processing garden food again. The immense satisfaction of sitting down at the dinner table with my family, knowing that every single thing they’re eating was from our property is something that I treasure. We know that it was grown and/or raised in good conditions, letting nature take the lead with as little adjustments from us as possible. There is a fulfillment I get that is rather challenging to explain. But it just feels right.
And, as different as it may seem, I feel like it affects my spirituality as well. There is really a literal connection for me to the junk in, junk out philosophy. While being faithful and diligent with a clean eating habit, my focus is better, my mind clearer, and my body more energetic. However, as celebration and/or convenience encourages me to stray from those habits, my mind gets muddled, my distractibility magnified, and I stay just plain tired. I’m not throwing out judgment; I feel like we all would do well to simply get to life, living out our own purpose rather than worrying about what others are doing so much. But for me, this is very true. Therefore, in light of all this, I need to get back to my seed catalogs…. A full-fledged traditional garden may not be in the cards right now, but it’s just a step in the process to get to where we can do even better bringing our ideals into reality. That doesn’t mean there’s no room for adapting, growing, and thinking things through from a new angle to find a way to make it happen. And, I will be making my rounds visiting my gardening friends for sure. Because:
Hands filthy, hair’s a mess
Dog running off with my brand new shovel
Chickens going after my freshly sprouted garlic
Kids using the garden as a sandbox
Cats eating the carrot greens
Sun shining, wind chimes whispering
Front porch and ice-cold water to cool down
Horses in the neighbor’s field, eating along the fence line to spy on us
Watching the mountain across my valley
With vibrant greens, pinks, and purples
Fresh garden dinner with a quick kiss from the grill, and
Collapsing into the bed exhausted at the end of a day full of dirt
Sounds like a perfect day to me!
Journey Into Freedom 