in the garden :: green and growing and blooming

Here I find myself again, in that sweet time when I begin to spend as much time outside as in, with sunshine on my shoulders and soil under my fingernails.  That first day always stands out- there I am with the warm sun on my face, called to linger in the garden for a while instead of hurrying back in to sit by the fire with my tea.  And then the days quietly begin to pile on top of one another and I find myself so often in the garden with a bucket in one hand and a blade in the other and after a bit of time passes I am surprised by the fact that it is indeed 'full-on spring' again.  Such an anticipated sliver of time, so pregnant with promise and possibility.

The older I get, the more I've come to sincerely appreciate and even love winter.  The stillness, the pause, the inward-ness of it all.  These things and more so appeal to my reflective, quiet side.  But there's no denying the allure of spring.  And when, after several weeks of tug-of-war with winter spring has decided to finally stay for a while, well that's just grand with me.  And so I go sit outside and turn my face to the sun and just sit, soaking it in.  I feel like a reptile, or a finicky old cat in a sunbeam.  There is something so animalistic about wanting, needing that warmth.  I wonder if maybe it has to do with our heating exclusively with wood- which can mean it's a bit cold around here at times..... do people who are accustomed to more climate controlled surroundings feel so called to turn their faces towards the sun for long stretches at spring's arrival?  Maybe I am just a finicky old cat, who knows.  Maybe it's something else.

At any rate, here we are.  Spring.  Full-on spring.  The peas are flowering, the garlic is up to my thighs.  Squashes and beans are about 6 inches high and the greens are thriving.  I've picked my first couple backyard bouquets of the year, we're getting a bowlful of strawberries daily, and I've got my eyes on so many flowers that are thisclose to bursting into bloom.  The raspberries and blackberries and blueberries are covered with flowers and there are quite a few tiny fruits on the apple trees (and a few, but just a few, on the pear tree).  I am so ready for it.  For this.  What a gift to be able to tend a patch of soil and coax all this goodness from it.