"doesn't it feel strange to wait on this change?"

the food: watching it grow
the song: "Near a Garden" Shearwater

I'm excited for this evening. I'm volunteering with Sustainable Food Center to provide childcare for a Basic Organic Gardening class that starts tonight. The class runs 3 weeks, and I'll be helping out for all the sessions. My goal is to do some simple garden related activities with the group of six kids, who range in age from 1 to 10 (wow). I'm hoping the kids are receptive to the idea and the training can be an inspiring experience for them, as well as their parents.  I'm taking some books to share this evening, including my current favorite On Meadowview Street about a girl that turns her front yard in the suburbs into a wildlife refuge. This book is doubly cool because it was given to me by my hip librarian mom.

I'm so proud to be involved with SFC. When I first became interested in where my food comes from, SFC was the first organization that made me realize Wow, people out there actually think about this.

Before volunteering tonight, I spent some time in my garden today so it could all be fresh on my mind. I haven't been out there much lately, even though it has been beautiful weather. Everything just seems so easy right now. Sure, there's more I could do. But the sunny days, frequent rain, and chilly nights are doing a great job for me.  It's as if the garden is telling me "Look, I'm doing fine out here. Why don't you just go enjoy the sunshine on the porch at Flying Saucer instead?" 

Not everything is perfect. It's gotten hot and my broccoli is flowering. I know some gardeners would look at this and think it was wasteful. There aren't many flowers in my yard, though, and these little yellow blossoms bring so many bees and add a nice bust of color. It seems more wasteful to pull them up when I don't have anything else to put in their place just yet.

 
My winter garden was extremely successful, so I didn't really plant a lot specifically for spring. I mentioned before that I am trying potatoes for the first time this year. Just when I'd about given up on them, I went out to the backyard trough where they are planted to discover that they had sprouted. I'm interested to see if they make it. I'm also planted a few spinach plants and strawberries, which are both doing very well. 

Tomatoes, squash, and peppers will go in soon. Up until this weekend's cold front, I was feeling behind that I didn't have them in already. But it's important for me to take time to appreciate this stage of the garden, too. It's not the best time from a cook's standpoint. Everything is either at its beginning or end. Unless you want swiss chard. I can feed you swiss chard for days.

It is an interesting time to watch and wait. All the plants look happy, and that makes me feel like the world is doing what it should. The time change, an ever-evolving garden, new volunteer opportunities, and only nine weeks of school left. Ah, how I love the spring.

~eeg