True Magic

This morning I was able to get into the garden beds and plant some seeds.  It hit me, like it does every year, how amazing and positively magical it is that from tiny seeds + dirt +water + sun, delicious, beautiful things grow. I went in search of a quote because I cannot even hope to get the words out of my head on this one..

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation.  It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse

 

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Winter Blues and Dirt

When winter begins I experience a mix of emotions- excitement for a new season-trepidation because I do not always do well with it-anticipation for the beauty of new snow and ice- and curiosity at what the snow reveals in the way of footprints. (I like to find the coyote trails, and see where they come onto our property)

Winter has a little over a month left and I have taken a swan dive into the winter blues. Fatigue is my constant companion, creatively I am congested, sicknesses have taken their toll on my immune system, lack of sunlight makes me want to crawl under the covers and hide. I want to spend the day in pajamas and am completely unmotivated to do anything. 

Aside from sunlight I am missing dirt. I miss the feeling of warm dirt crumbling in my hands, the deep earthy smell as I turn dirt over, the excitement of watching things grow out of the dirt.  Never did I imagine that I would experience such a deep connection to dirt, and during the growing season be concerned about the health of my dirt- to the point of nearly daily conversation with my husband who is not in love with dirt. 

I came across a news article that discusses some studies concerning dirt, in particular a bacteria in dirt, that alleviates depression.  Reading it made me wonder if the profusion of depression in modern life isn't in some way related to the lack of connection to dirt in daily life...and the push for everything to be sanitary. 

Next week we are supposed to have a few days of warm weather, possibly in the 50's.  Hopefully the ground will thaw out enough to do some digging.
Today the chickens found a soft patch of dirt in the potting shed and all squished into the small space to take dirt baths. If chickens can be happy, they were.

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Heirloom Non GMO Seeds

With GMO strains of vegetables becoming frighteningly commonplace, it is crucial to find a source to buy seeds that are pure. My favorite company is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
They offer a gorgeous catalog, a ridiculous amount of choices, and only carry non-GMO strains. 
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