Winter Daydreams...

Today as I cleaned closets and sorted through the collection of "stuff" that seems to accumulate in a home, I took a moment to stop and ponder the coming spring.

Sitting above my dryer,

on a shelf,

at this very moment,

in a small tote,

are a collection of seed packets.

As a gardener, my favorite seasons are spring and summer. I can barely wait each year for the winter's cold to end. I've been known, in my impatience, to "cheat" a little and plant before the recommended dates for my area.

Most years I even "get away with it" by making tents over itty bitty seedlings on extremely cold evenings.

I'm almost positive that I end up with flowers a week or two earlier than other gardeners who start flowers from seed! (O.k... maybe I don't, but it makes me feel better to believe it!)

Hands down my favorite annuals are zinnias. With their bright colors, many variations and long growing season, they brighten up my garden until a hard frost hits.

Some years the trick or treaters comment on how pretty they still look!

This year, I will be moving and honestly I am most concerned about my garden. I will be moving hundreds of pavers and many many perennials with me. Milk jugs will be lining my carport in anticipation of transporting precious cargo. I do not relish the day the gardens are taken apart. As I tend to move at least one garden's location every year, I do know what I am "in for". It will be back breaking work.

And yet, I have been collecting coneflowers for years, leaving them behind is not an option. One of my favorite plants is a native prairie flower that I faithfully tended one hot summer. The seedling was the size of a nickel all that summer and I carefully watered it with a spoon each morning and night. There isn't a chance those plants aren't coming with me!

My garden tends toward the whimsical instead of orderly. Often I have giant sunflowers towering amongst my typical garden fare. The whole affect makes me smile and has given my family some interesting experiences. We've seen humming birds land, squirrels hang upside down and countless butterflies! Late last summer we even witnessed tiny caterpillars hatch and grow! (Check back in my archive on July 26, 2008 to read all about it!)

So, today I paused for a moment to consider my seeds. Tiny packages that will, with care and work, turn into breathtakingly lovely plants.

And... Who knows?... there is a flower contest held each year at the townhouses my family will be moving to...

In this time when so much of the world is cold, it is so easy to feel "gray" ourselves.

I wish for you,

I hope for you,

This day and always,

That you have a beautiful tomorrow.

Like my seeds that are small and brown,

sometimes the future does not look either easy or bright.

However,

I am certain that just around your corner,

spring will come.

Joy is waiting to find you.

Look for the tiny happy "treats" that seem to sneak up on us!

The cheerful address labels that seem to arrive in our mailboxes with regularity,

a silly sample of some terrible cereal

or even a call from a survey taker (Of course you have an opinion about that new flavor of potato crisp!).

Have a little fun!

Let there be sunshine in your heart.

Wait with me, spring is coming!

Winter Daydreams....

Sitting under gray skies, sometimes it is hard to believe that the world will ever be warm and sunny again. That somewhere out there will be tiny bunnies nesting in my hidden backyard, sunflowers growing taller than my house and heirloom tomatoes making my mouth water as they ripen.

Today my second flower and vegetable catalog came. This one I think I'll have to stop and ponder. I must confess that I already possess enough seeds to fill several yards as well as many perennials that continue to spread year after year. And yet, there is something wonderful about the call of the flower catalog in the winter.

I chuckle though... like my love of strange statues, new factories and silly children, I tend toward the more unusual offerings when I daydream. Many times strange berry bushes from Siberia or tiny edible morsels that are harvested with special combs call to me.

As a child, one of my favorite shows was Little House on the Prairie. I have always admired the spirit of the pioneers. They carved happiness out of a barren land. With their loved ones and strangers, they formed communities and created a new world. They made what they needed or did without. I think truthfully, in some part of my subconscious, I like to imagine I am one of them as I fill my yard with edible plants and beautiful flowers.

Almost always, practicality wins out over my musings... Would I really eat those berries that will take several years to mature? How many naughty words will I consider if I have to mow around one more planting?

So most years maturity wins; I plant blackberries instead of Siberian cherry bushes and forgo those strange fruiting ground coverings.

Sure, my yard is probably better off because of my restraint. However, some daydreams are meant to be indulged.

This year I will give into my whimsy. I think it is time to throw caution into the wind and give my innocent cravings a chance to be expressed. I will buy something strange and chuckle for years about the consequences.

How about you? What secret blissful longing is hidden in your heart? Why not consider letting it see the light of day? Innocent happiness makes the world more fun.