I am not an early riser but every spring and summer I have reason to get up early and go outside.
My garden.
I will not be able to produce more than 1 meal a day from my kitchen garden, but my purpose is not strictly food production.
The purpose is get my hands dirty in compost as I gently spread it around the base of fragile green plants in April.
To watch seeds turn into leafy green shoots, strong and sturdy in May.
To be involved from start to finish, with growing something that can nourish both body and soul.
To feel connected to the earth and our creator in ways that grocery stores and air conditioning prohibit.
To have a few quiet moments among the squash and tomato leaves to watch, listen and as David Rawlings sings about – hear the flowers a growin.
Yesterday was a bevy of activity. Blooms have turned to fruit and right before my eyes, squash, strawberries, broccoli, green beans and tomatoes have appeared.
Can you see the water traveling from the roots to these perfect fruit? Neither can I but I am amazed it is happening with no assistance from me.
These little guys grew in less than a week. They are almost too lovely to pick and eat and as I admire them each morning, they seem too lovely to place in salad or stew.
A friend may bring her three year old daughter over this weekend to pick. If I am enraptured by this 20 x 8 foot plot at age 30, I think at 3 she too will be excited by the hidden fruit shining beneath the large leaves.
Thomas Jefferson apparently said that “Those who labour in the earth are the chosen people of God .”
I don’t labour there but I do feel chosen as I sit, listen, admire, prune and watch a world beyond mine. Not a bad way to spend a few minutes every morning. Maybe one of these days, I’ll even eat the veggies being grown and marvel at how wonderful they taste as well.
