Spring can be a fickle season here in the mountains of western North Carolina. For the past week, temperatures have been holding steady in the very summery high 70s/low 80s. After the long, bitter cold winter we just endured, I'm certainly not complaining. I could sit and soak in the sun for hours. Still, that's a bit unusual for early April, so naturally we're cautious. And while we're perfectly willing to ahead and sow the lettuce bed (with baby lettuce and kale!), plow, weed eat the perimeter, drain ditches, and generally lay the foundations for the season, we won't be doing any major planting until May.
But this past weekend's gardening preview was absolutely delightful. It felt so good to dig my fingers deep into the earth, and obviously, Miss Kate couldn't agree more. I don't believe those little hands will be clean again until Thanksgiving, but I don't even care. My little one is quite the enthusiastic fan of dirt and worms, and planting lettuce and kale was the most fun she's had in ages, after being cooped up all winter.
I've always sort of enjoyed winter. I wouldn't call it my favorite season, but there is something to be said for the quiet, peaceful contentment of engaging in the more sedentary pursuits of reading and watching movies, curled up by a roaring fire. But this winter was so extreme (again, I'm from the south, so this is all relative), that even I tired of it. We all suffered from cabin fever in the very literal sense. Needless to say, I've been overjoyed to see, hear, smell, and taste the bustling of the natural world coming back to life, the budding trees, the buzzing bees, the daffodils, the dandelions! I'm just thrilled. In those dark days of winter it was hard to imagine, but spring, of course, always comes again.
Spring can be a fickle season here in the mountains of western North Carolina. For the past week, temperatures have been holding steady in the very summery high 70s/low 80s. After the long, bitter cold winter we just endured, I'm certainly not complaining. I could sit and soak in the sun for hours. Still, that's a bit unusual for early April, so naturally we're cautious. And while we're perfectly willing to ahead and sow the lettuce bed (with baby lettuce and kale!), plow, weed eat the perimeter, drain ditches, and generally lay the foundations for the season, we won't be doing any major planting until May.
But this past weekend's gardening preview was absolutely delightful. It felt so good to dig my fingers deep into the earth, and obviously, Miss Kate couldn't agree more. I don't believe those little hands will be clean again until Thanksgiving, but I don't even care. My little one is quite the enthusiastic fan of dirt and worms, and planting lettuce and kale was the most fun she's had in ages, after being cooped up all winter.
I've always sort of enjoyed winter. I wouldn't call it my favorite season, but there is something to be said for the quiet, peaceful contentment of engaging in the more sedentary pursuits of reading and watching movies, curled up by a roaring fire. But this winter was so extreme (again, I'm from the south, so this is all relative), that even I tired of it. We all suffered from cabin fever in the very literal sense. Needless to say, I've been overjoyed to see, hear, smell, and taste the bustling of the natural world coming back to life, the budding trees, the buzzing bees, the daffodils, the dandelions! I'm just thrilled. In those dark days of winter it was hard to imagine, but spring, of course, always comes again. 
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What a wonderful view from your garden! HOORAY for kale! So glad it's in the ground now, for your later enjoyment. Hooray for digging in the dirt, too, and the adorable, grubby little hands that result. Dirt is good for building the immune system, I say! =)
ReplyDeleteSpringtime is such a treat.
You are so lucky to have a space to garden (and with such a view)! I'm not-so-secretly a little jealous :)
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the Spring weather we're having in DC too, but I think it's set to drop a little next week. Still, it's 100% better than all of the snow we had not even 2 months ago!
Looks lovely, and your little girl is adorable!! It must be so nice to grow your own veggies and such. We tried last year (on a New England deck mind you in pots, space around here? not so much) and had high hopes for our tomatoes. But then the blight swept the whole region and even our lonely little plant got it. I think we'll try again this year but maybe just herbs.
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