In like a lion, out like a lamb?

Well let's hope so! March weather on the west coast has been wet wet wet but we are hoping that April will hold lots of changes for the better. Keeping that dream close to my heart, I ventured out into the garden this week to clean out the winter dead and make room for the little spots of bloom and blossom. The primroses are yellow and purple, daffodils bright lemon, the flowering plum bring in some shades of pink and the apricot is filled with white popcorn. All wonderful signs of Spring. This is the best season in my garden because it holds all the hope for summer while denying all possibility of failure.

Holding on to that hope, I planted peas, arugula,spinach and some lettuce this weekend. This way they will have 2 weeks to show themselves and I wont even be staring at them. I also set my artichoke starts into the front garden, surrounded by little green plastic tents to keep them warm. They look good so far and maybe the tents will let them grow before the deer spot them.

I cleaned and clipped roses but did not have time to spray before I leave, so I hope they are not pruned further by my 4-legged friends. I really need to build a fence to keep Duffy in the yard all day and all night. Maybe that would help! The neighbors might not enjoy the noise but there is always some price to pay.

For now, all it good and I am full of dreams of warm summer days. I am also thinking about life philosophies, solving world problems and generally meditating on life while I pull weeds and dig dirt. Do you realize that every person learns a language- some even learn Russian- when they are only 1 year old but at 20 we can hardly manage a second language. I think a big part of the problem is that after the age of 5 we stop playing with learning. The first language we learn by practicing sounds and saying senseless prattle just to see how it works. We love to show off our sound boxes all day long. As we get older, we want short cuts. We expect to learn what we want in the time-spans we choose. No wonder we become frustrated. Just like those little toddlers, we are still too impatient. And what about eunuchs? What was that about in the Byzantine culture? So many things for the mind to explore while the hands are tending to weeds.

As you can see, there will be epistles to come as the Spring proceeds. Tonight I am looking forward to 10 days in California. Anita and I will visit the Bay area, Healdsburg and the Sacramento Valley. We are throughing caution to the wind and packing swimming suits in case there is a pool somewhere, but more realistically we will probably enjoy a hot tub! I know there will be stories to tell when I return. Until then, love to you all and celebrate the beginning signs of Spring.

Love,
Mama Llama