Lilac Lessons and Dirty Hands

After four years of careful care and impatient waiting my little lilac is finally going to bloom. Of course the blooms look nothing like the picture above, which I found here, but I am hoping it's just because it's a different variety.

I consider the buds themselves to be little miracles; deep purple facets of hope and a testament to life. Everything finds a way to grow, bloom, and finally become something shamelessly beautiful.

Tomorrow I am going to make the first walk out to my humble herb garden, nested beneathe the triple cottonwoods that stand proud in front of the back acre. I know I will have a lot of clearing out to do but I am looking forward to getting my hands dirty and feeling the spring sun on my skin.

I hope the delicate lavenders are doing well and the soapwort I put in last year should be clinging to the stepping stones that run up the middle of the bed. I will talk to all of my green friends as usual and hope they will forgive me for neglecting them last year.

Then it's off to the vegetable garden to til and plant. I can't wait for fresh tomatoes in the summer and maybe we can finally get those carrots to grow. For some reason they are the most difficult little things to harvest in this area. We tried corn last year as well with very little luck. There was nothing knee-high by the 4th in our garden. But, we are still learning and the process is a journey that simultaneously nourishes body and soul.