S P R I N G .... means NO REST.

Spring.....many if not all of us sit around the last few weeks of winter....dreaming and talking about, even planning for the first few days or weeks of spring. We dream about the warm sunshine, the spring rains, the songs of the frogs and gardening. Rarely do we hear anyone say a word about being exhausted, sore, frazzled or frustrated about the planting season. Mostly all we can think about is the snow and cold being gone. Then, Spring gets here. We start getting excited about "getting in the garden" however with Spring, comes the Spring rains. Oh, for a lot of us, this means...a whole lot of rain,flooding the gardens so that we can't get in there to prep the beds...or washing out what we had just planted. The winter cold and snow tends to make us forget about those frustrations. Spring comes and we head out with high expectations. " THIS year I am going to get all of my planting done early" or maybe " This year I am going to keep on top of the weeds" HA! I bet we have ALL said that last one, and we do.....for a while. For us here, Spring means sore backs, hands, and feet. It means losing sleep when kidding season starts. Making lists of repairs that need taken care of, and in the order of importance....then losing that list, and for the most part, just winging it. I sat down with my pen and paper, drew up images of the garden areas, planned where I would be planting this or that....then when the time came to actually plant...well...because of the time constraints....or maybe it is the frustrations of trying to just beat the next rain storm...about half of what I planned actually gets planted where I had planned it. This year is no different from the last. After two full days of tilling, pulling weeds, planting....we marveled at our work, only to realize we forgot to plant beets! But, about 90% of the gardens are planted. I need to clear out another area for the beets....then get the last 40 onion sets in the ground, plant carrots, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Once everything is planted, we can set out to start the repairs needed in several areas. Before you know it....we will be cutting firewood, canning, and storing away our hard fruits and root vegetables. Counting, weighing, planning....getting ready for another long winter. But for now....it is mid Spring..as I stand slowly, stretching my aching muscles, groaning as I pull boots on my sore and tired feet, I smile. I smile because I know that from all of my labors and hard work, we will survive another winter, with full bellies and great tales to tell around the fire on cold nights.