Spring Fever

 "It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  

And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, 

you want it so! "

-Mark Twain

Harvest of green beans, fava beans, broccoli and yellow squash.

 Living in Idaho I used to get spring fever about this time and calmed it by planting seeds in those little peat disks that expand like a slinky with water, and spreading my sprout project across the dining room table.  Sometimes it was a success, sometimes a failure, and sometimes a success-followed by cats snacking on the new sprouts, which is a semi-failure.

Heirloom veggies, gleaned fruit, and fresh eggs.

A few months later I would plant the surviving seedlings in the rich soil I had developed over the past few years in my ginormous old-person garden (I would call it that cuz they're the only ones who truely have time for a garden that big).  I would cultivate the garden all spring and summer long, all the while enjoying baskets of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, peppers, corn, squash and zucchini.  I also had a reoccurring crop of various herbs: dill, chives, oregano, arugula, chamomile, mint, parsley, and the like.  I also had beds of irises, daffodils, sunflowers and the like adorning the property.

Here in Texas, I've got spring  fever again, but the poor soil conditions combined with water restrictions limits my garden.   I am only planting a few select plants in a a few pots around my patio, though I'm sure there will be a few more plants calling my name before the spring is through.

 Zoey and I chose a few flowers, veggies and herbs, painted a couple new clay pots and in the plants went.  At least here in Texas they can go straight in the dirt instead of staying protected inside for the next couple months.  Hopefully my efforts will produce a bit of beauty and a few yummies.

I loved my gardens in Idaho, but they were a lot of work without a lot of time to do it in. The growing season in Idaho is short and I was balancing household chores with work.  The garden flourished during the first two years Zoey was born and I was at home, but once I went to work the garden didn't see it's full potential due to my lack of energy.  What I have now in Texas is barely a glimmer of the beautiful herb, flower, and vegetable gardens I maintained in Idaho, but this is one of those sacrifices I've made in expectation of a more open future.