i smashed my pinky finger today, but it was for a good cause.
i'm starting a garden, and while moving a boulder...well, you get the idea of what happened.
you see, my recent energy, excitement, and spare moments have been devoted to getting a garden started up and growing. it's already been many hours of thinking, and strategizing, and tilling, and researching, and asking, and preparing the soil, until finally...
i bought my plants!
yesterday finally brought time and temperature in ideal amounts. of course i headed to my new favorite haunt: family tree nursery, where my lovely friend Cassie greeted me with smiles, enthusiastic encouragement and wise advice.
(i wish i could insert an exciting photo here, but alas, i have none to give)
i can't explain it to you, but there's a simple something about plants that gets me excited and giddy. i oogle over them, and savor the spark of excitement that they always generate in my heart.
i was at a friend's house a few days ago, taking in the nic-nacs and placement of treasured belongings that evidence character and memory in a place, but what i most noticed (and pointed out to another friend) was the plants. so beautiful, so elegantly homey -- i just can't help that i love them. after thanking the hostess for her open hospitality, i couldn't help but throw out a request for cuttings. "thanks for having us over. and by the way, got any cuttings ya wonna pass along?" (sad? maybe.)
ok, so back to my project.
i've got seeds going, and so far the winner for best growth goes to the peas. they are marvelously tall and leafy-curly. the others are merely tiny sprouts that i'm hoping are simply a little shy and will catch up in the long run. 
/\
| baby basil.
at ftn i got several tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, eggplant, squash, and oregano, lavender. and while i was there, i picked up some azaleas and a laurel to dress up our front beds which have been sadly neglected for several years. beaming, i walked in the door of my parents' house and proclaimed i was "re-doing" the front beds. i think they're ok with it :)
among other adventures: getting a friend i work with at starbucks to take me out in his little truck to a shady topsoil place on 175... (american topsoil. do not buy from them. ha.) i was less than thrilled with my purchase, but hopefully a little free compost (thank you to the city of olathe! yes!) mixed in should be a nutritious boost for my veggies. it's all a big learning curve at this point anyway right?
why am i crazy about all of this? maybe it's because i get to be outside during my very favorite season. maybe it's because i have been craving a project, as all of my other ones are on the waiting shelf for one reason or another. perhaps its the need to feel ownership over a part of the house other than just my little room. it might also be that my recent discovery of the joy of cooking naturally leads to a desire to grow my own fresh goodies organically (and sustainably!). it could be that the state of unsurety of the global economy has motivated me to learn how to "do things myself" instead of relying on all of the systems of convenience that abound in our suburban lifestyle that might just disappear within my lifetime. maybe i'm drawn to come into a richer flow with the times and seasons, both spiritually as i learn to live sabbath and keep the jewish calendar as much as i have yet learned, and physically as i pay more attention to where i live and how my geography plays into the plans for my garden. perhaps it is because a year ago, the Lord invited me into a heart-season of spring. it has taken me these many months to feel that i am finally fully present in this season, and to respond to Him and say, it is spring, and it is beautiful. thank You.
so, if you've read all these ramblings, hooray for you! you've won a fresh garden tomato!
{claim your prize in a few months--approximately mid-july}
{and for any curious title inquiries, jardin is the french word for garden}
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