Pic(k) of the week

Over the past few years, as clear markers distinguishing the seasons seem more and more elusive, there is still at least one reliable indicator for me that it is time to bid winter goodbye and turn our eyes towards spring.  And no, it is not just the longer days and the blessing of Daylight Savings Time, but the act of putting the first seeds into soil.  The promise of new life finally being given a chance to emerge.  And maybe I am getting too sentimental with so many seasons behind me, but it seems that every time I think about planting, I am reminded somewhere deep within that noting will happen without that first step of faith being taken.  That hopeful act of setting seed to soil, not knowing if Old Man Winter is truly through with surprises that may spoil early efforts to get a jump on the season.  But whether or not he is, there still must be those first tiny seeds put into warm, moist soil in order for anything to get started.

So, this past week we did just that.  We pulled out the flats, warmed and sifted the soil, and set about putting our first batch of some 20 different crops into warm sunny windows in order to start that age-old and marvelous dance of turning pin-head tiny seeds into nutritious and healthy plants.  Crops that will support our efforts to feed our community as well as our neighbors in need, as well as remind us of the truth that we all are here as a part of a very holy relationship with our earthly home.  As we care for and cherish our gardens, they will provide us with life-giving beauty, purpose, and food.  For truly, working the land and putting seed to soil enables us to begin to live into the wonder of the blessed community we were created to become.  Smile and rejoice with me as once again we watch those first seeds begin to reveal their promise.                                                                                              -david