This is a magic time in the gardens. Only my cut up hands and creaking knees would disagree.

Soil amendments and manure have been put on all the garden beds. My back particularly remembers the spreading of 400# of lime.

Old foliage from last season has been cut away. How is it that I always think I have done this job well in the fall, and then in the spring, it looks like I didn’t even do any cleaning up at all?

The lawn has turned that luscious spring green and Jim is counting his final hours of freedom before he and his lawnmower become inseparable.

The last of the pruning is behind me and it was a particular joy to finish the Pear tree that seventeen year old William started to prune in February but then “didn’t have time to finish” in the last eight weeks- What can I say…. March Madness NCAA basketball IS time consuming.

I am still in one piece except maybe for my face where a plum branch took a divet out of my cheek yesterday.

Fresh green leaves rise up, each one a returning Flower friend that I am glad to see except for the crab grass.

It’s a moment of promise. Except maybe not from William.

There is the fantasy sense that even if plants haven’t peeked out of the ground with new green growth yet, they are still alive.

I can be optimistic though really I can sort of tell that almost all of the Thyme is dead from our snowless winter-
I can look out on all the gardens and believe that I remembered to correct all the flaws in their designs I noticed last season even though I didn’t look at my copious notes once or actually change anything.

Ahhhhh Spring….. when hope springs eternal and I crawl happily into the house at the end of each day, finally understanding why they sell those stupid stands for gardeners to kneel on.