in the dirt ~

There's just somethin' about it...gettin' all kinds of muddy, diggin' in the dirt. I remember when I was a little tyke, me and my Gramps would go out to his gardens and he'd give me a little patch to weed. I'd plop down in the dirt and weed and eat strawberries, the juice gettin' all over my fingers and my face and the dirt sticking to me even more from all the sugary sweetness. I can still smell those smells, just thinking about those moments. I adored my Gramps and he adored me. Even after all these years, those are some of the clearest memories I hold.

Maybe that's why I love this gardening thing so much. Every time I go out there, I can FEEL him. And sometimes, I can hear him to. Most of all I can see him smiling...watching as I tend my garden, talking to him the whole while. I know he's proud to see this. I know he's groovin' on my tomatoes and my corn and those crazy huge zucchinis (yep...the one in this goofy picture is my first 'harvest'...after only 6 weeks!) You shoulda seen me when I found it. I was dancin' around like a crazy person, hollerin' to the sky "LOOK GRAMPA! LOOK WHAT I GREW!!!!" My Bruzer Dawg was dancin' right along with me. It was a moment I'll never forget.

Now, as I write this, I'm basking in the sweat from an hour of weeding and tidying things up out in that splendid space. I can still smell the tomato plants. Did you know they have a smell? Even before the fruit is ripe, you can smell 'em. It's so amazing to me. They say that our sense of smell is the strongest to memory recall. I'd say they're right. Those smells bring me right back to my childhood, in the dirt with Gramps. And when the tomatoes are ripe for pickin', I'm gonna sit right down in the dirt and eat one....right there. I'm gonna let the juices run down my face and giggle like crazy. I'm gonna share the wealth of Mother's fruit with my Bruzer. And yea, I'm probably gonna cry too. The good kind of cry. Tears of joy for all the blessings that are mine.

Gardens are MARVELOUS. So is gettin' in the dirt.