Spring Promises

Our red pear tree is blooming for the first time in 7 years. I'm pretty sure it was because I didn't prune as heavily this year. Almost didn't manage to prune at all ;)

We've spotted cherry blossoms, too, and the strawberries flowers are out in full force. The peach trees aren't loaded this year, but we've got a fair bloom going on. It makes me happy, even though I know they are only suggestions of fruit, not promises. So much time, so many variables, between now and something edible.

Today was my first shift as a volunteer at Sola Gratia Farm. I was part of a team using a tractor to transplant hundreds of rainbow swiss chard and kale seedlings (5 varieties!). I felt inexperienced, but capable, and wasn't afraid to ask questions.

At one point, we were waiting for the tractor to refuel, so they sent us to work in the onion field. We were replanting onion sets where the previous planting hadn't gone so well. Onion sets are tiny. They're about 2-3mm at the widest, and they come in bunches of 100. As I scrabbled in the hard, dry dirt to create a home for each tiny wisp of life, I thought of that $0.89 bag of onions sitting in my pantry at home. I shook my head. All this effort seemed so pointless when I could get perfectly ripe onions any time, anywhere. But then I realized that someone else had to sprout each seed and transplant every single wisp for every single onion I've ever eaten...or thrown away. All this work has already been done for me for YEARS!

Just had to pause for a moment to appreciate that.

Alice has planted snap peas, thyme, and a few brassicas in our garden. Bobby's dad transplanted a pile of onion sets and baby leeks into our garden, too. Robert planted parsley. I transplanted garlic. It's a bit of a mish-mash, but we'll get something in the end :) I hope.