First engage, then explore

Ideas that force you to think about how you would apply them to your life - either through your work, in your home, or when you play - these are the things that first engage me. When I can find a way to make something tangible, then I want to explore it.

For years I have had my own small vegetable garden. It was something my parents did and something, that when I owned my first home, I wanted to continue on my own. For years, I repeated what I had seen my mom plan and my dad execute - rows upon rows of vegetables. Theirs was a garden that looked to be the size of a small country, when in reality it was only about 1/8 of the back yard. I didn't know or remember how much work that was to maintain - caring for the vegetables, watering them, weeding the rows and basically just working, and working, and working for the harvest. But I explored the idea and I learned and it gave me a certain joy and peace.

And then our daughters were born - one, then two, and finally three. The garden was planned, planted and harvested, but it turned from a joy to a chore. It became weed infested; crops went unpicked. The summer days of putting away the harvest in jars to enjoy during the winter faded away. I lost my desire to engage anymore in this activity to which I was once so lovingly engaged.

Two years ago, a friend mentioned that she and her husband had picked up a book called Square Foot gardening. At the same time, both my husband and I had heard the author talk about his methods on MPR. Well, this was all it took for me to re-engage in the idea of gardening. I picked up the book, read through it, and started planning how to revitalize that back yard garden.

Today, I have the garden of my dreams growing in the back yard. It is virtually weed-free and so easy to maintain. My daughters are even willing to help with the planting, watering, weeding and feeding and we are all loving the joy of the harvest - evidenced by the devouring of the first fresh green bean crop and the putting away of four quarts of the same for consumption this winter.

This blog is an effort to re-engage - in the idea that there is much in life to explore and discover. Enjoy!