Our Spring Garden

I wish I could say that I love to garden. Sometimes I even think I do. Like yesterday when the kids and I got out there with our shovels and garden rakes and played in the dirt for a few hours. I love the smell of the freshly broken ground and the hopes that we have when we put those tiny seeds in the ground of the rewards of our labors that we are sure to reap. I always start out with high hopes and good intentions. I'm going to stay on top of the garden, not letting the weeds take over and making sure the plants are watered and fed according to their needs. But too many times, when summer's sun begins to bear relentlessly down burning with a fierce, merciless heat, I find my self retreating in the comfort of my home far way from the sun and my poor vegetable garden is left to its own defenses. 

I know I say it every year, but this year I'm hoping that I will be able to overcome and keep my resolve through the summer. Maybe by posting this confession online, I will be spurred into action. Maybe now that the kids are older we can bolster each other up and encourage ourselves to stay with it. In the mean time, I'll keep hoping and dreaming of the wonderful, bountiful harvest that is sure to come if only we continue to work hard through the summer and nature cooperates with us. Sometimes even when you do all you know to do, nature refuses to cooperate. I've had times when my tomato plants refused to grow even though, I watered them and cared for them like a mother for her newborn baby. Let me also say in my defense that I have had successful gardens in the past. Some years, I have had more squash and zucchini than I could give away. One year I had more tomatoes than any one else. But more often than not, by midsummer my plants are wihtering and the weeds are taking over. Here's to hoping for better gardening this season!

Here are a few photos that I took between raking and planting. They are not at all as good as they should have been, but I'll blame it on my dusty hands and my aching back. Hopefully, I'll remember next time to close down the aperture so that the entire photo will be in focus!