Recently a friend added a post on social media that included some good advice. The last line said "Happy Winter Gardening." I took it literally. My little garden on the hill behind my house usually sits idle and forgotten from mid October until April, but today I decided to do some raking just to see how it felt. It felt good. Gardening is good therapy any time, even if you don't think you need therapy.
What made it special for me was the discovery of a few little onions that I missed during the Fall harvest.
Bonus...they actually look and feel like they might be edible. I'll find that out later. Even if they can't be eaten, it was fun finding them.
The entire post was inspiring. Here it is in its entirety -
Daniel Fitzgerald is in New York.
My grandmother once gave me a tip:
In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.
Do what you have to do, but little by little.
Wash the dishes.
Remove the dust.
Write a letter.
Make a soup.
You see?
You are advancing step by step.
Take a step and stop.
Rest a little.
Praise yourself.
Take another step.
Then another.
You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.
And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.
Happy winter gardening
It says "in difficult times." These are not difficult times for me, but they may be for you. In any event, it's good advice no matter what may be going on in our lives. I already wash dishes and dust. I might write a letter. Make a soup? Maybe. Think about the future without crying...that's easy. Right now I'm thinking about next Spring and planting my garden. Peppers, carrots, radishes. And onions. I might even intentionlly leave a few of those in the ground so I can do more winter gardening. It may even become a regular thing. Winter Gardening. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
Roger O'Dea. 12/15/2023