Awaiting the Awakening of Mother Earth

January 1st and I find myself thinking of my garden.  I have always felt connected to the Earth, but especially when gardening. This is my attempt to record my experience--both as as a history and a spiritual journey.  My earliest memories are playfully relived on the small farm I grew up on.  Eating strawberries right off the ground, grapes off the vine and fresh rhubarb baked in a pie.  Having my own small garden outside my bedroom window, flanked by two large lilacs, where I planted flowers with my mother; the smell of lilacs still brings me back to that open window, lying on my bed, tranquil, content, dreaming of spring and all the bounty the Earth had to offer.  Spring is right around the corner, and I peacefully wait for the smell of spring that signals the awakening of terra firma.