Last summer there was no gardening for me, for no other reason than I just didn't do it. I quit. I took one look at soil that looked like nothing would ever make it there anyways and I just plain gave up. There was absolutely no fight left in me to do battle in what appeared to be a hopeless situation as far as gardening was concerned. So for the months of June and July, when I could have been enjoying a pastime that I had done for years and years in Kansas, I sat here mostly inside the house feeling homesick and lonesome for home. Not THIS year. NOT this summer.
The market that the plants came from back home in Hutchinson is a great one, located down on the south end of town. Kind of reminds me of a place that my grandparents would have gone to back in their day. All kinds of wares are inside of it in addition to a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds for growing them yourself and one of the greatest "walls" of candy that a kid or anyone with a sweet tooth would want to ask for. On Saturday morning as I drove by there on my way into South Hutchinson for a bit, I happened to glance over and see it. Out front, in all of their splendor, the fresh plants for the garden stood ready and waiting for someone just like me to buy them and take them home. It took me about a second to decide to stop and so that's just what I did.
Standing at the counter with nearly 2 dozen plants in my basket, I had to smile a bit to myself. I have never been satisfied with just putting a couple of tomato plants into the ground. Why plant two when you could really be planting ten? I love tomatoes and later on this summer when they start to produce (see I am already thinking positive about their chances of surviving and thriving in this not so good soil of ours here) I will be canning them for use later on this year. It felt good to be standing there inside of Smith's Market and purchasing things that I've planted routinely over my years in Kansas. I tucked them as safely as I could into the few available nooks and crannies still in my car, hoping that they would survive the long trip over the mountains the next day. They survived and even after last summer, so did I. Sometimes when a person longs for the familiarity of life that was once known, a trip to buy garden plants can do just the trick.
The deer came back last evening and we spotted them across the road as they enjoyed their evening meal on the alfalfa. There were 8 of them, mostly yearlings who survived through the winter. It was my first time to see them this season and when I heard Mike yell at me to "grab the camera", I already knew what it was for. How I loved those animals last summer, the very first friends that I made here along the Western Slopes. My camera card became filled with their images and some of the photos were pretty good actually. I try to treat them with respect and don't go too close to them. Most of the time, after a while it would seem, they just ignore me. Mike reminded me last evening as I was taking their photos from a distance that I need to always be careful. They are beautiful wild animals, not tame ones that would seem to line up and straighten their hair and smile before they have their pictures taken. He is right and sometimes I get too caught up in how beautiful they are to remember that.
The clock on the wall is saying it's now nigh onto 5 in the morning and it's soon time to get dressed and out the door for the day. They are waiting on me just up the road a ways, the "18", and we hope to enjoy a great Tuesday at school together. Time flies by us each and every day and when I told them yesterday about shedding a few tears at home on Sunday because I realized that our days were numbered together, those kids understood. That's one of things I admire about them. Little by little, throughout this school year, they have grown to be more empathetic not only about my situation but towards one another as well. Those kids have grown up and come so far since the day we first met one another now nearly 9 months ago. I'm so very proud of them. With a lump in my throat I said to them that soon they would call a new person their teacher and that whoever that teacher would be, that I wanted them to do their best and have a successful fifth-grade year. I didn't cry. I was brave.
Wherever this day takes you my dear friends and family, I hope and pray that it will be a good one for you. May you find the peace you are looking for, may you be blessed in everything. I am far away from so many of you this day but in my heart you are as close as ever. Have a great Tuesday everyone. This is the 6th day of May, 2014. It's a great day to be alive in. You thought yesterday was pretty fine? Just wait until you see today. :) I have said before, I will say again......thank you for being my friends. Where would I be in this life without you? In a lot of trouble, that's where!
Two of the guys that hung around the alfalfa patch last summer. I grew to love them. It was my first experience with being this close to herds of deer. I'm hoping they aren't partial to tomato and pepper plants in the garden. Guess we will soon find out.
Some, but not all, of the new family members I received last year when Mike and I were married. This was the night before we left Kansas to go back to Colorado and begin life here. Love these guys all. Next week late, Mike and I will travel back to Kansas for graduation for his niece Sarah, not shown here because she was the official picture taker. It will be nice to spend time in Wichita and the surrounding Sedgwick County area to visit them all.
Looking so forward to seeing these good folks once again, our dear friends Leroy and Anne from back home in Kansas. They will be out here as they enjoy their life on the road soon. Good people who mean the world to those two "kids" shown beside them.
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