seeds to seedlings

It's a magical time of year.

While the ground is (finally) crusted with snow and the wind has at least a little bite to it (honestly, this global warming bit is wreaking havoc with an otherwise dramatic description of winter)... seed catalogs are starting to arrive in the mail.

I always get excited this time of year. This is when I start thinking about seeds, because it's a major part of what waits for me on the other side of winter. I love snuggling under a blanket with tea on a cold winter night, plotting out what I most want to plant, figuring out when I need to start my seeds, calculating when I think the last frost will be.

This year marks a new chapter in gardening for me... I'll be planting in a community garden plot instead of in my own backyard, which is cool and urban and, while I'll miss the 7th season of raspberries in the backyard and wonder how the grapevine is doing... it's still a garden. And I am excited to talk with other urban gardeners. I cannot wait to turn over some new dirt in this new life. It seems rather appropriate, actually. I'm excited to have a place where I actually can grow cucumbers. And to not have to fence in the garden to keep the dog from eating my tomatoes. And I can always pick and freeze oodles of berries at the organic berry farms I frequent in the summer. (ooh, that's something to look forward to as well.)

Just about 4 months til the plants go in the ground. Let the countdown begin.