The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. ~Hanna Rion

I love winter, the cold, the snow, the time to retreat into the warmth and comfort of home. I love the weekend nights sharing suppers with family and friends after shoveling snow, packing wood on the fire, watching the kids play in the snow and coming in with red noses and cold hands. I love the holiday season, cooking with family and friends and eating til you're stuffed.Then I love it when we see the first hint that spring is on its way and the winter hiatus has ended and the snows have ebbed from all but the mountain tops. Spring has arrived early this year and the lust for getting the garden in shape and growing is like an a magnet that pulls at my desires to dig in the earth and plant.The garden is being enlarged this year! Not much, but just enough to add the bed for winter squash and cabbage.
Along with the extra square footage of garden space, we added 3 apple trees to the surrounding yard. Semi-dwarf Honey Crisp, Macintosh and Cameo apples trees grace the East side of our yard. The uncertainties of these times calls for measures that can renew belief in our selves and our way of life. Gardening provides the avenue to meet these needs, providing nourishment for our families and creating a positive impact on the earth. It is like a gift that keeps on giving.I can already feel my senses calming. The process of gardening restores in me what begins to diminish through the winter months.As soon as the first green shoots appear the
excitment begins!