"The earth is so kind, you tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest".
Thats a quote on an old wooden post that greets me every Sun as I wheel my barrow towards the compost heap. That quote never fails to elicit a smile no matter how tired, sweaty and hot I am.
Its been two months since I started working the plots at Sunshine Community gardens under the strict but kind supervision of the secretary. Its been a wonderful journey, hard work no doubt but loving every moment of it. I still end up sore by the end of day but have improved from the time when I barely subsisted on lemon juice and advil at the end of Sun.
Every year, come March, I would queue up at Sunshine to buy their seedlings and also to wander the gardens. Little did I know that this wonderful place would embrace me so warmly and give me so much more than I can ever hope to contribute.
I started with weeding but have now graduated to planting more tomato and pepper plants than I can count. Digging, watering, composting, weeding fills my Sun afternoon under the intense heat of the Texas Sun. There is something about tilling the earth, planting and watching the first flower and fruits, that you forget about everything else around you. Heat, thirst, hunger vanish as you shovel compost and listen to the rooster crow from the chicken coop. Its truly an unbelievable experience to see warm eggs just laid in the coop.
The garden presents something new every weekend, its a field of poppies that greeted me one Sun, and now the poppies are gone but the bright larkspur is in full show with its varied bright colors. Two months ago when I started, Ila had made sure I could identify the young larkspur and poppy plants from the weeds, all the while promising me that they would be beautiful in spring, and so they are, surpassing all my expectations.
It truly is heart warming to cut a cabbage or swiss chard, take it home and sit down to a meal cooked with them. It almost makes me teary eyed at how much mother nature gives back for the little care that you give her. I feel so grateful for each morsel knowing how much effort went into getting my food on the table.
More than anything, I am so grateful to be outdoors and working in the fields. The air is fresh with the scent of jasmine, lavender and fields of spearmint. Nothing beats the smell of parched earth getting its first drink of water. This lovely place and the people here have taken me under their wing and given me a warm gentle hug when I needed it the most. My dream of growing my own food has come true! Every week I take home that day's harvest, from sweet fava beans, dill leaves, swiss chard, fennel, cabbages of every color and variety to tons of mint, cilantro and parsley. I feel truly blessed for this experience!
