Fingers in the Dirt

The joy of gardening. Is that really what it is? I admit from time to time I like to putter in the dirt. Planting an herb garden or tomatoes for summer. But I often grow tired of it and move on to something else. It could be several years before I plant again after growing a bountiful crop of items on the porch. I had a house once where I toiled over the yard endlessly. It was funny. I started off enthralled by the yard, and then year after year the mowing, planting, pruning and weeding became such a heavy burden, that I rented the house out and moved to an apartment!

There is nothing more wonderful than picking something you grew and then eating it, cooking it or giving it to an appreciative friend. To bad you can't bottle that kind of feeling. It would be a better pick me up than the mood elevating herb St. John's Wart. I dare say it would last longer.

Maybe what I'm really talking about is just playing. Kids play in the dirt; kick it, sculpt it, throw it, build with it and chase things in it. Maybe I'm reliving a part of my childhood when I 'let' myself play in the dirt for awhile. I can put things where I want, be creative and artistic with trinkets, use tools to construct and destroy and if I'm lucky it adds beauty to my environment for awhile. I'm lucky to live in a green part of the country. Where trees, grass, flowers and critters abound. I don't have to do much to enjoy nature. I think if I lived in the desert that would be a different matter. I'd probably have to have one of those inside gardens. Something with trees and walkways. Here I just have to sit on my porch and enjoy. I feel pretty lucky. In the summer I can hear the birds chirping and the rustling of small animals moving through the trees and grass hunting for food. I can hear the trickle of a small nearby stream and somehow, everything is alright. So maybe the puttering in the dirt is just my bodies way of making sure I stay close to nature. Either way...there's nothing like having your fingers in the dirt.




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In The Good Ol' Summer Time

It's here again. That dreaded time of year. Adults work hard to rid themselves of a few extra pounds gained over the winter months, and children start daydreaming of school being out for the summer. I look despairingly at the spare pillow I have acquired over the winter months and I too promise to lose a few pounds before swimsuit season arrives.


Life seemed so much simpler when I was a child, water was fun and sunshine felt great. Now all I do is sit by the pool, and burn. Who messed up the childlike system for summer? I blame it all on the clothing industry. Shame on you for designing swimsuits that shrink in water! And what were you thinking with the thong bikini? I don't mean to sound old fashioned. But when did it become a necessity to show everything I have, outlined with dental floss? Let's face it, not everyone has the body of Christy Brinkly. I know I don't have any chance of ever fitting into a suit that reveals a midriff not unless Goodyear goes into designing.

Pardon my outrage at such atrocities, but where are the women with imperfect bodies who love water as much as I do? - Hiding in their backyards with a water hose, that's where. And just where do you think those men with jolly old Saint Nicholas style bellies are? - I'd really like to know, I can't find their hiding place anywhere, and I'm jealous.

Children really do get away with simple summer pleasures. No worries about flabby guts, or thunder thighs. They just laugh and play. Even early teenage years seem to be preoccupied with how they compare to their peers, but at least if they don't think well of themselves, they don't let it spoil their fun.

Perhaps the time has come to start a new trend. Throw out those thong bikini's and burn those designer nightmares, and come put on a T-shirt and shorts like me. We'll play the way we did when we were kids. Grab those inner tubes, bring out those flip flops and silly straw hats, and pack up the kids in the ol' mini van and head for the water. Get wet, and remember what it felt like to splash around like an idiot in the sunshine.