Surprises to Brighten My Day



A wall in my kitchen



Well April is here (how did that happen so fast??) and as each day passes by I'm getting more and more excited for longer, brighter, warmer days. Even though it is Spring, yesterday almost felt a bit like Christmas. Not because of the weather (although it was a bit on the dark, gloomy and wet side), and not because I still have Christmas lights on my house (they were taken down in January for your information, unlike several of my neighbours who STILL have them up). No, it felt a bit like Christmas here yesterday because of the little gifts I received that completely brightened my day. The first thing to arrive was my order from the local seed company, West Coast Seeds. I've been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the first batch of seeds to go into my garden, and the first batch of seeds that I will be growing from, well, seed! In the last couple of years that I have been very lightly dabbling with gardening, I'd always purchased established plants and just transferred them into my yard. While there is nothing at all wrong with doing it that way, I've begun to realize that you don't really know much about that plant that you will soon be eating from. Was it genetically modified? Has it been altered in a way that will inhibit it to from producing good yeilds year after year? To know I'm getting the best possible plants I decided starting them from seed was the way to go. Now, I'm still new at this whole process, so I haven't yet begun starting seeds indoors. That is a project that I want to take on very soon, but it hasn't happened yet. Instead I am direct sowing the seeds right into my yard. There are some plants that I will inevitably have to buy established from the nursery because of the fact that I won't be starting them from seed indoors. One of those will be tomatoes, another zucchini, also cucumber and then the blueberry bushes I'm planning to plant. My goal for next year though, will be to start everything from seed. I'm also going to be reading up on how to save my own seeds from my own plants.

Seeds from West Coast Seeds are non-GMO, are untreated, and for me they are local

My West Coast Seed order was delivered to my door by our postal service, and shortly after my delivery I checked my mailbox for mail. What did I find there? Another little gift, or several! I found a bulging envelope with writing I didn't recognize. Curious as to what could be inside, I tore it open and I was greeted with this:

A lovely friend and fellow homeschooler (hi Kim!!) had promised to send me some seeds that she had, and that she did! She even took the time to make little pot-shaped packages for them. Aren't they darling? I almost don't want to open them! But when I read what they contain, I can't help but get excited for all of the things that will be growing in my yard.

Today is still on the dark, gloomy and wet side but my day is still bright because of small gifts like these. I plan on heading outside this afternoon and putting my sugar snap peas into some dirt. Afterward I think I will drink some tea and daydream about what's to come.