I've been a little preoccupied lately with the fact that I am going to put in a garden for the first time in about 20 years!  We have a huge wind break of trees around the house and that means one good thing in the summer, shade!  Shade is not very conducive to a productive garden, so our old garden spot is no more.

As many of you know, we leased out 5 acres to a young couple for the past 5 years.  They had a huge garden.  I had the pleasure and good fortune of walking out the door and north of the wind break to pick anything I wanted from their garden.  This year they are actually growing on their own land.  I am happy for them, but I miss the life and activity at the garden spot.  They were here yesterday to dig some herbs and remove the sprinkler pipes.  It was melancholy for both Jacy and I.  I wasn't home until they got ready to leave, but it was nice to see their pickup at the field again.  Jacy said she and her helper reminisced  about last year and past years there in that spot, telling the new intern all about it.  And so begins another chapter in both of our lives.

I feel as though I am relearning everything about gardening.  I've been reading and talking with successful gardeners and gleaning tips on growing.  When I was in jr. high and high school, I had a lot of inside plants and they all flourished.  I have grown a successful garden, but it has been a lot of years!  I feel like it's a maiden voyage!  I am nervous and excited at the same time.

We've been having some nice, spring rains here.  As the temperatures warm up, that only means one thing, mushrooms, namely morels.  Our son is a mushroom head.  He loves to eat them but loves to hunt them even more.  He's got an eagle-eye for them and can spot the smallest of mushrooms several yards away.  It's amazing!  We are hoping to reap some of the fruits of his labor soon!

Well, I am off to plan out my garden!