If you love something, set it free . . .

"If you love something, set it free and it will come back to you" was just one of the many banal cliches popular in the 1970s.  The truth is something less exciting.  Setting something free is often the right thing to do regardless of the outcome.

Today, I set my little frog free because it was the right thing for the frog.

In the last few days, our frog was taking field trips around the living room but returning to his bromelid to sleep each night.  This morning, however, I found him in the kitchen trapped between the glass and the screen of a partially opened window.  It was clear that our frog was longing to return to his outdoor home.

I carefully manipulated him into my cupped hands and transferred him outside to the herb garden which is full of bright green parsley.  He hopped off my hand and vanished into the foliage.

I was amazed at how sad I felt to be saying good-bye to him.  He brought so much laughter and joy into our home this winter.   Everyone in our family loved to greet him in his bromelid home and he didn't seem frightened in our presence.

We hope he is telling his froggy friends about his fantastic winter holiday. 

Good-bye, sweet green friend.  We will miss you.

The miracle of germination

Along with many other gardeners in central Alabama, I've started my germination trays in preparation for spring planting. 

We discuss and utilize all sorts of methods to facilitate the process.  We clean the trays with soap and water to minimize the chance of infection.  We carefully choose a medium in which to plant the seeds; some folks purchase specially formulated soiless mixes while others (myself included) use the best aged compost.  We carefully warm the soil, keep the water saturation at the perfect level and cover the seeds with damp paper towels to keep them from accidentally drying out.  I even create a chart so I know exactly how many seeds of which varieties are in each cell.

Everyday,  I carefully monitor temperature and moisture, patiently (or impatiently) waiting for each tiny plant to sprout. 

The truth of the matter is that very little of what I do has anything to do with successful germination.   Germination is a miraculous process that God created for the propagation of plants.  Nothing I do actually makes the seeds germinate or causes the plants to grow. 

Gardening is participating with God in the act of creation and germinating seeds for my garden becomes the privilege of watching the miracle of creation unfold.

Better than groundhogs

The groundhog did not see his shadow on February 2, 2016, but what exactly does "we will not have six more weeks of winter" mean?  In the northern states it may mean that winter will be longer than normal but here in the south it may mean that spring will come early because if he had seen his shadow "six more weeks of winter" would mean winter would have been longer than normal. 

The groundhog predictions have thoroughly confused me so I decided to look around my own backyard for some signs of spring.   There are new green buds and shoots quietly sprouting and swelling in every corner of my gardens. 

The tree olive's delicate blooms are filling the air with the sweet fragrance of spring.  The woodland phlox growing in the crannies of a sun warmed rock is bright with pink flowers and the forsythia bush is just aching to burst into a bright yellow cloud of blossoms. 

Winter is still here but spring is just around the corner!