SPRING STARTS TODAY

SPRING REMINDS ME OF THREE THINGS FROM CHILDHOOD


 Mayapple was the first thing I remember coming to life in the woods where we played. It was followed by Redbud trees blossoming and then Dogwoods. The woods was a fascinating place to play, especially in the spring when things were coming to life and it was still light under the trees.



Farmers burned their tobacco beds. Usually a huge pile of wood and branches was assembled and set on fire. The fire killed the weed seeds in the ground and the ashes provided nutrients for the tobacco seeds. The farmer would sprinkle tobacco seeds in the "bed" and cover them with a canvass to protect them from the cold until the plants were ready to transplant.



Once the tender plants were big enough, they would be "pulled" and  transplanted in the field.



Everyone in the country where I grew up had a vegetable garden. It was necessary to feed the family in the summer and provide food for canning to hold them over during the winter. My mother had a huge garden and she canned well over a 100 jars of fruits and vegetables each summer.  Working in the garden was my mother's "quiet time." She was out there almost every evening in the spring and early summer.



I learned how to plant and tend a garden from my grandmother. She had the time to spend with me and she gave me my very own plot to plant and tend at the end of her large garden. I was always so proud to take vegetables home to my mother from "my garden."