In the garden...

The spring equinox! Something is different despite the endless rain and cold--birds are singing-ones I haven't heard in a while, my outdoor fish have awakened from their long hibernation, although still a bit groggy. A few leaves have appeared on the tree peony as well as sweet-smelling blossoms on the daphne. In the garden it is too wet to work the earth but I can plan... maybe it is not too early to sow vegetable seeds in the greenhouse.

Sowing seeds. A sentence, an idea or a certain character can rocket us into a thousand pages or more. Cultivating and fertilizing the earth, digging out the weeds and supporting the tiny fragile stems--this embryonic moment may not be the time to share. Only when the stems are strong do we dare divulge the new idea for the short story, novel or poem. From then until harvest it's constant weeding, honing and streamlining to uncover the fruit, the flower, the jewel.

This past weekend I handed my ms to an editor who will have it for two months. A weight has been lifted, now I can get back to my other work that has been put aside for so long. In the garden it may be too wet to work the earth but there are many other projects to tackle to prepare for the lush and fragrant blossoms of summer.