Getting my hands dirty

Isabel came by early this morning to help me prepare the garden. The sun was out and quite hot. Isabel told me that it's still too wet to plant most things, but apparently radishes and carrots are hardy enough that they should survive any downpour. So we removed the plastic sheets that were protecting the soil and preventing too many weeds from growing while the previous owners were not around. It seems to have done the trick. The soil was pretty clean. Then we mixed in some compost, sand and lime. Then we made indentations with our finger in the dirt and dropped the seeds in the groove and covered them with earth again. Then, Isabel showed me how to start seedlings in little containers in the greenhouse. We planted broccoli, lettuce and a few flowers, too. I thoroughly enjoyed my first real day of playing in the dirt. My hands were filthy and everything was muddy, but I loved every minute of it. I'm really, really bad at remembering names of flowers and what herbs look like. I'm quite confident that I will be plucking out beautiful plants while leaving the weeds to grow. Calling myself a novice is even generous. I'm a bit embarrassed how little I know about such things. I'm hoping that if I plant a seed and it grows, I'll be so excited that I might be able to remember its name. My parents have had many gardens over the years, and they've got green thumbs and Kevin's parents have always had a very large garden in their backyard and they tend to it with great care daily. I think they would all be appalled at my ignorance when it comes to gardening. Isabel assures me it's all trial and error, and that I shouldn't be worried about failing. I will fail, I will succeed and I will learn a whole lot in between. This is a whole different classroom for me. I am paying attention though. I'm beginning to understand and appreciate the meaning of Thanksgiving... after you've harvested a good crop and are able to feed your family and friends, how wonderful that must feel, since nature is so very tricky and nothing is certain. We're learning not to take anything for granted, that's for sure. It started to rain early today, about 11:30 am, so we put the shovels away and cleaned up. Isabel left shortly after.