breaking ground

I often get excited about projects and start them with gusto but never quite finish them. For those familiar with Myers-Briggs personality types, I am INFP, and apparently this is a common trait for my type. I think I read something about us being perfectionists and things are never quite perfect enough to be finished. I'm not sure if perfectionism is at the root of my unfinished business, although I've already edited and reposted this initial blog post 5 times so it might not be entirely untrue. In April while I was off from teaching and my mother-in-law Glad and her husband Ian were in town for a visit. I, as I often do, had a project in mind. I wanted to start my first garden. I was hoping due to the physical needs of the garden, unlike my paintings, which sit quite happily with no need for water or fertilizer or protection from pests, I would be more motivated to regularly invest some time in my new hobby. I already had a few seedlings I had purchased on an impulse buy at the co-op, a bag of potting soil from the farm store, and more seedlings that caught my eye on that trip. I also had a small patch of sandy dirt that I had attempted to clear of weeds in my backyard. My in-laws were kind enough to donate their vacation time to helping me start this endeavor. After some discussion, multiple trips to farm and hardware stores, 30 bags of compost, and some bonding while working with the in-laws I found myself with a lovely raised garden bed. I promised pictures of the garden and joked that I would start a blog. Little did I know, I would become slightly obsessed and very proud of my garden. My new habit of checking on the garden's progress multiple times a day and sharing cherry tomato counts with anyone who will listen has led me to think that blogging might be a fun and slightly less annoying way to share my new hobby with people who actually want to hear about it. So here we are. (Photos: my garden on day one, my garden today, my six cherry tomatoes)