Wherever I am

I have learned to be content no matter what the circumstances... sometimes it takes a bit longer to remember not to murmur against the circumstances on the way to that contentment.


Wherever I am, there is a way to be content. There is beauty in everything and everywhere you might look. We spread mulch early this spring.. I spread a little, my husband stepped in and rescued me and spread the bulk of the pile. It provides a weed barrier and a moisture conserver... and some unexpected guests. When our rainy season started, mushrooms began
popping up anywhere you'd care to look. No.. the orange isn't a mushroom or fungus, but one of the navals from my daughter's yard. Even after 25 years it still excites me to go out and pick an orange and sit down and eat it.

With no energy to tend or plant a garden at the moment and so many plants wearied by the heat, there is still beauty to be found.. even in the fungus that pops up with the rains. I wonder how long those spores were laying dormant in the trees etc before hitting optimal condition to leap into life.

Seeds amaze me. My grandfather died approximately 50 years ago. about 20 years after that my husband and I started cleaning out some of the sheds he had filled with 'treasures. One of those treasures was an old metal box filled with seeds. We didn't expect any seeds to have survived years and years of winter freezing and summer baking, but we tried some of the tomatoes and they all grew. I have no idea what the variety, but for a seed to be that tenacious about life, it deserved to have a home. I also have some seeds that are up to 10 years old. I'm planning on at least trying them all out for viability.

I think its been so hot I'm totally ready for the cooler weather that's coming. Days that aren't quite as hot as they were still feel stifling and tiring. It stirred a memory of how we felt in April up north. Not ONE more day of winter!! We couldn't wait for sunny days and warmth to shake us from the winter doldrums.

But.. to everything there is a season and sometimes when we don't take the time to rest and rejuvenate, something comes along to cause it to happen. In Florida you rest a lot more during the hot months than during the cooler months. I've started seeds.. and now much get a place ready for them. Some will go into pots and some into the ground. If they don't make it in the ground I'll know better next year. That tentative nature that crept in is still alive and kicking.
I've gone to some of the favorite blogs and looked at the pictures of their gardens and glimpses into their enthusiasm for their upcoming gardens. I've reread things that are saved from the GardenWeb Florida forum. Enough to inspire, but not enough to actually get me outside doing. I used to tell people that if there was something really bothering them and they couldn't find a solution, they could always rely on "This too shall pass."