SPRING! (At least for a minute)

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Guess what I did yesterday! OK, I'm just going to tell you, I'm too excited to wait until you figure it out - I played in the dirt!!!!

Yep, Little Guy and I went out and worked in our garden. This year, it's not "my" garden, but "our" garden. I finally have someone in this family who is as tuned into nature and I am and I am going to enjoy every moment. My little guy is just like me - he notices the little things like the shapes of leaves, the different hues of green in a patch of grass, the sounds of far-away birds, and the shapes of clouds. We're going to have a great time in our garden this year!

(Now, I know it doesn't look like much, but we live in an apartment. Our landlord was kind enough to let us till up the yard as long as we promised not to make it a huge chunk of yard. So, I planned the garden to be in an "L" shape = 60 feet long by 3 feet wide on one part, and 15 feet by 3 feet at the other. It's not huge, but it's enough to have fun in, right?)

So, we got out the little shovels and dug in the dirt. We cleared all of the leftover debris from winter, like sticks fallen from the trees and built-up piles of leaves. We cleared out the dead marigolds and morning glories that I left all winter (hey - it cold cold out fast and I got lazy!) Then, we got down on our hands and knees and collected every fallen seed from the two species so we could make seed bombs for his grandmas. There were thousands of seeds and Little Guy worked like a trooper.

... and dump it out!

Fill it up...

 We were out there for three hours and he never once got bored! Now, he's only 28 months old and he usually can't stand doing the same thing for more than 15-20 minutes. But yeaterday, he didn't stop when a train went by, or even when a firetruck followed by an ambulance flew past with sirens & lights blaring! Nope, he had a job to do and he was going to do it!

We found grubs, clovers, cool-looking rocks, and even a few lethargic worms. We discovered that the ground is still frozen in the shady part of the yard. We talked about what we plan on growing in our garden. So far, he's decided we will have peas, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, and lots of strawberries. Sounds good to me!

Now, all I need to do is plan out where we will plant everything and find some good organic seeds and plants! I think I may try out a few of the ideas listed on Code Name: Mama's 10 Unique Gardening Activities for Kids, too. I really like the idea of planting things that are fun to touch and hear. Little Guy is always wanting to touch everything and having plants just for him to do that to will protect the ones he might damage.

OH! I can't wait until it's really spring and we can get out there everyday!!!

Gotta love the little spot of dirt on his nose!