And so it begins ....

Spring has been slow to arrive to the east coast of Iowa.

The lingering cool weather and late season snow storms have reminded us ... this is still the Midwest. And Mother Nature continues to let me know that she is in charge.

But today ... the sun was warm and welcoming. We jumped into the garden today .... even though another round of cold weather and possibly snow, is on its way.

Honey and I tried to release the perennial beds from their winter doldrums. Tucked under leaves and weeds was the lush green growth of the columbine and delphinium. We cut back peonies to see the "eyes" of the peonies emerge. The garden residue from 2017 was burned.

I filled containers with fresh potting soil. I severely under-estimated the size of my new pots and only bought four bags today.

As I was filling the pots .... I realized I have no sense of volume! Just like putting away supper's leftovers, I have too much supper for the too small Tupperware! Unfortunately, with potting mix ... I have the opposite problem.

I stretched the potting mix by filling the bottom third with those awful Styrofoam packing peanuts. I know they will eventually end up in the landfill but maybe ... just maybe ... they can live in the bottom of my pots for several years.

We worked hard today ... planting perennial flowers and sowing lettuce in the vegetable garden.  Even after a long hot shower, my muscles ached. And again, I regret another winter spent at the sewing machine and not in a gym.

But ... sore muscles and all ...  the garden proves to be the ultimate healer again. Just seeing the tulips and daffodils pushing through the soil thrills me. The tiny bachelor's buttons seedlings are coming up. Even the dried stems of lavender release their scent. The garden is coming alive again.

Today ..... all is well with my soul.