Getting Ready to Get Dirty

 "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." - Margaret Atwood

The weather is warming up and I've been walking around outside, inspecting my existing flower beds, contemplating where to put new flower beds, and of course pondering how my gardens will grow.

I am revitalized at the thought of Spring and the idea of being covered in soil, sweat, and maybe even a few bugs. Indeed, your thoughts are duly noted Ms. Atwood.

Water Heaters and Wells

For months now, my water heater has been trying its best to stop working. The main symptoms? Leaking from the bottom of the tank and tepid water, even after we replaced the water heater elements. The solution? Purchase a new water heater.  

This small inconvenience created by my dying water heater brings to mind my grandparents. For most of their adult lives, they did not have indoor plumbing. Consequently, they had to draw water from a well to use for cooking, drinking, washing, and for watering my grandmother's plants and garden.

Their well house stood a few feet away from the gate that led to the main house. Each morning my grandmother would go to said well house and use the pulley to lower the long, metal well bucket down until it hit the surface of the water below. Once it was filled to capacity, she would pull it back up and flip a lever to empty the water from the bucket into the empty metal buckets she had brought with her from the house. The number of trips she made back and forth depended on how much water was needed for the day. When weather permitted, she'd store water on the front porch in huge, silver wash tubs and use it accordingly.

As kids, me and my sister took many a bath in those big wash tubs. Oftentimes, the water was too hot or too cold and we would lament as my grandmother tried her best to scrub us clean. Some mornings, however, when she was too busy or just tired of hearing us grumble, we got lucky and only had to suffer a quick wipe-down using a wash cloth, a bar of soap, and a pan of water she heated up on the stove top.

Did we appreciate the effort it took for her to actually get the water for all of those baths? Probably not. We were kids and we didn't like baths, regardless of where the water came from. Also, we were chronic complainers, which didn't help. But clean or dirty, gripes and all, my grandparents let us visit as often as we wanted and in the process, we created wonderful memories that will never wash away.

A Short Synopsis of a Garden

A garden is a patch of soil or dirt that contains plants in various stages of development. Thus, tomato plants may be propped up by wooden stakes or supported by wire cages. Vining plants such as pole beans, cucumbers, and sugar peas are wrapped around taut twine that runs from one side of the garden to the other, or they cling to a piece of wire fence while they grow. Onions, potatoes, and carrots are temporarily hidden underground, but properly placed plant markers remind the sower where they are. Hot pepper bushes, herbs, and flowers provide much needed patches of color and fragrance, and everything grows accordingly and at its own pace, including the gardener.  

Runners and Gardeners

I am a runner. Regardless of the weather, five days a week, often while it is still dark outside, I climb out of bed, lace up my shoes, and head out the door. I have run on treadmills, trails, tracks, sidewalks, in a parking garage, in the park, in the basement, and around a graveyard.  I've huffed my way up huge hills, fallen down a few smaller ones, and landed face-first on a sidewalk after tripping over a metal weather drain. And although I'm not terribly athletic, I am persistent, which has helped me maintain a running schedule for approximately fifteen years now.

I am also a gardener, and in my opinion, runners and gardeners have several things in common. First, both are committed to completing the task at hand. For runners, this means finishing their run, regardless of circumstances, i.e. inclement weather, schedule changes at work, pain and /or exhaustion. In the case of the gardener, it is a matter of sowing, reaping, and repeating as necessary, often amid the same circumstances.

Second, runners and gardeners always look at the big picture. They realize it takes not just one day of running or working in the garden to achieve their desired goals, but many, many days.

Finally, both the runner and the gardener are life-long learners, which means they are constantly looking for ways to improve their craft, and they learn from their mistakes (after I fell on that sidewalk, I learned to run AROUND the weather drain on subsequent runs). Consequently, they tweak a little here, try something new over there, all in an effort to obtain the best possible outcome.

So, whether you're a runner, a gardener, or a runner who gardens, actively pursue what you love to do. And remember, although pathways and gardens are frequently rough and rocky, they are also rewarding for those who have committed to finish the race.