chill pill

 Late spring is a great time for hiking.  Everyone is out enjoying the sunshine...including the BABIES!

Moms kept close eyes on us as we admired.

Herons were out...

Recent weather has been perfect for turtle-sunning...

...and muskrat-swimming.

It's so lovely to see the trees in bloom...

...and the woods carpeted with wildflowers!

But there hasn't been much time for relaxing hikes.  I've been busier this spring than ever before.  All front beds needed to be weeded and heavily mulched.  The new side bed from the last post needed the same, plus seedlings planted out.  New seedlings need daily watering, and it's been pretty dry here.  Then there are the "old" seedlings to contend with.  I planted out my cool weather annuals a bit early...or maybe they stayed in their containers too long...but they're stressed, seriously stressed.  Many of them have started putting up pathetic little blooms.

I think that recovery is very probable, since this happened last year with my too-LATE seedlings.

I cut all seedlings in half to promote root growth and fertilized.  Fingers crossed that they recover and bloom.

Another unpleasant discovery:  weeds are really persistent.  I laid down thick paper and heavy mulch...and they're pushing through the seams.  Last year's garden path is thick landscape fabric with light mulch...weed seeds have germinated in the 1/4" of decomposed mulch.  The heavy mulching that I have been laying down for the past couple of weeks?  Weeds pushing through.  The areas that I haven't had time to weed and mulch?  Weed fiestas!  And as I stressed over the ground that I've already cultivated, I decided to cultivate another 1000 square feet.  ;)

Crazy, right?  I can't help myself.  Once I commit to something, I tend to go full bore.  I can't seem to slow down, even though:  I've been working for hours a day, constantly covered in dirt, body aching, picking off ticks, house destroyed, business neglected, quick junk meals.  My all-or-nothing personality has been showing through in full force.  It's a hobby, but I'm not enjoying it.

It's been a pretty powerful lesson for me.  Now I'm (working on) practicing an attitude of calm, of gratitude toward my little successes, of peacefulness toward what I still need to do.  I'm trying to accept the imperfections (which is not easy for me!) and balance my time a little more.  

I realized that I've been so busy stressing and working 'til I drop that I haven't enjoyed some of the real pleasures of spring...like sleepy porch cats...

...blooming geranium and muscari, a happy but completely accidental complementary planting...

...early morning sunlight streaming down the hill from next door...

...happy green plants that I have somehow nurtured from teeny tiny seeds...

...even the first blooms of the anemones that I started in FEBRUARY.  I nearly missed these as I frantically shoveled mulch and ripped out weeds!

The killdeer pair, nesting somewhere around my garden space...

...basically ignored, other than snapping a quick picture!

It's a work in progress, this slowing down and finding balance.  Yesterday, I finished mulching the front beds and potted up nearly-rootbound cosmos, and planted over 75 sunflower seeds...

...but I also did a load of laundry, read three chapters of a book, and watched T.V. for two hours.  Pure bliss!  Tabitha is trying to inspire me by example.  See how much fun I'm having with your plants?

 She is so wise!  :)

Have a great (and relaxing!) week!