the garden lifestyle

You can't procrastinate in a garden.  Especially not an Alaskan garden.  A long, leisurely summer compressed into three months, accelerated by the long days and moderate temperatures.  You can practically see the grapevines climbing, the strawberries ripening, the zucchini popping out of nowhere.  The life-cycle of the seed popping from the earth, blossoming, rushing to set seeds before winter gets here.  Like the maddening tick-tock of the clock, the garden grows and grows.  Weed today because tomorrow it will be out of control.  Miss the spinach at its prime in the morning and by the afternoon it has bolted.  Seeds won't grow if they aren't planted.  You said you meant to pick the strawberries?  Too late!  The birds beat you to it!

Like all of the best things in life, a daily dose of gardening keeps me and the garden healthy.  Eating, drinking, exercising, journaling cannot be crammed into one day of the week.  They all have to be a part of my lifestyle.  It is a great way to live, connected to the rhythms of the earth and the cycles of the seasons.  I begin and end each day with a walk through the garden, checking on the progress of everything.  I harvest what is ready, pull some weeds and make notes of longer projects that need to be done.  I eat from the garden, I read about the garden, I even dream about the garden.  And tomorrow I'll do it all again.