Waiting for Spring

Normally, we would be planting a garden by now but this winter has lingered longer than any since the late 1970s. Old timers say that planting corn early can help limit the infestation of bugs. So, we usually have corn planted in March. This year, though, the ground is much too wet and they are saying don’t plant anything until the first week of April.

The trouble with our gardening is getting the operation to work on all cylinders at once. Year before last we had grew green beans until neither of us could stand the thought or bending over to pick one. That year the peas refused to cooperate.

Last summer, we planted beans and the most beautiful, luscious green vines you ever saw spread out in wondrous spring glory. They were beautiful to see as they waved merrily in the summer breeze. Hopes were high.

The only problem was that no beans grew on them. The peas did well though.

The old timers say you mustn’t put too much fertilizer on beans for it will create leaf growth and no beans. Must be true.

The old timers are disappearing and I don’t know what we will do then for either guidance or entertainment. They have wisdom and knowledge that one can’t find in a book or even on the internet. They draw it from a source called “They Say.” I’m not sure where it is but perhaps I will be allowed access if I live long enough.

The old timers also hold a vast treasure house of stories and legends about the land where we live, some of them probably true. They provide much richer entertainment in the telling than any TV show.

When I was young and impatient, I often thought I didn’t want to hear one more story about the Great Depression and how hard times were. Now I often think I would give much of what I own just to sit around the supper table one more time and listen.