So It Begins

Hello everyone, and welcome!

I've been doing this blog thing for quite some time, in various forms. But now, I hope to create something useful, and insightful, while hopefully remaining personal. It will take a while for me to make this into what I want, so bear with me. It's only fair to tell you that I plan to separate some major topics, like my garden and all things organic, artwork, general life stuff. Other than that, you can expect entries about anything and everything.

I find it appropriate that this should happen in the spring. Also happening is my new garden! A friend of mine planted a beautiful container garden last year, and I fell in love with the idea. When I found myself in a townhouse apartment with a back patio and a bit of land, I determined that I was gonna try as well. Ordered organic heirloom seeds from Seeds Of Change and Sweet Corn Organic Nursery. 30 dollars later, I had seed packets for a dozen different kinds of veggies. I bought some organic potting mix at the hardware store, and planted a few seeds last Sunday evening. The first white sprouts have already shown! My onions are sprouting! I continued to stare at them yesterday when I got home, got chuckled at for it. Maybe I'm simple, but I'm just in awe of the whole process. Put little pebble like things in dirt. Add water. Watch miracles!

This is my first attempt at creating life (mwahahahaha), and if it doesn't end in shriveled seedlings or a pile of rotten vegetation I've forgotten to harvest, I'll count it a success. Naturally, I'm going the organic route. So I'll probably have to purchase netting, and various other things to keep critters away. We have a friendly neighborhood chipmunk who terrorizes Hazel, our chihuahua. That's funny, but if he touches my carrots, he dies. Ok, not really. I could never bring myself to do that. That's the downside of living in an apartment complex set into nature trails and up against farmland. But it's the only one. We're probably moving at the end of the summer anyway. Then who knows what I'll do with the garden....

We're also planting at my sweetheart's Mom's house. She moved into a sweet little house on 15 acres, with a pond, apple tress, and deer in the back yard. More critters. When we're over there, we have to watch our dogs so the hawks don't eat them. There, I'll have less control over what we use on the garden, but it's got to be better than buying stuff at the store. I'm super excited. Pictures to come soon! Ok, I'll wait until I have something more to show than little white hairs poking out of the dirt.

I'll leave you with the quote from which came my title:

Always behave like a duck - keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.
- Jacob Braude