Chores Again?

Two warm and wonderful days! Dare I think about gardening?

You betcha!

The prospect of gardening chores delights me, even though I know as summer presses in the chores won’t seem so magical.

Fun Chores

For the present, though, it’s time to shop for seeds, and imagine their lavish colors, and the inspiration for paintings they will generate. Remembering the Echinacea and Black-Eyed Susan seeds from last fall, I wonder if I can coax them to revive themselves.

Seeds and their promises are a happy contemplation on this morning.

I can imagine this will be the year that flowers abound; weeds wither, and I will never be without a bounty of flowers to arrange and give away! This never happened ever. But,

The Possible’s slow fuse is lit
By the Imagination.
~Emily Dickinson

Gorgeous gardens depend on more than good seeds and imagination. An enthusiastic gardener, using the right tools are better than daydreams.

Hmmmm. About my gardening tools . . .

The Garden Helper, the website inspiring my daydreams this morning, asked a timely question, and warned me:

Did you check your garden tools yet? 
Don’t wait ’til the spring rush to get your mower back in shape!  

A checklist of simple tasks for reviving the old gardening tools for the coming season applies to the gardener as well! Here’s what’s recommended for seasoning the tired tools – Garden chores for February : Clean, Sand, Sharpen,  OIL!

Chores for Tools

Wait – this sounds like a regime for tired old hearts, too.

Clean me up, dear Lord and I will be clean.
Smooth away, please my rough edges.
Keep my mind sharp and engaged with those You love.
And please keep my lamp trimmed!  

For I suspect winter isn’t through with us yet.

On the wind in February
Snowflakes float still,
Half inclined to turn to rain,
Nipping, dripping, chill.
~Christina Georgina Rossetti, “A Year’s Windfalls,” 1866