The Winter of our content

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"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind"?- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Despite it being the dirty end of winter, it seems that spring has arrived early. The day is sunny and warm enough to necessitate my wearing sunblock and a hat when out in the yard.

Looking out of windows at the surroundings and marvelling at the beauty is one thing, being able to spend time outside in the fresh air, another joy entirely.

Laptop in tow, I have moved outside to sit on the deck to write my blog. With a warm cup of tea, the sounds of birds chirping in the trees, and the sound of rushing water from the stream, it is a perfect place to sit and think about the virtues of country life.

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Plants are starting to bud, it wont be long before an explosion of colour brightens the scene. The snow has all melted around the house, leaving wheat coloured grass that looks ever so drab. Some nice bright flowers will we very welcome.
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As warm as it is, growing season is not yet here. Our garden plot, surrounded with a Moose proof fence looks as though it is just yearning to be planted with fruits and vegetables. It still gets cold at night and the frost could still come, wiping out any planting efforts we make. Patience.
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Living in Australia I loved my English Cottage garden. In the sub-tropics in Tampa I gave up all gardening efforts entirely. We had some plans to grow some vegetables but tending them in that heat would have been too much for me. The rest of the garden consisted of tropical plants and apart from watering, the only effort we needed to expend on it was cutting and chopping, in short, trying to keep it from devouring the house.

I saw a house become vacant down the street. A sad little 'for sale' sign sat forlornly out the front for months and months and months. After 6 months the garden had grown over the house. A year later, the house could barely be seen.

The owners gave up on the house and nature came to reclaim it, to steal it back from the usurpers who had come to slash and destroy the greenery. A victory for the jungle, but only a fleeting one. Surely someday that house will be purchased. The bulldozers will roar in and destroy the ravenous vegetation as before. Concrete and steel will again claim the land.

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With my new address, my gardening skills will be called into practice after such long neglect. Flowers and bulbs are first on my agenda, then come the fruit and vegetables.

The garden plot will be used to grow all different varieties. We are on a quest to reach self-sustainability. Natural, organic and fresh produce will be on the menu. Chemical free is a great way to live, unless one is talking about Chinese food. In that case its extra MSG please, I love that stuff. All that extra taste is worth the puffy ankles I can assure you.

Somewhere down the line I hope to begin making gourmet jams with my homegrown goodies. Strawberry and Champagne jam sounds like a good place to start, if I can refrain from drinking all the champagne first that is. Lush.

I ask myself if I miss the city. After gazing around at the sights from where I sit now, while listening to some unusual birdsong, the only answer is that no, I don't miss the city.

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