Spring has Sprung

Twelve years ago I bought a flat of marigolds to plant beside the walkway. Yellow and orange. I loved the way they brightened up the landscape.

So, every fall I pick a bagful of spent blooms to use for seeding my next year's crop. I always pick too many, but that's okay. I just scatter the extras here and there among the perennials.

Last week I decided it was time to start some seeds. So now there's a flat of soil mix covered with a plastic dome sitting on my kitchen counter. I thought it might be too chilly for them to germinate, since we've (read: PR has) been keeping one eye on the thermostat and another on the gas bill this winter. They really do prefer temperatures in the 70's, you know.

But, behold! This morning the first tiny bits of green have appeared. Hooray! What a fitting herald of spring.

OK, I'm ready to start planning the garden of 'o6, and getting my hands and knees dirty. But someone needs to inform the sun to try a little harder; it's the first day of spring, and he hasn't gotten the thermometer past 34F yet.