Planting season isn’t yet here for our gardens, but it is growing closer and closer.  The red-winged blackbirds arrived two weeks ago. To discourage them from mobbing the feeders, I’m filling the feeders later in the day.  They are, however, a happy sign that spring has arrived.  There is also a starling that has found the little basket I put out for orioles last spring.  He sits in it and demolishes the cake of suet hanging right next to the basket.  There are four “gentlemen turkeys” (unattached to a harem) who watch for me to come out with bird seed.  They come down from the woods almost as soon as I get back into the house.  And one of the blue jays is clearly a designated “watch bird” for the rest and gives out a raucous “all clear” when I’ve filled the feeders and returned to the house.  Birds aren’t really bird-brained at all.  Or at least it is obvious that being bird-brained doesn’t necessarily mean being stupid.

We are nearing the Spring holidays.  Passover begins this coming Saturday at sundown,  Sunday is Palm Sunday and Easter is only a week away.  The date for Easter was a matter of considerable controversy in the early centuries AD.  Theologians argued with great heat; those from the East campaigned for one time; those from Rome another time; and those from the Celtic branches of Christianity, another.  There was even violence over dates at the Nicene Council in 325 AD.  It was finally decided by most western churches to accept the decision finally reached at that Council.  Easter would be the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.  This is why the date changes; it can be any time between March 22 – April 25.  The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calendar, so their celebrations of Easter generally come a week or so after those of the west.

Somehow, Easter crept up on me this year and suddenly it was past time to order flowers for church.  Individuals in the congregation tell me what to get, display them for the Easter service and then carry them home to enjoy.  So it takes a bit of coordination ----- which I found stressing for a day or two.  I haven’t really needed alert coordination for over a year now!  And what one doesn’t use --- one often loses!  But our understanding fellow-church members responded quickly----- and the nave will have a lovely Easter display of color and fragrance as always.  We are still meeting via Zoom as well as in person, so it is too bad we can’t send fragrance over the computers.

Last week, while watching “Growing A Greener World” on Create TV, they were discussing the use of vacant lots in Chicago, to make community gardens and they mentioned the Victory Gardens of the war years.  The concept of Victory Gardens actually began in WWI --- both here and in Canada.  In that early part of the 20^th century, the national food supply was questionable; we didn’t have the coordinated transportation or safe ways of preserving foods that we currently have, and the governments were afraid of too little food for both troops and the people at home.  So they encouraged gardeners to plow up front lawns for growing vegetables.  When WWII came along, Victory gardens were once more encouraged, but not because the food supply was in question.  By then, the U.S. had quite an efficient food production system in place.  This time it was to give citizens a common cause and hope during the war years.  And now, the back to the soil concept is with us because: a) we have all been at home for months and b) so many people question the quality of processed food; the use of pesticides, GMO seeds and transportation.  Those who are concerned know their gardens will provide fresh food for their tables.  Many small communities as well as cities, now have community gardens.  These encourage good community feeling as well as good, fresh food.

Now that the piles of snow are mostly gone and it is possible to walk outside without fear for life and limb, I’m looking at the garden plans, trying to decide where I can insert just a few more rows.  And I’m trying to devise a way to keep the wild turkeys out of our freshly-planted beds.  I plan my gardens in much the same way I plan how a room looks.  I  visualize the luscious colors that a row of cosmos will provide and how cheery the sunflowers will look behind them.   And I use “companion planting” which pairs plants and herbs that either protect or enhance each other.  As an example, one never plants dill close to carrots; the dill impedes the growth of the carrots according to this philosophy.  Potatoes and tomatoes share a common disease, so planting them near each other is not a good idea.  Basil enhances tomato growth so plant in the same area.

It will be lovely to have salads made from our own lettuce instead of the greens that emerge from plastic boxes --- grateful as I am for those in mid-winter.  And finally the snow drops (with white drooping bells)s and winter aconite (with butter-cup like blossoms close to the ground) have emerged.  My lavender came through the winter really well --- probably because it was buried in snow from December on, and its roots never had opportunity to heave.  I’m looking forward to sitting outside in the twilight with mild breezes, fragrance and purple shadows on the garden.  We have a lot to do before sitting though; all the small branches and twigs from the trees we took down last fall remain to be cleaned up before we can lounge in lawn chairs.

Gardening always makes it easier to eat in a healthy way.  I’m slowly coming to understand my body’s reactions to food.  Since my last slightly annoying blood tests, I have been trying to eat with more regard for balanced nutrition.  We’ve never eaten much processed food, but the truth is that after nearly 60 years of meal prep, I’m tired of fixing daily meals!  In spite of that, however, I’ve tried to plan for more salads, more vegetables and fruits.  And I have eaten fewer starches (pasta, potatoes, etc).  So when we ate out a couple of weeks ago, in a restaurant (which shall remain nameless since this isn’t their fault) I succumbed to a hamburger, French fries and a Coke.  First of all, the servings were huge; I couldn’t finish it all and took the left-overs home for our resident skunk/possum/raccoon.  But all the rest of the day, after this over-indulgent lunch, my digestive system complained ---- and complained ---- and complained.  It was nothing drastic; just a slight feeling of un-wellness all afternoon. So I guess that new and better behaviors can become addictive as well as bad habits.  It was a lesson that I won’t forget --- at least for a while.

And speaking of lessons and growing ---- we have this Women’s Bible study group that meets weekly.  It is a place where those who gather can be totally honest and can expect both understanding and confidentiality.  And while the studies are always good and useful, occasionally something sharply ZINGS into my consciousness like a razor; a thought expands and takes on new meaning.  One of our recent topics was on forgiveness ---- which seems appropriate since Easter is all about that.  Un-forgiveness hasn’t been a frequent problem for me since I haven’t had super numbers of either trauma or nasty people in my life.  And my personality is such that while I flare quickly I generally don’t hold onto the anger for a long time.  But no one of my age goes through life without one or two intense hurtful episodes that linger; episodes that are etched into the soul and require forgiveness ---- or not.

I know all the excuses for not forgiving: “they don’t deserve to be forgiven!”  “How could anyone forgive such a horrible thing?”  “They are absolute creeps and deserve to be in jail!”  The point is that forgiveness isn’t really for and doesn’t necessarily affect the person I am forgiving; forgiveness affects me.  When I forgive, (which to me means giving the problem to God and not taking it back again) I no longer carry around the weight of anger and grief.  It slices through the tethers holding my spirit down in a bog of misery and frees me for more happiness.

There is one situation with which I still struggle; perhaps I could say I’m in stage 3 of forgiveness.   A trusted individual in our lives severely and in an “unforgiveable” way, impacted the lives of people dear to me.  It was at least six or eight years after I learned of this before I could stop actively wishing this person harm in return.  I considered all sorts of retributions the least of which was the bottom layer of Hades.  I was beyond angry!

I have passed through several stages of anger, grief, self-recrimination and have reached the point where I am willing to leave the consequences up to God and am able to pray for whatever it was that steered this person into despicable and evil behavior.  But I still struggle a bit --- and that’s where the ZING came in ------ when I realized that I had not reached the forgiveness depth of Corrie TenBoom, who actually shook the hand and looked with forgiveness on one of the guards from the Nazi prison camp where she had been interned and where her sister died.  As with all things of faith, forgiveness is a process into which one grows.  And growth requires remembering that brokenness is part of the human condition; we are just broken in many different ways.  And for that, thankfully, Easter comes!   

This year, along with Easter comes April, longer days, more sunshine and another growing season for our gardens, our lawns and our understanding of life.   To live a good life, we need to look at each day as a precious gift and realize that no matter what, “Outside the open window, the morning air is all awash with angels.  Love calls us to things of this world.”*

Joyous Passover and Happy Easter!!

Carol may be reached at: carol42wilde@htva.net.

• Richard Wilbur – American poet and literary translator.  He was named Poet Laureate in Library of Congress in 1987.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice.  His work has been marked by wit, elegance and charm.  1921-2017.