.....spring cleaning

Yogis,
Spring has sprung and my body is feeling it all. Tight shoulders and sore leg muscles from all the bending, twisting, squatting and reaching that spring in the garden requires. I have been literally knee deep in leaves, sticks and weeds as I begin this year’s spring cleaning in earnest.

No rake or leaf blower for me as I crawl in to remove old growth and weeds by hand, not wanting to risk harming any shoots pushing their heads through the earth toward the light. Every heavy handful of soggy leaves I lift reveals something.

Oh, hello bergamot! Welcome back echinacea! Excited to spend another summer with you goldenrod! The scent of mint wafts by as my hands comb through a raised bed. Looking forward to adding you to my eggs, chives!

All my old trusty friends who return year after year. Dependable.

But then I move some sticks in an area I remember being bare and see someone unfamiliar. Hhmmmmm…… Obviously I planted this last year but I have absolutely no idea who it is. This happens every spring at least a few times. New plants that I add at the end of a summer that thankfully come back but my memory of them does not. Thank goodness I didn’t go buy a plant for this spot already.

It’s both baffling and thrilling! Something that isn’t new, but feels new. I am reminded of my closet.

Every spring when I vow to ‘spring clean’ my closet and drawers I begin to pull everything out. One by one. By hand.

Yellow tank top, you will be getting a lot of use this summer. Yay white pants, you still fit well! I forgot your perfect pocket for my phone, running shorts. And then I come across a summer dress I have had a few years that is still unworn which I completely forgot I own. Embarrassingly the tag still on.

I try it on. It fits perfectly and feels right! The shopping I had planned for an upcoming event has suddenly been crossed off the to do list. This isn’t the first time I have shopped successfully in my own closet. Not new…..yet new.

In spring we have a natural urge to clean, purge and purchase. Sometimes I find myself doing it in the wrong order though…..purchasing first and often discovering I already have what I just bought. This year in my garden and my life, I am setting the intention to clean first. Who knows what I may find?

I forgot about you awesome shorts….. and sensitive fern!
SARAH