Two weekends ago, Bob and I recovered the greenhouse frame with plastic, tucked in all the edges and taped them secure. We wrapped the outside with rope (a trick I learned from volunteering at the high school greenhouse project), bought some seed trays and a heat mat. I also made a candle powered flower pot heater that I ran across on Youtube. Fun. It's been eight days since I planted a quite large selection of seeds. Low and behold, out I go to water this morning and check on the progress of my potential crop and there they are, two little green leaves forming already! I am so excited. I don't think there's anything more fulfilling than growing things you can eat. It's an amazing thing to think that the earth that gave us life, also gives the means by which to sustain that life. I marvel at the fact that once again, my feet touched the earth this morning and gravity grounds me there. Plants on the other hand, need a system of roots and leaves to sustain themselves, whereas many species are free to roam the earth with only the help of gravity. We depend on these rooted plants to aid in our existence, but we don't give much thought to the forces of physics that keep us firmly rooted on the ground.

Take a moment and think about it. When you rise in the morning and take that first step, imagine the whole of the earth underfoot, the magnitude of what you are standing on and the force that keeps you there. Really feel the earth with each step taken and know that you are just a very small part of it. Be grateful that it's there to offer you support and safety as you make your way through the day. Imagine also, that someday you will become a part of it and return to the place whence you came. It's humbling. It's comforting. It's inevitable. That's why the spirituality of the Native American Indian reveres the ground so powerfully. The desire to return to the place of your creation is the center of that spirituality. Through this, maybe we can all understand why the earth is held so dear to our Indian brothers and sisters.