1/5/09 Renewal

Well, the holidays are officially over. I have packed up the Christmas decorations and put them neatly back in their storage boxes. The bright holiday lights are already coiled up and back in their proper places in the garage. The mountain of recyclables is waiting at the curb to be whisked away to await their transformations. Now I can sit down and do what I so eagerly look forward to each year at about this time, browsing through my seed and garden catalogs, making my wish list. Forget the Christmas wish lists; this is THE LIST for me. This year might just find more than the typical gardening enthusiasts trying to decide which flower and vegetable plants to choose. The close of 2008 brings with it a sense of much needed renewal, felt by nearly all Americans. Nothing speaks more to me of renewal than springtime with the joy of planting and nature's bounty yet to come. Victory Gardens, most notable in the depression era, may find precedence once again as families tighten their grocery budgets. And nothing quite brings a family together like planting seeds and watching them grow.