Oh Garden! My Garden!

Oh Garden! My Garden!
by Ms R.C. Homestead




O GARDEN! my Garden! our biting winter is done;
The vines have weather'd every inch, the spring we sought is won;
The sun is near, the birds I hear, the people all chatting away,
While follow the toil of the yearning soil, the trowel clean and ready:
  But O spring! spring! spring!
    O the welcoming drops of rain,
       Where on the deck my rubber boots lie
         Still, uncovered in mud.


O Garden! my garden! till up and ready for seed;
Rise up-- for you the birds chirp-- for you the sun has shown;
For you the boots are donned-- for you the seeds have arrived;
  Here Garden! dear garden!
   This compost amid your layers
     It is some dream that on this day
      You've thawed warm and beckoning


My Garden does not answer, the rows silent and still;
My garden does not know what lies ahead, he asks not what the plan is this year;
The trowel is ready, the new potting shed prepared, the sun has peeked from cloud to cloud;
From spring to autumn, this lovely soil has got em',veggies and herbs begun;
  Exult, O sunshine, and fall, O rain!
   But I, with spring in my step,
    Skip along the yard to where my Garden lies,
     Awaiting fresh seeds, awaiting our labor, awaiting the love from from our garden grow!




Ok, silly spin on a Walt Whitman piece, but I realize it has been a long, long time since I wrote anything meaningful on the Rubber City Homestead.

I thought I would at least return with a smile!

The truth of the matter is not that there has been nothing to do all winter long, but rather that it has been a delightfully busy winter, full of surprises and all sorts of new projects.

To begin, the shed is nearly finished!!!! Roof is one, trim is up, down spouts and a potting shelf outside are all that remains undone!
The garden is stocked with fresh soil!
The Charlie Cherry tree has officially survived the winter (yes)!
The Kristina tree is nearly blooming!
The first of our rain barrels is in place and ready to collect all that the Akron spring time can throw it's way!
And...
   And...
     And...
The newest homesteader is well on it's way...
                   Truly, officially, we are some measure over the halfway mark in our first homestead pregnancy! Aaah ha ha!

Wonderful, wonderful surprise!

We will call the little one 'Gremlin Homesteader' for the time being.
What this new addition has brought to our world is an even greater interest in a sustainable urban lifestyle. A hunt for healthy food, raised locally without pesticide or hormone...  and, of-course, Summit County's best (and open latest) ice cream locals!

ha ha ha!

We are having fun and quite thrilled about what all this 'growing season' will bring!

Sorry for the absence, Rubber City...
            Thank you for your patience.
                  Thank you heavens, for this little homesteader inside ;)

Rock on, Akron!

--The Rubber City Homestead