Resolved

(This was written on the morning of Sunday, January 4th, what I now think of as "Before.")

Happy first week of 2015! A brand new year, new beginnings, a calendar full of fresh pages. It’s that time of year when I am chocked full of good intentions and eager to put them into practice. Early in January anything seems possible and my list of resolutions is impressive—I plan to be a much better person; one that is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, can fit into the jeans she wore in 1979, a person who-- while working tirelessly for world peace-- still finds time to be kind to small animals and whose junk drawers are an enviable example of organization. Basically, a human unicorn—something that is nice to think about but probably doesn’t exist.

My true resolutions don’t usually come to light until about mid-month, it seems to take me about that long to narrow down what it is I truly want to change/accomplish. And interestingly enough, STOP PROCRASTINATING has never made my resolution list—just never got around to it I suppose.

Last year my resolutions looked something like this:

 1) Move More. 

2) Eat Less. 

3) Don’t Mix Up the First Two.

 4) Write Every Day. 

5) Go Back to School.

 6) Spend More Time Being Creative and Less Time on the Internet—alas, that one didn’t even make it to February, the internet is so very shiny... But when I added a new resolution in August:

 7) Get/Stay Connected with High School Friends-- my time wasted on Face Book suddenly became time well spent.

As far as resolutions go, last year I was more successful than not. I lost a couple of pounds, learned to like salad, wrote almost every day—committed to writing this column/blog—thank you for reading it! I went back to school and to my 35^th high school reunion.

 I don’t even HAVE any jeans from 1979—San Francisco Riding Gear anyone? And my junk drawer is alphabetized—which means I now refer to it as my drawer with Junk: A through Z. All in all, I'm calling Resolution 2014 a success.

Seeds

February is the perfect month to start seeds inside. By the time the weather is trustworthy enough to transplant your seedlings outside you will have an eight to ten week jump on the season if you start now.

Some people are lucky enough to have a greenhouse with all the bells and whistles. I happen to live in a house that is painted green and I start my seeds on the windowsill. Optimally, a south facing window is best, but I make do with a west facing window. My seedlings can get too leggy without enough natural daylight so I’ve found that replacing the lightbulb in my regular old lamp can make all the difference. Using a blue or “daylight” lightbulb helps. I leave it on until my seedlings get their ”true” leaves—for most plants that is the “third” leaf that appears after the first two sprouting leaves.

Starting plants from seed is pretty simple if you stick with a few basics. You need a proper starting mixture—I am fond of Jiffy pellet--- just the right amount of water, and plenty of daylight. A warm environment helps, and there are even special heating pads made for gardeners that will keep the roots of your tender seedlings nice and toasty. Do NOT think using a standard heating pad will work as well; just trust me on this.

Selecting the proper seeds can increase your chances of success. Using seeds from a few years ago can be risky. For the first time gardener I suggest starting marigolds. They are an easy grower, and not at all temperamental. As a wise man once told me, you can never go wrong with marigolds.

Daffodils

   I planted daffodils the other day. It’s late in the season—almost too late, really. But the ground had thawed and the sun was warm and I needed to believe that those papery brown lumps could somehow transform into sunny yellow harbingers of spring. So I planted them and hoped for the best.

   It’s best to plant daffodils in late fall, once the ground has cooled from summer but before winter freezes it solid. Sometimes though, life can be so busy you never find the time to go outside, sit back on your heels and dig into the good earth.

To plant a garden is an act of faith. To plant daffodils this late in the winter may be more an act of foolhardiness but I don’t care. Sometimes, all you can do is the best you can and let nature take care of the rest. So I planted my daffodils and I’m waiting for spring. I have faith that new growth will come.