And so much more.

In January, while the Minnesota soil is frozen and buried in several feet of snow;

my gardening soul dreams of these delicious tomatoes.

Dramatic? Maybe, but really, it’s not just the delicious tomatoes.

It’s the process.

The seeds carefully saved and sorted.

The kitchen garden plan carefully drawn out of paper.

The day I drive to Farmer’s Seed And Nursery to chat with the workers,

and purchase my potting ingredients.

When I gather seed trays and fill them, and place those first seeds,

the temperatures are usually well below zero here when these chores occur.

I long for warm sunshine, time in the garden, ‘bring on the sweat” I say.

The house quiet and sun bursting through my windows this morning, I gathered tomatoes.

Kitties weaved through my legs, and dew dropped in my eyes as I practically crawled into the plants to reach the ripe ones.

My arms are stained with tomato stem juices and it’s a fragrance not available at department stores.

I’m a gardener.

And today I’m going to eat tomatoes.