Sprouts are up in my garden! Only a few, out of dozens, but oh! Just seeing these little bits of green gets me all excited. I had given up hope, and then one small plant (I think arugula) sent up it’s tiny first leaves.

Then it snowed.

But when the snow melted, there were the leaves still fresh and green. And the next day they was joined by five or six of their closest friends. I planted Sweet Peas and Nigella in the same half-barrell as the arugula, but so far all the sprouts seem to be spinach-y. I’m happy with just this though, so happy that when I discovered these I nearly flipped:

And that’s why you have pictures today. They’re sprouts in the bottom-most pot of my herb tree! The sad part is I really can’t remember which these are. Cress? Cilantro? Mustard greens? I kept playing with the order, and now I don’t know what I finally settled on. I’m pretty sure it’s not the mustard greens but I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer before we find out exactly. Just another mystery added to the already inexplicable magic of gardening.

I was taking these pictures with my grouchy little camera and it shut off after only five shots, which is probably why I managed to make it to work on time. But taking these photos I discovered another sprout, this one in the pot number two. And this morning I finally braved my indoor seeds (which have been giving me a pretty cold shoulder) and found two nigella sprouts. It’s funny how elated I feel over such a little bit of green amongst the cocoa-coloured brown. These plant-lings are like stars, both visually and symbolically. Little bright reminders that something is at work, that life is happening, that quiet triumphs occur everyday, even if no one is noticing. They make me excited for warmer weather and the new discoveries implied therein.