I was out in the garden today raking. The paths were covered with dried pine needles and memories of vibrant leaves and brilliant flowers.  I raked over the bed and gathered a pile together. As I stuffed the pile into a plastic trash bag, popping through the soft ground were the heads of my rhubarb. This year’s crop looks promising. The budding red stalks with their baby green leaves are thick and plentiful.  I swear the cluster has doubled in size from last year. That means more strawberry-rhubarb jam and pies this year.

      The beds need a lot of work to get them in shape for spring plantings. I managed to fill three 30 gallon trash bags and it looks like I will probably have nine more before I finish with these beds. The storm last night really softened the soil, so it was really easy to rake and pull weeds to prepare the soil.  The path will need to be mulched after I finish clearing it, but it shouldn’t take too long to do that, probably an afternoon.

     Last night a well-known young adult novelist and his wife, a children’s illustrator, stayed with me. David Kherdian wrote The Road to Home: A Story of an Armenian Girl. What a really nice couple. I’m sorry they couldn’t stay longer. It was so much fun to talk to them about their work and the writer’s life.  The words of advice Nonny Hogrogian, his wife, gave writers is “Just do it!” Words to live by.