Monday, May 13, 2013

Spring at the Ranch

 
 
It's always a surprise to me when the entire back yard comes into bloom at once.  The grass looks greener, the irises glow like a Van Gough painting, and the potted gerbera daisies add a much needed burst of color to the patio.  It makes me realize not only how much I love my yard, and how much we have put into it over the years, but also how little time I actually spend out there enjoying the yard for what it is.
 

This year I'm looking at the garden and the yard with a different attitude.  We're leaving the White House Ranch and moving to the Bay Area.  We'll be renting the house out since we can't fathom selling it, but how could anyone love it as much as we do?  Will anyone appreciate the purple and orange dahlias that will bloom this summer?  Or make lemon curd out of the abundant Meyer lemons in the winter?  Will someone visit the garden after work each evening anxious to see what has ripened and can be added to the dinner?

I had to plant a vegetable garden even though we'll only be here for part of the summer to enjoy it's offerings.  There were two volunteer sunflowers left over from the seeds from last years garden; one along the fence line in it's original planting area and one in a pot on the patio.  Because the plant would be easily 10 feet tall by the middle of summer, I couldn't leave it in the 12 diameter pot.  So I transplanted it to the garden next to the other.
I stood staring at the wilted flower that afternoon after it had a chance to get acclimated...or so I thought.  It was droopy and looked like it would die.  Will it be happier in its new home?  Should I have left it in its pot with the potential of outgrowing its space?  How long until the plant starts to thrive and grow? 
I started to think of all of these questions as they pertained to me and to my family.  Will plucking us up from our comfortable spot where our roots are firmly dug in cause us to bend over lifeless after our transplant?  It caused me to ask an even more burning question:  When is the right time to make a major life change?  Is it when you're so completely fed up with your current situation that you beg for an escape route?  Or is it when, like me, you're so content with every aspect of your life that the change is everything in excess of uncomfortable? 
 
About to uproot all aspects of comfort, stability and routine to the seemingly boundless chaos of newness and excitement, I'm almost paralyzed by my questioning and unknowing.