Well, I played hooky from the office today…. but I had a very good excuse!  See, I’m babysitting my friend’s 4-year old son.  That’s a good reason, isn’t it?  So I had a wonderful nap this morning while DD played with the midget.  Then when I woke up, we went outside and fed the animals.  I also spent some time in the garden and got the collards, lettuce and chard transplants in the dirt.  The 4-year old had such a good time digging in the dirt.   He likes planting seeds and plants too.  We tilled the soil with the cultivator, dug little holes with the spade and got all of my transplants into the ground.  He also poked holes in the soil and planted the pea seeds for me.   I explained to him that the pea seeds (which he said looked like peas!) would grow pretty plants that would make peas for us to eat.  He was just so amazed!

Children love playing in the dirt - I know I did when I was younger.  I followed my grandfather around his garden and listened to every word he said.  I’ll be 47 at the end of this month and working in the garden with my grandfather is still something that I can vividly remember.  He showed me the best size to pick the cucumbers, how to tell if the butterbeans (aka lima beans) were ready to harvest, how to dig potatoes and “side-dress” the corn. 

You know, you’d think that a 4-year old with a short attention span would be like a bull in a china shop in my 24×24 garden.  But he was the best little guy.  He “dug holes”, found worms, planted and just had the time of his life.  Now he wants to be a farmer when he grows up and have cows, chickens and a garden.  Wonder where he got that idea from?  LOL