\u201dThen I want to make a hole,\u201d says Zoey, digging her index finger into the damp soil.
\nThe sun warms our backs as we sit here in the garden with soil, seeds and seed pots in front of us.
\n\u201dI want one,\u2019 Zoey says, reaching for the sage seeds I have in one hand.
\n\u201d"You can take a seed from here and put it in the hole you just made. And then you can cover it with soil afterwards, just like we did with the other seed.".
\nZoey concentrates hard on grabbing one seed from my hand. That's hard for a two-year-old. I try to spread the seeds apart so she can get to them more easily. Zoey grabs three or four seeds and tries to put them in the hole. Maybe one, more, or none of them will land in the hole.
\nShe covers the hole, gets the small watering can and waters the soil. The water pours out with such force that the soil is swirled around in the small seed pot, and finally flows over the edge of the pot.
\nI feel an impulse to intervene, to control the situation. Because now we basically have no idea whether there is even a seed in the seed pot or not. I detect the impulse before I can act on it, and then help Zoey put the watering can down. We sit and watch the water slowly seep into the ground and soak the seed pot.
\n\u201dNow we're getting strawberries,\u201d says Zoey, and I remind her that we planted strawberry plants yesterday.
\n\u201dIf we take care of these seeds we just planted really carefully, and if we\u2019re lucky, we\u2019ll get sage,\u201d I say. \u201dWhat is it?\u201d Zoey asks, looking a little disappointed.
\n\u201dIt's a herb. It tastes really good with pasta, for example.\u201d
\n\u201dI wish it was strawberries,\u201d says Zoey.
\nI tell them that if we are lucky and take care of the strawberry plants and make sure they have water, we might get strawberries too. We don't know. We'll have to wait and see until summer.
\n\u201dIt's hard to wait,\u201d says Zoey.<\/p>\n
Zoey and I have spent many hours in the last few weeks sowing seeds and planting, both indoors and outdoors. It is as if this corona lockdown has intensified the experience of spring here at our place. We have had an infinite amount of time to experience the various bulb flowers emerging from the ground, and we can care for and inspect the seeds we have sown several times a day. So far, it seems that we have actually managed to place at least one seed in the vast majority of the seed pots. The excitement and joy of following the unfolding of life in each individual seed pot is great for both Zoey and myself.<\/p>\n\n\t\t