Anticipation

 Ever since I chose the theme for the Header Challenge this week my brain has been singing this song. 

‘Cept that it changes it up to the lyrics that my childhood and young adult brain could handle, no matter how many times I was corrected or realized that it didn’t go.  Because I wanted to sing, ” Anticipation, anticipation, is making me wait, is keeping me waiaiaiting.”

I did realize that it would be odd, even for music in the seventies, to repeat waiting in this instance like I wanted.

But I thought it was odder yet that anticipation could make you late.  I thought it would make you early.  But now I get it.

However, on to my header photo and the photos I had to choose between.

Anticipation of the new garden season is heightened when even before the winter soltice the garlic emerges from the ground lookin’ a lot like a little Christmas elf (with no arms, so I guess he’s a veggie-tale elf).

 The empty beds awaiting late winter plantings are an anticipation of another sort, and I did contemplate using this photo for my ideal anticipation.  Same coin, different side. 

Hopefully the water recedes in the next month so that I’m not out in my chest waders planting peas on Lincolns birthday.  But the stake, the naked preprepped soil, it all makes me fairly excited with anticipation for the new garden year and living out the plans and New Year resolutions that were made back in September and October.

A lot of beds awaiting, a lot of anticipating.  Yet another view of the biggest item of anticipation in my heart this year.  Yes, there are seed packets with flowers destined for other gardens at Victory Farm & Gardens that could indeed serve to be the poster child of anticipation in any given year.

But this year?  This year the big anticipation here on the Farm is the beginning of the complete Market Garden.  The goal being, feed the Farm family for a year and ten other families as well.  Lots of anticipatin’, lots of waitin’ and hopefully the dreamin’ and schemin’ won’t make me late for any of it this year.

I will don my gay apparel of chest waders soon to put a little mulch of some sort on the beds that I plan on planting in February.  I like to leave the soil exposed for a little shot of winter. 

If I mulch too soon right after fall bed preparations I find I have a larger pest population, bugs, slugs and weeds, than if I leave them exposed for a bit and then cover.  But cover I will, the pounding rains have already compacted the surface quite a bit and depending on the mulch used not only can I avoid further compaction but most of the rain will roll off the top of the mulch and not continue to saturate the soil beneath it. 

This shot was not a contender for the anticipation header.  Though I am anticipatin’ the receding of all this water and soon.  This anticipation does not bring with it quite  the same heart-a-flutter feeling that the other shots do. 

This shot ought to show folks who live is slightly more arid lands why we choose to use raised beds here at the farm.  Save for the upper level in my back yard, right outside my dining room window, there is no place on the Farm that is exempt from this sort of standing water.  Spots here and there perhaps but not one large expanse and even the back yard is only a fraction of the size of the Market Garden and far less sunlight hours in a day. 

Well that’s it from here today, Clever Reader.  Like all of us who claim the Christ as our Lord and Savior, I have a few things to get done before next week, even for our simple and meager yet joyous beyond compare, celebration of the birth of the incarnate God.  What a wonderful thing that is, is it not?  That He so loved us, as to reconcile us through the birth, death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ!

Ah Advent, the season of anticipation, yes?  Go see what the fellas, Dave, Fishing_Guy,  Mac, and Gail’s Man have done for my pick of the theme for this week’s header challenge, anticipation.  I’ve already peeked at two and one in particular is quintessential anticipation.  Have fun and tell them what you think.