Dirt Sticks with You

Spring and Spring Break twirled my steps with the breeze, leaping into the first day of break to feel the air and sun before plopping down into rich dirt for a day enjoyed gardening. Norb had invited me to join him at his house for prized hours of working in the dirt and discussing mysteries of life and living. His garden is a beautiful place in which to be. Rather wild. Flowers and vegetables and trees are in full bloom, the roots of several nestling colorful stones collected from creek beds and various states. Garden tools peep from the sheds like old friends. One of my favorite parts about gardening with Norb is his wonder of the soil. After aerating the soil with a shovel to prep the bed, he paused and gazed fondly at the dirt for a bit, saying, “Isn’t just beautiful.” Indeed, the earth was loamy and delicious as coffee grounds. An egg shell peeped from the dirt every now then- a testament to good compost.

“Norb, how long have you been nurturing this soil?”

“For ten years now. When I moved from my earth house I had piles and piles of dirt. And when we moved, I told them that I was taking it with me.”

The earth was so precious to him that he could not leave it behind. In my Environmental Anthropology class that soil is alive. There are thousands of living organisms in just a handful of soil! Once you begin gardening, how can it not be treated with reverence and awe?

Later in the day, I drove to Little Rock and joined Wayne for another gardening session at Little Rock urban farms. We worked on inoculating shiitake mushrooms logs, drilling holes and hammering in fungi spawn that would, in time, produce piles of delectable gourmet mushrooms. Seeing how happy Wayne was learning and working at the farm confirmed for me that even though things has been a dulling, anxious busy lately, we will have calmer days and are learning to balance the more tempestuous ones.

However, the joys of gardening still held surprises for the day. Melissa, my stepmom, called to tell me about Nana’s new kittens. Eventually, we began talking about spring planting in the first Pitts’ family garden. She said that Anna had fallen in love with the garden, and while Dad was whisked away on his business trip, she tended the garden without being asked, frequently sneaking away to water the budding seedlings. Love of the soil is relatively new to me, but it is becoming a growing part of my life and the experience of those I love. It is a present retreat that offers a time of peace and reflection, but it is also a learning experience that is filled with the hope of a meaningful lifestyle that enlivens my life with meaning. Still more wonderful, it is twining it roots into my home, becoming a shared experience with my family and partner Wayne.

I still have much to work on and work through, but as Dr. Anderson says, “This too shall pass.”

Thankfully, I will carry my dirt with me.