I get the February Blues. I lost my oldest brother Neil in the month of February and my mom died in February a few years later. But the February Blues hit even before the month became one I identified with loss.
I try to enjoy all the seasons, I make it through December when bare trees are a novelty and there might be a promise of snow. And of course in the cold months there’s Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.
By February the bare trees are depressing. I get a terminal case of cabin fever and I just want to go outside and plow something. Short days, little sunlight and cold winds do not make me happy.
I bid my time flipping through seed catalogs, drinking hot coffee and reading.
But I think I have found the cure for what ails me. I signed up for the Master Gardner Class with the Walker County Extension Center.
I have always gardened by the seat of my pants. Some years I would have bumper crops and others would be just sad. I never could figure out what I was doing wrong.
I sorta knew that those numbers on fertilizer bags meant something, but didn’t know what it was. It turns out those numbers are important and when I learned their significance, a light bulb went on in my head.
We studied soils, and learned the difference about soil in Alabama and say Kansas. Alabama clay can be challenging.
Having good gardens year after year requires thought, care and organic material put back into the earth. Gardening is hard work. There is some sweat equity involved. Oh yeah, about those sore muscles, Epsom salts in a hot bath does the trick.
Many of the things about gardening that were such a mystery for me, came into focus in those classes.
I could kick myself for not taking the class years ago, but working full-time would not let that happen.
But retirement gave me time to pursue things I had only thought about through the years and learning new skills pays dividends in many ways.
The Master Gardener’s Class has not only taught me many things about gardening but it has also helped me to beat the February Blues and I made new friends. It was the perfect cure for my February Blues.
