Yes, I know that title was misspelled, no need to e-mail me to tell me about the error. It’s all about a mildly embarrassing moment in my life. You know, those memories of awkward moments that surge into your brain at two in the morning when you can’t sleep and fill you with a sense of latent anxiety even though it happened way in the past.
This entire month does that for me. Back in 1985, I was in 2nd grade and of course had spelling as a subject in school. I was always pretty good at it. On this particular day, we were having a class spelling bee. I was ready. I knew how to spell paleontology. I could fire off the spelling for archaeology at a moment’s notice. At each round I spelled even the most challenging words with ease. And then as I faced off with a friend for the blue ribbon and spelling-bragging rights, I had to stare down the word February. Should be easy, right? Not too many letters, and it also happens to be my birthday month. I was a shoo-in for the win.
Oh, was I wrong. I confidently got up there and said, “F-e-b-u-a-r-y, Febuary,” probably with a smug smile of victory on my face. When the teacher told me I was incorrect, the shock and disbelief in my second-grade brain imprinted, and it lives on to this day, nearly 40 years later. How could I have missed that silly little r? But I sure did, and the prize for the spelling bee went to one of my classmates. The silver lining is that I very clearly understand the nuances of the letter r in the word February now and to my knowledge haven’t misspelled it since that fateful day so many years ago.
When spelling errors of the past aren’t keeping me up at night, I’m usually dreaming of amazing harvests from my veggie garden. All the more at this time of the year, when it is the perfect time of year to get veggie gardens growing. At the nursery, veggie starts have arrived, and of course lots of organic and heirloom seeds are in stock to get your veggie gardens started. This Saturday, we’ll have the first of our spring garden seminars and we’re talking all about getting great harvests from your veggie garden. So come out and learn all of my best tips and tricks for the most tantalizing tomatoes, perfect peppers, and colossal collards. No embarrassing memories from the past, just a present filled with healthy, happy harvests.
