Preparing for Spring: Celebrating Ostara on the Urban Homestead

Today is Ostara, the first day of spring! I got the perfect Ostara gift in the mail - my spring shrubs! I was so excited. Felt like Christmas, only better. I put in two grape plants, three blackberries, five tiny junipers, and a red stick dogwood. Oh, it felt good to dig in the dirt and get to know my garden again. I cannot think of a better way to honor the growing days of light. March 25th used to be the first day of the year, and I'll tell you, it feels that way to me. I begin again.

These plants are part of my vision to have an urban homestead where we raise much of our food. I hope to get chickens this year as well, and as always have big plans for the vegetable garden.

Whenever I put in seeds or new shrubs or landscape elements, I feel more at home here. My house is home, my land is home, and the planet is home, a place I can grow and learn and wonder. I am living more and more in direct relationship with the earth that supports me. It will feel even more so when I taste those first fruits in a few years.

Now is the time to listen to the land. Let it speak to you, invite you to become more a part of your home. Maybe that means putting in fruit trees, or starting a window box of herbs, or installing solar panels and looking into an electric hybrid car. What will you do this spring to care for your eco, your home? I'd love to hear about your dreams, plans, and ideas.

Happy Ostara!