Katherine Nicolai

But we'd done our reading and had a container of cut seed potatoes ready to go in. Growing anything, I supposed, was a gamble, an act of faith that rain would come, that sun would shine, that the natural processes buried in the cells of our seeds and seedlings would activate and pollinate. It seemed worth the gamble, meriting the faith to try

So we dug trenches, spaced our seeds and plants, and carefully padded the earth down around them.

So we dug trenches, spaced our seeds and plants, and carefully padded the earth down around them.

So we dug trenches, spaced our seeds and plants, and carefully padded the earth down around them.

I stood to stretch my back and saw my friend, her hands on her hips, looking out at the work we'd done. Ready for a break, I called out. Yes, please, she said, stepping carefully through the rows to wash her hands at the spigot.

I stood to stretch my back and saw my friend, her hands on her hips, looking out at the work we'd done. Ready for a break, I called out. Yes, please, she said, stepping carefully through the rows to wash her hands at the spigot.

I stood to stretch my back and saw my friend, her hands on her hips, looking out at the work we'd done. Ready for a break, I called out. Yes, please, she said, stepping carefully through the rows to wash her hands at the spigot.

I'd made a mess of sandwiches, thick slices of sourdough, spread with mustard, and a tasty mix I'd made of mashed garbanzos, soft avocado, diced cucumbers and pickles, tahini, a bit of dill and lemon and plenty of salt and pepper.

I'd made a mess of sandwiches, thick slices of sourdough, spread with mustard, and a tasty mix I'd made of mashed garbanzos, soft avocado, diced cucumbers and pickles, tahini, a bit of dill and lemon and plenty of salt and pepper.

I'd made a mess of sandwiches, thick slices of sourdough, spread with mustard, and a tasty mix I'd made of mashed garbanzos, soft avocado, diced cucumbers and pickles, tahini, a bit of dill and lemon and plenty of salt and pepper.

I had a few apples for us and a whole batch of my date bars, topped with a cardamom crumble, tucked in wax paper in an old cookie tin.

I had a few apples for us and a whole batch of my date bars, topped with a cardamom crumble, tucked in wax paper in an old cookie tin.

I had a few apples for us and a whole batch of my date bars, topped with a cardamom crumble, tucked in wax paper in an old cookie tin.

They had two little boys who ran around in the sun, coming back to the table for a moment or two to take a bite out of a sandwich or a piece of fruit, then chasing back to play.

They had two little boys who ran around in the sun, coming back to the table for a moment or two to take a bite out of a sandwich or a piece of fruit, then chasing back to play.

They had two little boys who ran around in the sun, coming back to the table for a moment or two to take a bite out of a sandwich or a piece of fruit, then chasing back to play.

By the time we were done and gathering up our tools, our little plot was a tidy patch of neat rows. Careful mounds protecting seeds that would sprout soon, and evenly spaced plants that would eventually need cages and stakes and strings to hold them up by the end of the summer.

By the time we were done and gathering up our tools, our little plot was a tidy patch of neat rows. Careful mounds protecting seeds that would sprout soon, and evenly spaced plants that would eventually need cages and stakes and strings to hold them up by the end of the summer.

By the time we were done and gathering up our tools, our little plot was a tidy patch of neat rows. Careful mounds protecting seeds that would sprout soon, and evenly spaced plants that would eventually need cages and stakes and strings to hold them up by the end of the summer.

It was decorated with someone's hand-drawn flowers and baskets of vegetables. I stood for a bit, booted, mittened, zipped into my heavy coat and wrapped in scarves and hat, and dreamed about green things and blue skies. I'd reached out with my clumsy mitten and pulled off a scrap from the flyer with a phone number.