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Oh, I had big plans for today! I planned to give my home a thorough spring cleaning, so it looked straight out of the pages of a magazine. I planned to pay the bills and organize the little stacks of paper cluttering the kitchen table, the dining room table, and my desk. My growing stack of to-do lists! Yes, indeed, today I was going to organize my home and my life.

But the sun was shining and called me out to play.

A gardener survives winter with dreams of springtime. Perusing displays of seed packets in stores helps as does checking out seed catalogues online. Should I plant Thunder Mountain organic heirloom tomato seeds this year? “Fourteen-ounce orange tomato with deep blue around the stem and faint yellow stripes. Flavours are balanced and bold. RARE!” Or should I try Chocolate Lightning dwarf organic tomato seeds? “Dwarf plant produces eight-ounce chocolate-brown tomatoes with jagged green and gold stripes. Delicious!”

Sure, dreaming of springtime planting gets us gardeners through the dreary winter months. I had survived. And, now the sun beckoned me outside. I’m reminded of lyrics from the Paul McCartney song, Uncle Albert, “But the kettle’s on the boil and we’re so easily called away.” Haha! The song also mentions that they haven’t done a bloody thing all day. Could that be me and my household goals?

It was still chilly outside, but my hands were on the rake and it felt good! I raked back layers of leaves to find a crocus in bloom.

This brilliant purple crocus greeting me served to reward my efforts. This encouraged me to rake more and more. Daffodil stems with hints of yellow in unopened buds awaited me, too.

Roses left neglected in the fall begged me to trim them back. The more I worked—I prefer to call it play—the more I found to do. That’s gardening for you! Like housework, it’s never done. But, it’s so much more fun! The sun felt delightful on my face after months being indoors.

My bichapoo, Sophie discovered a long-lost dog toy: an interactive toy meant for the two of us. Sophie pleaded with me to play fetch with her. She raced laps around the backyard like it was her first time experiencing the outdoors. She’d pause briefly to tilt her head back, with her ears blowing in the breeze, to close her eyes in contentment.

I took my cue from her and delighted in the breeze, as well. Life’s best lessons are learned from dogs.

I raked some more and noticed an orange and black ladybug scurrying around.

What was its hurry? So little time and so much to do! I know that springtime frenzy well!

Yup, I had big plans for today. But the sun called me out to play. That old saying is true:
“God made rainy days so gardeners could get housework done.”

I’ve always believed sunshine to be good for my soul, and new studies from the University of Bristol back me up. Apparently, exposure to soil-borne bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae changes our brain chemistry similar to anti-depressants. It releases serotonin. I knew it all along . . . gardening is my Prozac! Housework, not so much!

Happy Springtime! Get your hands in the dirt—it’s good for you! Mother Nature knows best!