Grow

This has been my little spring time experiment. I go through phases of cooking inspiration and I buy up loads of things like garlic and onions. And then, after one or two meals, I quickly come to my senses and remember I'm a busy graduate student who really doesn't know how to cook and it just so much easy to pop some precooked Trader Joe's (if you follow the link... look at the bottom of the page) pasta in the frying pan for 5 minutes and that tastes just as yummy. So, my cooking inspiration fades but the onions I bought did not want to go to waste. I came home from school one day to find one of my onions had begun to sprout. Little green shoots were sticking up from its golden yellow core and the were curved around reaching up to the light coming in through the front windows. Hmmmm, I thought. I wonder what would happen if I put this in a little water. And so I did. I filled this interestingly shaped glass with just enough water so the very tiny (at the time) roots were just touching the water. The green part now was going off to the side, completely horizontal, but I hoped that in a day or so the little onion plant would figure out that it was now right-side up instead of laying on its side. Well, it didn't even take a full day. When I woke up the next morning the green stem was sticking straight in the air and the teeny tiny roots had at least tripled in length. I was amazed. Now, after about two weeks the little onion plant has many tall green stalks and the roots are trying their best to takeover the little funky glass. The stalk is so bright green, like new grass. Against the golden, yellow of the bulb I was surprised at how pleasing it is to look at. My little onion plant is the colors of Spring. It reminds me that this is the time of year when things begin to grow. Even with all the energy required for growth and new beginnings, thinking of growing makes me happy and peaceful. It reminds me of picking green beans and peas and carrots and beats and squash in the garden my mom had when I was little. The beans and peas stood well over my head and when I stood between the rows it was like a bright green fort. Spring reminds me of the cherry blossom tree in full bloom and watching first the buds and then the flowers and finally the new green leaves come out on the apple trees. Spring is my season.

P.S. Check out all the green links. One's got tips on making your home more earth friendly and one can help reduce your junk mail and one tells you all about the color green - fascinating information!