"Everything that slows us down and forces patience,
everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help.
Gardening is an instrument of grace."

-May Sarton

I spend a few hours in the yard today. I cut back perennials and rake leaves. The earth smells like apples, and a freshness I can’t quite put my finger on, a sort of memory I suppose.. The soil is dark and wet, and some of the flowers release themselves with just a tug, their leaves brown and shriveled. Others demand to be snipped with my clippers. There is more to be done, but I don’t push myself as I am not quite ready to let the garden go.

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