i have embarked on the next step of planning and planting in our imaginary garden. the lettuces! so, i see the lettuces sprouting up practically overnight,new and soft green and red hues. they love the water we give them and push their roots down to soak it up and begin their complex communication with the soil and its inhabitants,the mycelium,the microorganisms,the minerals,the higher forms of bugs. i love to touch their leaves,their edible,colorful and nutrient packed beauty. i have chosen different levels to plant them according to the ability and desire of those who would garden. some grown direct from the ground for those who love to get down and dirty,feeling the ground supportive and energetic beneath. some i plant in sit-down beds for those whose desire to mix it up with the soil may be inhibited by their limitations to crouch or kneel or squat. some i plant even higher up,like a stand-up counter bed for those who want to stand and stare and dance and move around their greenness..to each their own.i plant the old stand-by's and pore over the newly shipped packages of exotica:baby oakleaf;australian yellowleaf;bronze arrowhead;flame;gold rush;grandpa admire's; lolla rossa; mascara;red coral;red leprechaun;red velvet;rouge d'hiver; tango;webb'wonderful and tenderly drop the seeds side by side in shallow grooves etched out with my hands. i think of ruth stout and her lazy woman methods and feel my efforts need not be too strict or regimented but labors of love and hope and joy in the process. i am aware as the sun sinks lower of the robins lining up on the wires; the hummingbirds last dip at dusk; the chickens murmuring content and sleepy on their roosts;the light changing to a perfect hue and the breathe of the world slowing as the seeds settle down in the soil and begin the incredible process of growing,opening,yearning as we all do