green plants and england

I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a rose of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses from and Old Manse

I've been finding myself all too often in the Smith greenhouse. I'm growing everything, literally-- cantaloupes, tomatoes, basil, peas, peppers, and about 5 kinds of flowers. I planted the peas at the very beginning of the semester and now they are over a foot high. It's very reassuring to know that despite everything else going on in the world, a few seeds still manage to sprout and grow into tall tangling plants. Even though it's freezing cold outside-- even though the wind is severe and even the mud is frozen-- one small warm room stays humid and delightful all year round. I think if everyone had a greenhouse (or really, any place to grow plants) the world might just be a better place.

On the other hand, what the hell am I going to do with 80 tomato plants?

Today I found out that I was officially accepted to the summer seminar at oxford university. i'll be there for 6 weeks. I'm going mainly to travel-- I'll get my work done, but I'm excited to breathe the air the poets breathed, see the sights, and meet new people. Northampton is all well and good, but I'm quite tired of being a townie.

If you see me, say hello. I'll be the idiot belting out the first 18 lines of chaucer's canterbury tales with a goofy grin on my face.

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