THE VISION.

Apologies for my delay since the last post. Since then I have done two very exciting things: (1) Chopped off all my hair in preparation for our trip to Europe and (2) survived the snowy Midwest in almost-May with completely insufficient footwear. I'm thrilled to be back to warmer temps to enjoy Charlotte's spring and share this post with you...

I have three best friends on this Earth: my closest male friend (the hubs), my closest girl friend, & my four-legged sidekick.

Caleb of course is my main squeeze. Let's face it: he is totally great.

Ann is the greatest chum of all time. I mean, when you can cheers turtles with someone, you know the friendship's going to last. {This is us geocaching in college in Clemson's Experimental Forest.}

Tucker Boy is my best friend with fur. And did I mention he retrieves beers from the fridge, throws away his own trash, and prays before supper time?

All silliness aside, Caleb & Ann play a huge role in my life, and after I mulled over my little seed of an idea for all of two minutes, I hastily grabbed my iPhone to text Ann...

"What should I do with my life?"

Her response: "Be patient."

I knew she was feeling how antsy I was through the phone. I'm flippant, quick to react, and quite honestly... a mess. She is steady and constant with a quiet spirit of contentment. Her wisdom has helped to guide me through many challenges in life, and this was no exception. When my tendency is to quickly attack complacency, she pulls me back to center for the reality check I need.

Yet pushing her wise advice aside momentarily, I shared with her my little seed. The delivery and explanation was as messy as me: "I want to do hands-on, urban, bio-diverse/edible landscape design."

HUH?

And being the little seed that it was, how could she possibly see the huge vision I had? I fumbled to explain.

"...planting edibles instead of ornamentals where you'd already be investing in landscaping...private yards, corporate grounds, municipal parks..."
"...generating biodiversity in place of monoculture (grass lawns)..."
"...bringing a small slice of organic farming into the city."
"...bringing the outdoors into companies for employee morale."
"...enabling homeowners with limited yard space to grow their own produce without tilling up the yard for a traditional garden, all the while maintaining the beauty of a landscaped yard..."

Without my realizing, it was here in this iMessage brainstorm sesh with the bestie that my little seed started to take root.