A Speck of Green

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Thirteen days into my winter windowsill herb garden project I was wondering what I'd done wrong. I was misting the soil every day. The sun had been out, warming up the bay window. A few days earlier I had covered the peat pots with plastic wrap to keep the soil from drying out too quickly. Despite my care, all I had were pots full of dirt.

Then, the morning of day thirteen, I lifted the plastic on the pot of thyme seeds to water them and, could it be? Yes! A tiny speck of green. I looked at it a few times, just to make sure it wasn't a trick of the light or, worse, a desperate hallucination. It was definitely something green.

By the end of the day there were three specks. Two days later the pot was sprinkled with little green plants. Later that day the thyme was joined by the first hint of a dill plant.

The thyme continues to grow, spreading tiny leaves toward the sunlight coming through the window. There are five dill plants which have gotten tall enough to require some toothpicks to lift the plastic wrap. And, today, there are three specks of green in the parsley pot and the first sage seedling is breaking through the soil.

Outside might be covered with ice, but it feels like spring on my windowsill.