Peas are up, their tendrils stretching to touch the trellis, a handsome creation inspired by Shepherd Ogden's directions in "Step by Step Organic Vegetable Gardening." Lettuce is making a strong showing, but kale and chard need re-seeding. Spurred by a couple of summer-like days, I jumped the season to plant green beans (common wisdom is Mother's Day), and complicated matters by watering the raised bed deeply - and then the 38-degree nights returned. I am hoping that the seeds are biding time.

I, too, am biding my time. I had big plans for the garden but on a beautiful morning a couple of weekends ago, I threw up a supposedly sticky window to celebrate the weather, catching my fingers between the sashes. Now, I wait for a broken bone and surgery to heal - and learn to type without the use of my "s" finger. And even though I can't rip a weed out by its roots at the moment, I - and others - find therapeutic value in the greens.