Alright, so winter felt like it dragged on forever this year. You know that feeling? Stuck inside, everything grey. I needed something, anything, to feel a bit of change, something real I could touch. Kept thinking about that fresh start feeling, like the air after rain, or yeah, like that first little drop of dew you see when things finally start warming up. Decided I wasn’t just gonna wait for spring, I was gonna make a little bit of it myself.
Getting Started – The Dirt
Didn’t want anything complicated. No fancy greenhouse stuff. Just something simple. Remembered I had this old terracotta pot kicking around in the shed. Grabbed that first. Then off to the local place for some basic potting soil. Nothing special, just a bag of the regular stuff. And seeds. Went for some simple basil. Love the smell, and maybe I’d actually use it for cooking, unlike half the gadgets I buy.
The Actual Doing Part
So, back home, dumped some soil into the pot. Didn’t fill it right to the top, left maybe an inch or so. Poked a few shallow holes with my finger, maybe half an inch deep? The packet had instructions but who really follows those perfectly? Dropped a couple of seeds in each hole. Always put in extra, right? Some never seem to make it. Covered them up gently with a bit more soil, patted it down just a little. Not too hard. Then the watering. Used a spray bottle at first, just wanted to get the top damp without washing the seeds away. Found a sunny spot on the windowsill. And then, well, you wait.
Watching and Waiting
This is the bit that tests your patience. Every morning, I’d go check. Poke the soil. Still damp? Okay. Too dry? Give it a little spray. For days, nothing. Just brown dirt in a pot. Started thinking maybe the seeds were duds, or I’d done something wrong. Maybe should have followed the packet exactly. You start second-guessing, you know? It’s like waiting for a pot to boil, but slower.
The “Dewdrop” Moment
Then one morning, maybe a week later, I went over, squinting like I always did. And there it was. Tiny. Like, really tiny. A little arch of green pushing up through the soil. And sitting right on top of that first little leaf pair, catching the morning light, was this minuscule drop of water. Looked just like a dewdrop. Wasn’t even sure if it was dew or just leftover water from the day before, but it didn’t matter. That was it. That little green shoot, with its tiny water jewel. Proof of life, I guess. Sounds dramatic, but it just felt… good. Like, okay, things are moving forward.
- Got the pot and soil.
- Planted the basil seeds.
- Watered carefully.
- Waited (and waited).
- Saw the first sprout with that little drop of water.
It’s just a tiny plant, yeah. Might not even survive my questionable gardening skills long-term. But seeing that first little bit of green, that “first dewdrop” moment… it kinda resets things. Reminds you that big changes start small. You just gotta do the work, put the seed in the ground, give it some water, and have a little patience. Simple stuff, really, but easy to forget when everything else feels complicated. Makes you want to start other small things too.
