The Smell of Dirt! an update on my meeting with Eric

Today I found inspiration in the dirt between my toes. 
Some people love the smell of flowers, or women (come on boys you know you do) while others love the smell of cookies or babies. 
I love the smell of dirt. 
For some reason it has been my favorite smell since my first job harvesting flowers at the Humming Bird farm in Washington State. I have spent my fare share of time in the dirt. Picking lavender in the fields of Sweet Water Lavender Farms with Joanna Thome the summer before our Junior year; working under the green house roof at Sally's Garden while Washington's rain poured like a symphony overhead; digging holes in Murrieta as my school service; and my favorite dirt of all.... living in a barn for 8 months and working as an in-turn in Organic Farming at The Rosehip Farm and Garden on Whidbey Island. 


My most peaceful moments have been in a field or crouched under shrubs pulling weeds. 
Now I live an urban existence, where peace comes in other forms. 
But today I stood with dirt between my toes...well more like dust. Eric Shepard of O'Connell Maintenance and I met to look over the land I singled out on my complexes grounds. What an amazing guy! He has a love for community and putting gardens in them. Last summer when I met him, he took me to like 5 different gardens through out San Elijo that he and his company put in. Usually Eric works with the homeowner associations of the more upscale neighborhoods in the area but has been kind enough to give me his time to help me with the proposal for my garden project. 
He liked the land I picked so now I need to build and interest list from my neighbors to see who is interested in being a part of the garden. Erick will draw up a bid and proposal for my complex and hopefully....fingers crossed, I will be smelling dirt a little closer to home here soon. 


My dream.... that this will work and I will have learned enough to move onto another subsidized apartment complex and help put in another community garden there....and another and another and another, until we fill this town with them.
If you find yourself inspired like I was to start a community garden project, a great website to check out is;
http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php

here is the land I hope to plant on!